Memories of Eden
by Violette Shamash
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Book Summary Information
Author: Violette ShamashContributor: Tony Rocca
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-14
ISBN: 0955709504
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Publishing Services
Book Reviews of Memories of Eden
Book Review: fascinating book about a world that was and no longer exists, as well as an important historical document
Summary: 5 Stars
GET THIS BOOK!! The book `Memories from Eden' is a fascinating book about a world that was and no longer exists, as well as an important historical document. I read the book in one day; once I started I couldn't put it down. The book is well written; the stories and the pictures do make you feel that life in Bagdad in the turn of the 20 century was as the title suggests a sort of a paradise. The historical synopsis and facts were smartly incorporated providing necessary historical context to the stories without being overbearing. For those who are like me, descendants of this world, the book provides an important connection to our past and heritage.
I enjoyed the book so much that in the weeks following reading the book I spoke about it with everyone I met and was somewhat obsessive in telling these stories to whoever was willing to listen. Maybe the best testament to how interesting the book is, is the fascination it created amongst my young nieces, ages 8 & 10. A few days after I finished reading the book, I visited my nieces and I started telling the younger one the stories from the book and she asked for more and more stories and was completely captivated by them. I think I told her all the stories in one afternoon. Later that day, when we met my older niece, the younger niece was so excited by the stories and enthusiastically started telling her sister the stories herself!
In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while everyone is talking about the Palestinian Refugees, this book is an important document of the forgotten refugees, the "Jewish Refugees" - over 1 million Jews who lived for thousands of years in Arab countries and had to escape in the 40's and 50's, following the bloody Arab persecution of Jews, leaving behind their lands, homes, property and the life they knew and loved. I hope that this book and others like it will create awareness to this grave injustice and will lead to a discussion for compensation for the 1 million Jewish refugees whenever the issue of compensation to the Palestinian refugees will arise, correlating the two, as should be.
Summary of Memories of Eden
"Memories of Eden" evokes a bygone era - when pre-WW2 Baghdad was one-third Jewish and interfaith relations were harmonious. When Violette was born, Mesopotamia had been Ottoman for some 600 years, until redrawn as Iraq by the British when Violette was eight years old. This bittersweet memoir tells of a childhood spent in the city of Caliphs, Scheherazade and the land of the Garden of Eden, of traditions passed down over the generations, and captures vividly the elusive quality of a scene totally at odds with our image of today's Iraq. As a privileged young woman growing up with her extended family in the city of The Thousand and One Nights, Violette re-lives the excitement of a vibrant society coming to terms with daily life, first under Ottoman, then British, and finally, pro-Nazi rule, which ended in disaster for the Jews of Iraq, who were brutally attacked in two days of slaughter in May 1941 while British troops stood by, under orders not to intervene.The pogrom, which sounded the death-knell for the oldest community in the Diaspora, has been sidelined in history. Now, in a final section in the memoir, the editors reveal the steps that led to the catastrophe and the British bungling that brought it about. Like Anne Frank's diary, "Memories of Eden" tells of an easy and happy childhood, of growing maturity and sophistication, and then shrinking circumstances, victimisation and, finally, flight.Jewish Books
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