Sasson Somekh

This was my third memoir from one of the many Jewish emigrés of the formerly large and thriving ancient Jewish community in Iraq (once comprising a third of the population, they are now said to number less than a dozen). Unlike the other two books, Sasson Somekh's was less a chronological autobiography and more a series of vignettes. Imagine going to chat with the author over tea once per week, and each week, he narrated a different recollection of his life -- that is much the flavor of this book. The chapters are self-contained and not long, which makes for easy reading. (Although, not necessarily FAST reading -- I found myself inclined to go slowly, re-reading often, and reflecting on what the author had written.) At times he writes with gentle humor; other passages are subtly -- but deeply -- poignant.

One of the delights of the book is that Somekh not only includes photographs but also gives descriptions of them. For instance, rather than simply saying, "This is a photo of the whole family at a wedding," he goes through the photo, pointing out individual family members, describing them, their history, what eventually becomes of them, and so on.

As a language buff, I found great interest in Somekh's discussions of Iraqi Arabic and other languages; and literary buffs will no doubt be interested in Somkeh's run-ins with and descriptions of literary notables from Iraq and elsewhere in the Arab world.

This would likely be a good book for those interested in the (former) Iraqi Jewish community; Arab Jews in general; and the history of Iraq. A history which, it should be noted, goes far deeper and is much richer than the modern-day headlines of bombings and political unrest.… (mere)