Book Review: The Gardener of Baghdad by Ahmad Ardalan

 

The Gardener of Baghdad by Ahmad Ardalan is a classical romantic story set in Iraq, connecting two separate destinies through a long lost memoir. Adnan is about to sell his shop in Baghdad, planning to escape a world that is upside down following the US invasion and the incessant civil war. While sorting out the books, he discovers a manuscript written by Ali, ´the gardener of Baghdad´. 

In an Iraq at the mercy of the British occupation, ruled by a King who will be soon killed by the revolutionaries, a love story between Ali and the daughter of a British military is burgeoning. The story takes place in the turbulent 1950s and ends up in the day when the royal family was massacred. Altough The Gardener of Baghdad includes many political and anti-colonialist references - mostly displayed through the behavior of the British characters featured - it is mostly a story about love and betrayal and the strange intricacies of the human destinies. The political turbulences may force and delay those human circumstances, but in the end there are the universal desires and feelings prevailing.

I´ve had access to the book in audio format, and for the first time I realized how important the voice of the narrator is for enjoying - or not - a book. Although I am not so picky when it comes to book read by the authors themselves, when there is an actor doing it, I tend to be overcritical. In this case, I do not enjoy the voice over at all, thus the long time I´ve spent listening to the book. As there was a story and some slight unexpected turn of events, I would have normally listen to the book within one day. In this case, it lasted over 10 days as I could not convince myself to turn back as was expecting to face the unpleasant audio experience. It is a very personal, subjective experience and others may dissent in this respect but in my case, even it did not alter the literary experience, it delayed it´s full enjoyment. As I am relatively new in the field of audiobooks, I´ve found this experience worth sharing. 

I recommend The Gardener of Baghdad to anyone interested in a slow paced romance taking place in the wrong time. The ending made my smile, because it was both unexpected and romance kind of sweet. As someone interested to read more stories set in the Middle East authored by people acknowledgeable about the region, I would happily read more books like this in the near future.

Rating: 3 stars