I am currently seeking an English-language publisher for A Song Slumbers Deep in the Tigris (In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied) by Iraqi-Swiss author Usama Al Shahmani, which tells the story of Iraqi Jews during the 20th century through the eyes of Gadi, an Israeli professor living in Switzerland. When Gadi’s estranged father, Zakai, dies, he leaves him with the task of scattering half his ashes in the River Tigris in Baghdad, where he spent his childhood before emigrating to Israel (but to which Iraq forbade him from ever returning). The book follows this journey, interspersing it with excerpts from Gadi’s father’s writings, which recount the history preceding the Jews’ expulsion from Iraq – history which implicates both Nazi Germany and Britain – and give an insight into why Zakai never stopped feeling like Baghdad was his home.

 

“A Song Slumbers Deep in the Tigris” is a novel with a poetic title, but which takes an unembellished look at the violent history of the 20th century and the after-effects thereof, which are still happening today” – Daniel Graf, Republik

 

About the translator: Talei Lakeland translates from German, Arabic and French into English. She is originally from the UK and has lived and worked in Germany for more than a decade.

 

About the author: Usama Al Shahmani, born in Baghdad in 1971 and raised in Nasiriya, studied Arabic language and modern Arabic literature. He had to leave Iraq because a play he had written was banned by the regime. He has lived in Switzerland since 2002. His novels have won several awards and have been translated into Italian, French and Croatian. In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied is his fourth novel.