Notes from a Lost Country
Edited by Sinan Antoon
About the Book
Sami, a retired doctor, lives with his son and grandchildren in Brooklyn. But Sami keeps losing his way. Every day he sinks deeper into dementia and old memories of life in Iraq before the war.
Omar arrives in the US with a fake identity and no friends or family. Having run away from the Iraqi army, he has been branded a deserter and his ear brutally cut off. Omar carries this mark of shame with him and refuses to talk about the past. He dreams of getting his ear, and his dignity, back.
When their paths cross at least one of them knows that they have met before – if only he could remember where. Exploring the aftermath of war and how the past haunts new beginnings, Notes from a Lost Country creates a moving portrait of life in exile.
Reviews
'Ravishing, heartbreaking, and often absurd, Notes From a Lost Country is a novel on exile in all its meanings, panoramic in implications but distilled down like a fine elixir. I adored it.' Molly Crabapple
'A haunting story of two men — one desperate to remember, the other to forget. In exploring the cost of erasing one’s past, Antoon reveals the deep fractures of exile and identity. This novel marks a bold new chapter in Antoon’s work. With his gift for creating unforgettable, layered characters, Antoon leaves readers with echoes that linger long after the final page.' Hassan Abdulrazzak
'A moving portrait of the aftermath of war and life in exile.' Vogue Arabia
