In America, Salam turns his back on his old life, family and history to start anew. Even as the Gulf War and the long years of the harsh embargo tear the lives of his family and friends apart, he ignores their letters. Salam marries and becomes a successful artist, acting as if his life in Balluria never happened, until the events of 9/11, the War on Terror and later the invasion of Iraq send his world spiraling downward. He opens the old letters and begins to relive the past.
Salam returns to Iraq after 2003, hoping to come to peace with his past and the family he left behind. He finds a mirage of Barrya, who attempts to heal him by revealing secrets hidden in the history of his homeland. The man who never felt quite a part of either country, or understood his existence as a citizen of two countries and two worlds, learns to be comfortable with himself while coming to terms with his past and starting to believe and see the hope in the future.
Nassery hopes that his novel reflects Iraq’s past and present realistically while providing readers with a glimpse of what life is like for immigrants in the United States. He depicts the struggle between desires to start a new life and the memories of a painful past and history of a country long held in the darkness of war and violence.......
Armand Nassery is an Iraqi-American author and independent filmmaker who was born in a remote rural area near the marshes of the province of Dhi-Qar. He is the middle child of eleven siblings. His father chose to live in the outskirts away from other people due to his extreme independent nature. Armand grew up in a setting that is close to many of his depictions in his novel. He recalls that period as, “… a detached parallel universe between realty and myth.”
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