Rain over Baghdad: An Egyptian Novel

What was it like to live in Iraq before the earth-shaking events of the late twentieth century? The mid-seventies to the late eighties witnessed Saddam Hussein’s rise to power, the establishment of Kurdish autonomy in the north, and the Iraq–Iran war. It also brought an influx of oil wealth, following the 1973 war and the spike in oil prices, and a parallel influx of Arab talent, including many Egyptians. We witness all of this and more through the eyes of an Egyptian woman married to an en...