Interesting, and enjoyable on quite a few levels. I wouldn’t though read it again because it just didn’t work for me. I’m left with the sense that this translation loses much of the poetry that I’m sure is in the original text: the prose is actually disappointingly flat.

Meandering and seeming to never lead anywhere, this was a difficult read that never seemed to pay off. The descriptions of Kirkuk were interesting, and I discovered the glossary too late to help make sense of the story.