Out of Mesopotamia, Salar Abdoh
Out of Mesopotamia, Salar Abdoh
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Out of Mesopotamia

Author: Salar Abdoh

Narrator: Sean Rohani

Unabridged: 6 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/08/2020


Synopsis

Saleh Abdoh, the narrator of Out of Mesopotamia, is a middle-aged Iranian journalist who moonlights as a writer for one of Iran's most popular TV shows, but cannot keep himself away from the front lines in neighboring Iraq and Syria. There, the fight against the Islamic State is a proxy war, an existential battle, a declaration of faith, and, for some, a passing weekend affair. After weeks spent dodging RPGs and witnessing acts of savagery and stupidity, Saleh returns to his civilian life of Tehran bookstore readings and trendy art openings and finds it to be an unbearably dislocating experience. Pursued by the woman who broke his heart, his official handler from state security (who wants him for questioning over a suspicious volume of Proust), and the screenwriters with whom he is supposed to be collaborating, Saleh has reason to flee again from everyday life—but not necessarily to discard it. Surrounded by men whose willingness to achieve martyrdom both fascinates and appalls him, Saleh struggles to make sense of himself and the turmoil that surrounds him. An unprecedented glimpse into the fight against the Islamic State from a Middle Eastern perspective, Out of Mesopotamia follows in the tradition of the Western "canon" of martial writers, but then subverts and expands upon it before completely blowing it apart. Drawing on firsthand experience, it gives agency to the voiceless while offering a meditation on war that is moving, humane, darkly funny, and resonantly true.

About Salar Abdoh

Salar Abdoh is the author of the novels Tehran at Twilight, The Poet Game, and Opium and the editor of Tehran Noir. Born in Iran, he splits his time between Tehran and New York City, where he teaches in the MFA program at the City College of New York.

About Sean Rohani

Sean Rohani is a talented voiceover artist who has worked on projects for Warner Brothers, Google, and Netflix. Born to Iranian immigrants, he was raised in a melting-pot community that taught him to be fascinated with all cultures and languages.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Leila on June 21, 2022

I have some mixed feelings about this book. As a general reader I liked the overall picture the story describes. The feelings are written so vividly and you enjoy following the characters. Although as an Iranian I got confused. I could not imagine Saleh as a journalist and art critic in today Iran w......more

Goodreads review by Steve on December 10, 2024

10/10 for creativity and for being unique and different and thought-provoking... I came to this by an indirect route, but I'm glad it came to my attention, and my guess is that, next, I'll try Abdoh's most recent book or one of earlier his Noir offerings. This wasn't a particularly easy or pleasant re......more

Goodreads review by Tonstant on August 21, 2020

Out of Mesopotamia is one of those rare books that I know I will read again and again. The prose is beautiful, the emotions raw and authentic in their confusion and contradiction. It is everything a true war story must be, contradictory, confusing, and full of love. Saleh is a writer in Tehran who is......more

Goodreads review by Troy on September 23, 2020

A thrilling read with surprising depth told through the impaired but insightful eyes of an eternal outsider, Out of Mesopotamia is an illuminating and gripping war novel with a reality built on journalistic detail and with the imagination and craft of fiction. The way that Remembrance of Things Past......more


Quotes

Abdoh's powerful novel follows an Iranian war reporter who is torn between his wearying job on the front lines and a civilian existence that he finds increasingly alienating. The book is as much a reflection on memory and art as it is a war story, and Abdoh's writing captures beautifully the absurdity of both the battlefield and modern life.