The Gardener of Baghdad

I just finished reading this Kindle book I downloaded probably a year ago. I haven't been so moved by a story in a long time. I'm not sure what I can add to the previous reviews by other readers but I feel compelled to try. It opened my eyes and heart to Iraq in ways I never imagined. The characters became flesh and blood to me and I cared passionately about them. That is because of the skill of a good author. The story itself could have happened anywhere perhaps for prejudice, love, war, loss, separation, joy and pain are everywhere. This was poignant for me because it was in Iraq; the place where civilization as we have come to understand it began. It is an ancient culture that is misunderstood by current Iraqi's as well as the rest of the world as the book itself made clear. As an American we too have lost touch with our heritage and have forgotten who we are. I felt this more keenly while reading this story. I understood the loss and pain for a beloved homeland just as Ali and his associates felt. Perhaps for that reason alone, if I have expressed myself clearly, then don't let this one get by you. Get the book; read the book; tell everyone. This story will be a classic must read and treasure just like "To Kill a Mockingbird" which is totally different but the same. Don't take my word for it; read them both. It is important.

I loved this book! I enjoy historical fiction, and this book is also a beautiful love story. Every day the news is full of war and violence somewhere in the world. But we seldom know what the ordinary citizens are going through. How can they continue to have meaningful lives? How do they continue to go to work, to school, marry?I was intrigued with the title of this book, because I thought that Iraq was desert, not likely to have gardens, grass, flowers. So I was surprised to learn that I was wrong. I feel that I have learned a little about Iraq and it's proud people from this book. If you enjoy a good story with historical accuracy, this book is for you.

I chose this book on a bit of a whim. I was looking for a good story, engaging, with well developed characters, the type of book that draws you in and makes you forget the world around you.I could not put this book down.Ahmad Ardalan paints a picture of his home that makes you wish it still existed in the way he describes it. We see Baghdad in its glory, a place rich in culture and beauty, but not without problems.The story of Ali's life is told through a diary found in a corner of a bookstore. The owner of the store is considering selling the,store and leaving Baghdad with his family. He finds the diary and a necklace, and has no idea where they came from. He begins to read about Ali, a young man who grew up to become a prominent landscape gardener who fell in love with the daughter of a British General. Intrigued, the store keepers sets out to learn more about the man known as The Gardiner of Baghdad, searching out anyone who may have known him.Mr. Ardalan has written a beautiful story. Don't hesitate to buy this book. If you love a great story you will not be disappointed.

Iraq, historical-places-events, historical-romance, memoirA beautiful tale of love, discrimination, obsession, and a city and country that have suffered much in the last fifty odd years. The bookseller in Baghdad lives in precarious times, and while unhappily examining a book he finds that its innards have been replaced by a locket and the personal journal of a man who identifies himself as the Gardener of Baghdad. This is the love story that is interrupted by discrimination and revolution. The obsession is that of the bookseller who is compelled to read it and try to find out what happened after its abrupt end over fifty years ago.Randal Schaffer gives a moving audio performance as narrator.I requested and received a free audio copy via AudioBookBOOM, and then discovered an ebook copy in my TBR pile from a year ago!

This was a charming, bittersweet love story told through a bookshop owner, Adnan in present day Iraq. He found a diary written in the 1950's by Ali (the gardener of Baghdad) about his life and love for Mary a British Woman, living there in the city.Adnan, who had been wondering whether or not to sell his shop due to so much unrest in his country, stumbles across this diary, hidden among some old books and gets pulled into the story, and the people that he reads about. Wanting to know what happened to Ali and his friends, Adnan searches for someone that may still remember those times. Very well done, and it was nice to hear about the beauty of the country, a bit of it's history and what Baghdad may have felt like in better times.

When I started reading this book I was not expecting this heartbreaking love story. It got me to think how cruel word and people are. How they can destroy something beautiful because of different political views and desires. This is a story of a once beautiful city with unstable political, military, social and economic order, where two people from different words meet, fall deeply in love and chance everything to be together to protect one another. Reading the memoir you feel the love, the passion and the sadness of the young man, and by the end the devotion of his bride. The story has a twist at the end, it will make you cry. It is a good book, you'll learn a lot about 1950's Baghdad and why it's ravaged by war and instability today.

Love, love, love this book! The writing is clear and simple yet elegant, and the story really touched my heart.A historical romance, the author juxtaposes modern war-torn Iraq with the Iraq of the 1950s, around the time of the Suez Crisis. The reader gets a taste of a beautiful country during a time of peace shortly before political unrest leads to the killing of the king and the turmoil that has plagued the nation ever since. But don’t think this is some boring war novel. Anything but. This book is about a warm and caring man who makes everything gorgeous with flowers and other plants; his loving inner circle of friends and family; and the blonde-haired girl who captures his heart. The problem is, he’s a dark-skinned Arab, and she’s the daughter of a British general in the 1950s...

I loved reading about the Baghdad of old as well as the developing romance between Ali the gardener and Mary, the daughter of the British Governor. The story is told through the eyes of Adnan, a bookseller ready to pack up his bookstore after the latest bombing when he comes across Ali's memoir. This is a book that works on many levels; first and foremost it's a romance but it's also deeper than that embodying cultural differences, nostalgia but above all it's the story of hope. The writer not only expresses hope that true love can ultimately triumph but also that good can come from evil and that we learn from the mistakes of the past. Although saddened by the picture of modern day Baghdad that is painted, I am heartened as well by the hope of the author that one day the warring factions will stop fighting and come together to rebuild the city. It may seem far-fetched at the moment but just like the path of true love, we have to believe in the future.

This is a love story in and around the time of the Iraqi revolution. The climax saves the book, I feel, but it is a long time coming. There are too many glib coincidences too conveniently. Prior to the revolution, I didn't get any sense of repression in the community. But, for all its failings, I found the book a compulsive read.

Adnan, a bookshop owner in Baghdad finds an old book in his store and starts reading it. But once he's started, he just can't stop, as it's the story of Ali - the Gardener of Baghdad who disappeared back in the 50s.I really enjoyed this gentle story. The book is paced as Adnan reads it. It is a love story across class and religion back in the times when it really did make a difference.We are taken on a journey through hard times but where love tries to conquer all. This was an enjoyable read indeed.

Beautifully-told story. Not the sort I would usually read, but the atmosphere it created was wonderful. The main characters were fully believable, and you could empathise with them and their dilemmas, and it had a lovely twist at the end. This was a gentle love story set in a period of violence and political instability. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay to this book is that I would like to visit Baghdad, despite what is happening there at present.

This was such a beautiful book to read. I shall definitely read it again. Wonderful, atmospheric, slow paced, I was there all the way. Will be following the author AHMAD ARDALAN and read his new or old novels! A BIG THANK YOU for the wonderful time I spent reading this novel.