Literary programme
Samuel Shimon – “An Iraqi in Paris”
Iraqi writer Samuel Shimon introduces and reads from his well-known autobiographical novel An Iraqi in Paris. The novel offers a fascinating account of the dreams and struggle for survival of a young Iraqi exile. Blending autobiography, cinema and urban life in Paris, it invites reflection on identity and on the strength to persevere in the face of adversity.
The book chronicles the odyssey of a young Assyrian-Iraqi man who leaves his country in 1979 with a single goal: to reach Hollywood, become a film director and make a film about his father, a deaf-mute baker. But arrests, torture and numerous other ordeals across the Middle East derail his journey, until he eventually finds himself in Paris, at times living almost like a homeless person on the streets. The book was first published in Arabic in 2005 and has been translated into English, French, Spanish, Swedish, Hebrew and Kurdish. It is regarded as a significant work of Arab literature in exile.
Moderation: Stefan Weidner
