{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1770462937?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"1770462937","authors":["Brigitte Findakly","Lewis Trondheim"],"book_id":"9781770462939","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/poppies-of-iraq-9781770462939","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781770462939.jpg?v=7c189c0a431af41a","description":"A personal account of an Iraqi childhood - appeared on best of the year lists from Kirkus, Guardian, Vulture, Forbes, and more! Poppies of Iraq is Brigitte Findakly’s nuanced tender chronicle of her relationship with her homeland Iraq, co-written and drawn by her husband, the acclaimed cartoonist Lewis Trondheim. In spare and elegant detail, they share memories of her middle class childhood touching on cultural practices, the education system, Saddam Hussein’s state control, and her family’s history as Orthodox Christians in the arab world. Poppies of Iraq is intimate and wide-ranging; the story of how one can become separated from one’s homeland and still feel intimately connected yet ultimately estranged. Signs of an oppressive regime permeate a seemingly normal life: magazines arrive edited by customs; the color red is banned after the execution of General Kassim; Baathist militiamen are publicly hanged and school kids are bussed past them to bear witness. As conditions in Mosul worsen over her childhood, Brigitte’s father is always hopeful that life in Iraq will return to being secular and prosperous. The family eventually feels compelled to move to Paris, however, where Brigitte finds herself not quite belonging to either culture. Trondheim brings to life Findakly’s memories to create a poignant family portrait that covers loss, tragedy, love, and the loneliness of exile.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781770462939","publication_date":"20170905","publisher":"Drawn & Quarterly Publications","slug":"poppies-of-iraq","subtitle":"","title":"Poppies of Iraq"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"YAN038090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Middle East for Teens","score":0.7162,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS026030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Iraq History","score":0.7151,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN006020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cultural Heritage Lives","score":0.6984,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"YAN038090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Middle East for Teens","score":0.7162,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS026030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Iraq History","score":0.7151,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN006020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cultural Heritage Lives","score":0.6984,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"CGN006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Literary Graphic Novels","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS026030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Iraq History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"JNF062010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Comics Biographies","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Middle East for Teens","score":0.7162,"slug":"middle-east-for-teens"},{"label":"Iraq History","score":0.7151,"slug":"iraq-history"},{"label":"Cultural Heritage Lives","score":0.6984,"slug":"cultural-heritage-lives"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in personal histories of Iraqi childhood and cultural identity","Readers drawn to stories of homeland, exile, and belonging"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Haya Saleh"],"book_id":"9781646146529","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781646146529.jpg?v=1beab16ff8f0ddc5","score":0.7188,"title":"Wild Poppies","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781646146529"},{"authors":["John Robertson"],"book_id":"9781780749495","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781780749495.jpg?v=a8dd7fde14bdb48e","score":0.7005,"title":"Iraq","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781780749495"},{"authors":["Ghaith Abdul-Ahad"],"book_id":"9780593536889","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593536889.jpg?v=1646645453873eb9","score":0.6511,"title":"A Stranger in Your Own City","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593536889"},{"authors":["Plestia Alaqad"],"book_id":"9780316597456","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316597456.jpg?v=da7ccd26fb1e75d8","score":0.6455,"title":"The Eyes of Gaza","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316597456"},{"authors":["Atia Abawi"],"book_id":"9780399546839","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780399546839.jpg?v=d6363fefdf4b9304","score":0.6355,"title":"A Land of Permanent Goodbyes","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780399546839"},{"authors":["Phebe Marr","Ibrahim Al-Marashi"],"book_id":"9780813350066","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780813350066.jpg?v=a4f92ba7e6234a45","score":0.6319,"title":"The Modern History of Iraq","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780813350066"},{"authors":["Maysa Odeh"],"book_id":"9781250896704","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250896704.jpg?v=1f23a7fd87475aa7","score":0.6266,"title":"A Map for Falasteen","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250896704"}],"topics":[],"what_you_get":["Themes: Iraqi childhood and cultural identity, Oppressive state control, Exile and belonging.","Reading lane: Middle East for Teens and Iraq History.","Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly Publications."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.88,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in personal histories of Iraqi childhood and cultural identity","Readers drawn to stories of homeland, exile, and belonging"],"themes":["Iraqi childhood and cultural identity","Oppressive state control","Exile and belonging"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":42,"goodreads_ratings_count":1975,"goodreads_reviews_count":347,"quality_score":0.9388}}