About This Book’s Theme: For the reader, My Father’s Paradise is both a history lesson and a personal narrative. It’s about a father and a son, and the latter’s recent quest to learn about his family history and heritage. Fueled by a reporter’s investigative spirit, Ariel Sabar retraces his father’s footsteps, taking the reader on a physical and emotional journey to three very different locations: Northern Iraq, Israel and the United States. Along the way we are drawn into a tale of mystery along with the pursuit of one man to keep the language of his people from slipping away unnoticed. On an academic level it’s about Jewish history in Kurdish Iraq. It’s the story of an isolated and remote part of the country that remained home to a very different kind of Jewish community for thousands of years, completely unaffected by the goings-on anywhere else. Readers will be swiftly transported into the exotic culture of the self-made mystics and gifted storytellers, humble peddlers and rugged loggers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors. They spoke Aramaic, the language of the Talmud, and traveled great distances to transport and sell goods to their neighbors. Through this lens we learn about the Jewish traditions, rituals and customs of Yona Sabar’s family. The foods they ate and celebrated with, the roles they played within their family and between families, and the stories, superstitions and tales that were told, are all unearthed and vividly described by Sabar. What are the links between these traditions and some of our own? How were the traditions of Yoni’s ancestors influenced by our Jewish texts? And how are our own traditions influenced? From a much more personal perspective it’s about the strained relationship between father and son. An immigration story that left young Ariel Sabar alienated from his father’s antiquated ways. Ariel wanted to be the cool kid from California while Yona never came close to fitting the mold of ‘The American Dad’. In his own words, he describes it as a “clash of civilizations.” At best he threw tantrums. At worst he pulled away and saw his dad from a cold distance, describing him as “the odd-looking, funny-talking man with strange grooming habits who lived with us.” The turning point was a chilly night in 2002 when Ariel looked into the eyes of his own son and wondered if the pattern would be repeated, if his son would come to distance himself from Ariel and feel too that he had nothing to offer or teach him. Ariel’s journey to learn more about his father helps to bridge that barrier. What barriers exist within our own relationships? Can Ariel’s journey teach us something about appreciation, respect and second chances? And where can we find common ground between generations of Jews? Ariel Sabar also takes the reader on a journey across oceans where Iraq, Israel and the United States become additional characters that pepper the narrative and the landscape of his family and the individuals he meets along the way. We get a very different image of Iraq than the one we see on our television screens - one where Muslims, Jews and Christians banded together to ensure prosperity and survival. In Israel (after the Jews' 1951 expulsion from Iraq) we see a place where Kurdish Jews were stereotyped as backward and simple. And in the United States we see how easy it is to become more interested in dropping your heritage than it is to retain it. What role did these locations play in shaping the Sabar family history? How have they impacted the Jewish people? And what contradictions exist between our own images and the reality that Sabar shares with us? On The Same Page invites readers to participate in the events and discussions that take place between November and January 2010. We begin with a visit by Ariel Sabar on November 19 at the Sid Jacobson JCC in East Hills for an elegant Author Breakfast. We then continue the conversation and exploration of the book’s themes across Long Island and in a variety of venues. Take the time to learn what’s happening in your own synagogue or JCC and then investigate additional venues for a deeper and richer On The Same Page community read experience! ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND DISCUSSION LEADERS: Discussion Questions appear at the back of the paperback book. Educators and book club leaders will find inspiration to lead conversations about memory and identity, Jewish tradition, Jewish history, and Jewish culture. For a pdf version of these questions, please contact scalderone@sajes.org. Click here for Quick Facts for Readers: Pulled From the Pages of My Father’s Paradise. See how much we learn about the Kurdish Jewish community of Zakho and more from Ariel’s journey. Click here for information about two books for children that complement, and connect in theme to, My Father’s Paradise. These books can prompt important conversations about the preservation of our cultural history, the value of our texts, and the birth and future of libraries and books. Click here to read Trish’s great blog about My Father’s Paradise. Each year Trish challenges her fans to a Non-Fiction 5 challenge. Sabar’s book became her favorite on the list for 2008!!!!
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