Sweet Dates in Basra

Jiji, Jessica.  Sweet dates in Basra. New York : Harper Collins, 2010.

This story is set in the tumultuous years of the Second World War in Iraq.  Kathmiya is a young Marsh Arab, living in a village of Iraq who is sent by her family to work as a servant girl in the unfamiliar city of Basra. 
Kathmiya meets Shafiq, a young Iraqi Jewish boy, her mistress’s younger brother and although the attraction between Kathimiya and Shafiq is mutal, there is a massive cultural divide between this Iraqi Jewish family and her identity as a Marsh Arab.
This  novel brings together the conflict and violence between Jews and Muslims as  Hilter's shadow falls across the country.  It is a vibrant read and evokes 1940's Iraq.