The Wolf of Baghdad, by Carol Isaacs

I cannot recommend this graphic novel / memoir enough! It is about the author reflecting on her family’s history in Iraq, where her ancestors lived for so many years. The novel is beautifully illustrated, and has very few words throughout the whole book. It tells a story of an important part of Iraq’s history, and the author imagines herself walking through the streets of a place that she has never visited, yet feels such a strong connection to it. Her family were Jewish, and faced horrific discrimination and anti-semitism which was fuelled by Nazi ideology and Arab Nationalism during WWII, and they had to flee with no possessions, no money, and start from scratch in the UK. By the 1960’s, nearly all the Jews in Iraq had fled, and there are believed to be only around 5 Jews living there today.

How accessible is it?

There are very few words in this book, lots of images, and I think it is very accessible.