The Good, the Bad and the Gringo

Description

Finding solace from Saddam’s terror in the world of cinema.

“Each page is more intriguing than the previous one”

At the age of ten, Merywan Rashaba’s life is shattered when the local Mullah declares him a neuter, neither a boy nor a girl, and therefore a doomed child. Merywan is terrified. If his father gets to know about his gender ambiguity, he will put a knife to his throat. Growing up as a Kurd in Saddam’s Iraq, he feels he doesn’t belong to this twisted society, but finds inspiration and comfort in the magic world of cinema. He secretly writes letters to his hero, Clint Eastwood, whom he calls Gringo, begging him to help him escape to America. As his plans are disrupted, Merywan is drawn deeper into a dark roller-coaster ride of savagery, passion, betrayal and heroism, which makes the movies he adores almost seem trivial by comparison.

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Endorsements:

“The Good, the Bad and the Gringo presents the story of individuals in dilemmas, who try to shape their own destiny, despite the harsh realities that surround them.
The story flows with fluent and enthusiastic language, reflecting the mood of the protagonist. Each page is more intriguing than the previous one and moves with an increasingly intense pace. Kae Bahar has a unique pen to picture the suffering and the hopes of people.”

Burhan Sönmez, novelist, President of PEN International, author of Istanbul Istanbul and Labyrinth

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“Kae Bahar’s protagonist, Merywan, is one of the most remarkable in contemporary fiction. Persecuted and abused as a ‘boygirl’ in Kurdistan, his personal trials are soon subsumed in a titanic war for independence, the only light in the darkness his correspondence with his hero Clint Eastwood, who he dreams of joining in America. In equal parts a hymn to personal resilience, a call for justice for the Kurdish people and a celebration of the magical, border-defying powers of cinema, The Good, the Bad and the Gringo is unmissable.”

James Attlee, author of Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey

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The Good, the Bad, and the Gringo is a brilliant, touching and eye-opening, beautifully written novel. I was immersed in Merywan’s struggle for survival in the harsh realities of 1980s Iraqi Kurdistan from start to end – a must-read for all

Nahro Zagros, Editor-in-Chief of Kurdistan Chronicle

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“It makes me laugh out loud and gasp in horror, too. I think it’s really, really special and I feel very excited about it and honoured to read it.”

Barbara Marsh, writer, poet and musician, author of To the Boneyard and Mr Ferndean Takes Stock

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“Intriguing and informative, a page-turner, very absorbing, and difficult to put down.”

Audrey Swindells, MBE

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