Harare Review of Books

274 pages.

First published November 2, 2023 (Comma Press).

Speculative Fiction.

I enjoy being taken to new places through the imagination of cultures other than my own, and there are few better ways than through speculative fiction. Kurdistan + 100 collects stories from twelve Kurdish writers dreaming about their nation 100 years after their self-governing Republic of Mahabad, that lasted from January 22 to December 15, 1946. Kurdistan is currently broken up across four regions, in present day Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. But the people continue to be united by one vision: that of coming together to become one country again. And that’s mostly what this collection is about.

There are necessarily speculative elements in these stories: they are set in the future (2046), and the “What If” of a Kurdish Republic is at their heart. So there are driverless cars, and robots. But conflict and war have been part of the Kurdish experience, and feature in these stories too. Even so, these are stories about people: their memories, their home, and their longings. There’s love, and hope, and fear, and joy.

I mainly recommend this book for giving voice to the Kurdish people; you can hear in it from them about what they want, and dream, and what they’ve lived through. Here’s their voice; our job is to listen.

Many thanks to George Forster and Comma Press for a DRC.

You can order it from Comma Press here.