My Father's Paradise

A Son's Search For His Family's Past

By: Ariel Sabar

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography

"Sabar offers something rare and precious - a tale of hope and continuity that can be passed on for generations." (Publishers Weekly (Starred Review))

In a remote corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an enclave of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers and humble peddlers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

Yona's son Ariel grew up in Los Angeles, where Yona had become an esteemed professor, dedicating his career to preserving his people's traditions. Ariel wanted nothing to do with his father's strange immigrant heritage - until he had a son of his own.

Ariel Sabar brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, discovering his family's place in the sweeping saga of Middle-Eastern history. This powerful book is an improbable story of tolerance and hope set in what today is the very center of the world's attention.

©2008 Ariel Sabar (P)2021 Tantor

Fantastic and interesting story:-) Glad I read it.

I couldn’t stop listening to the first third and last third of the book. So good!:-) The middle part of the book is necessary, but you don’t realize why it was so important until the end of the book. I’ll read it again someday.

The narrative is compelling, unique and yet universal for those displaced

This is the best book I’ve read in 2024. As the granddaughter of immigrants with young children of my own the pull between the past and the present is so real. The author’s storytelling is masterful. The history is fascinating. The characters are compelling. The book manages to feel light and exciting while engaging soul level pains and questions.

There are really Kurdish Jews?

I’m a lover of history & when I come across a book that covers history, & Jewish history at that, I immediately fall in love & must read it ASAP. This book is a gem. Who knew there were Jews in Kurdistan & that they had been there for thousands of years.
And this is wrapped up in the author’s (an often obnoxious California kid) obsessed pursuit of his family’s origin story from maybe 3000 years ago to the 21st century.
I highly recommend reading this book for anyone interested in history of the Jews, the Middle East, & the effects of cultural assimilation.

Great story, poorly narrated

Roughly every other Hebrew word is mispronounced (SHAB-bat, Ephra-IM) which is a shame. All the more so because this is a book about, among other things, language (Aramaic).

Excellent window into another time

Skilled writing that takes you to place and time, and makes a remarkable historical event real -it's the story of an actual “lost tribe” that found its way home. Something gained, something lost, and a new beginning.