Babylon, Albion - by Dalia Al-Dujaili (Hardcover)

About the Book

A lyrical inquiry into how identity is informed by the natural world.

Book Synopsis

Whoever said nature is still has not borne witness to the migration of the seasons.

In this lyrical enquiry, Dalia Al-Dujaili considers what it means to belong in your land. She traces the rich heritage of the earth beneath our feet and the wildlife that call it home - from the oak tree and date palm to fairytale creatures, such as dragons, unicorns and the ancient Lamassu. Weaving together Arab and Islamic mythology with the English and Christian pastoral, Al-Dujaili unmasks the communal lush, familiar and, at times, dark places we share.

A love song to Britain, Iraq and the body of earth we hold in common, Babylon, Albion is a compelling re-imagining of what it means to be native.

Review Quotes

'Stunning. Babylon, Albion hauntingly captures the tension of belonging and exile, the quiet grief of in-between-ness with exquisite precision.' --Alya Mooro

'It feels impossible to put this book into such small words. Babylon, Albion is gentle and generous, tough and tactile. Absolutely beautiful.' --Rene Matic

'This masterful interpretation of the migrant's predicament is both unique and universal. Like the young oaks she writes about, Dujaili offers something ancient but also something new. The result is a powerful ode to our collective ancestors, east and west, and to the future.' --Sundus Abdul Hadi

'As someone who was born in Iraq and raised in England, Babylon, Albion felt like coming home to both. It took me on an emotional journey that felt incredibly personal, forcing me to connect with feelings and memories I tucked far away. Beautiful.' --Hind Hassan

'An essayistic meditation on what it means to be native to a land ... undergirded by rigorous research, personal wisdom and descriptive prose.' ★★★★ --The Skinny

'Through her lyrical prose, Dalia creates a work that feels both personal and universal, while raising important questions ... striking.' --The New Arab

'An impassioned love letter ... a lush, lyrical reminder that our cultural, ancestral and ecological roots are never static but are reaching and entwining across borders.' --Dazed

'A genre-defying debut that blends memoir, mythology, ecological essay, cultural history, and folktale. It is a love letter to land, ancestry, and the in-between places where language, memory, and myth intersect ... a text that feels radical in its gentleness.' Savoir Flair

'A fascinating mash-up of pastoral and personal history with an interrogation of empire and nationalism, that manages to convey wonder and hope even as it sketches out man's brutality to man and to the natural world.' Bookmunch

'You'll emerge from Al-Dujaili's book with a renewed sense of connectedness to the natural world and wherever it is you call home.' --VOGUE Arabia

'Stunning ... the writing [is] exquisite.' --Stylist

'This book is a reminder of what we are always aiming for, and how beautiful this world can be. Al-Dujaili has a writer's gift for weaving, for making life simultaneously legible and mysterious.' --Olivia Sudjic

About the Author

Dalia Al-Dujaili is an Iraqi-British writer, editor and
producer based in London. She tells stories from the SWANA region and diaspora
and reports on community-led stories from the margins. Her writing has appeared
in The Guardian, Huck, The New Arab among others. Dalia is the Digital
Editor of AZEEMA Magazine and the founder of The Road to
Nowhere magazine. She has worked with migrant charities including Paper
Airplanes, Restless Beings, Counterpoints, Gaza Library, the IRC and The
Migrant Rights Network. In 2023 she was the Producer of Refugee Week. Dalia
holds a first-class degree in English Literature from the University of
Edinburgh.