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The Watermelon Boys
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Iraq, 1915. Ahmad leaves his family and their watermelon boats on the Tigris, believing that resistance to Ottoman rule may bring Arab independence. In Wales, teenager Carwyn Evans escapes an abusive home by enlisting in the British Army and is sent through Gallipoli and Egypt to the campaign in Mesopotamia.
Their lives intersect as British promises of liberation give way to occupation. Ahmad, Dabriya and their children endure war, hunger and political betrayal, while Carwyn confronts the racism and imperial violence within his own army. The story continues through the capture of Baghdad and the Iraqi Revolt of 1920, linking family loss and friendship to the contested creation of modern Iraq.