- Saddam Hussein's novels
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Saddam Hussein, the late President of Iraq, wrote four novels, and a number of poems. All of his works were published under the pen-name 'the author'[citation needed].
Contents
Zabibah and the King
Main article: Zabibah and the KingZabibah and the King (زبيبة والملك , or Zabibah wal-Malik), written in 2000, is a novel that the CIA believes was written by Saddam Hussein, probably with the help of some ghostwriters.[1] The plot is a love story about a powerful ruler of medieval Iraq and a beautiful commoner girl named Zabibah. Zabibah's husband is a cruel and unloving man who rapes her, which has been interpreted as an allegory of the 'rape' of Iraq by US forces.[1] The book is set in 7th or 8th century Tikrit, Hussein's home town. The book is to be the subject of a Hollywood adaptation starring Sacha Baron Cohen.[1]
- Zabiba and the King: By its Author Saddam Hussein, Robert Lawrence (Editor), May 2004, Virtualbookworm.com Publishing: ISBN 1-58939-585-9 , 204 pgs.
The Fortified Castle
Main article: The Fortified CastleThe Fortified Castle, ("Al-Qala-ah Al-Hasinah") is a 713-page novel published in 2001.[2] It is another allegorical work. It concerns the delayed wedding of the Iraqi hero, who fought in the war against Iran, to a Kurdish girl.
There are three characters: the two brothers Sabah and Mahmud, from rural area from the west bank of the Tigris River who come from a farming family, and a young woman Shatrin from Suleimaniya. They all go into the same university in Baghdad.
Sabah is a war hero from the days of the Battle of New Qadisiyya (Iran-Iraq war), during which he was wounded in the leg and taken prisoner of war in Iran, from which he finally manage to escape with a few friends.
The power of the "fortified castle" (a reference to Iraq) lies in its unity; despite proposals to divide the property, the hero's mother refuses. She also states that it cannot be purchased with money: "Only those who give it their blood and defend it are its rightful owners."[2]
Men and the City
Main article: Men and the CityMen and the City concerns the rise of the Ba'ath party in Tikrit.
Begone, Demons
Main article: Begone, DemonsBegone, Demons, also translated as Get Out You Damned, or Get Out of Here, Curse You! is Saddam Hussein's fourth and last novel, allegedly finished the day before U.S forces invaded.[3] The novel describes, through biblical metaphor, a Zionist-Christian conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims. An Arab army eventually thwarts the conspiracy by invading their enemy's land and destroying two massive towers, as a reference to the September 11 Attacks.[3] The characters include the narrator, Abraham, named for the patriarch in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, and his grandchildren, three cousins named Ezekiel, Youssef and Mahmoud, who represent Jews, Christians and Muslims respectively.
The book was published in Tokyo by a Japanese publisher, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, in 2006 under the title Devil's Dance. A total of eight thousand copies were printed of the 256-page novel.
It was translated into Turkish by Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.[4]
Raghad Hussein had tried to publish the novel in Jordan, and planned to print 100 thousand copies, until the government prevented the publication.[5] It has not been translated or sold in any other languages.
See also
References
- ^ a b Brooks, Xan (20 January 2010). "Sacha Baron Cohen to star in film of Saddam Hussein novel". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/20/sacha-baron-cohen-saddam-hussein-novel. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ "BBC News". BBC News Online. 2001-12-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1721628.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Pipes, Daniel. "Saddam the Novelist :: Daniel Pipes". http://www.danielpipes.org/1947/saddam-the-novelist. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "NorthJersey.com: Wife calls CIA bomber martyr". Herald News. http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/80976732_Wife_calls_CIA_bomber_martyr.html. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Un roman de Saddam Hussein publié au Japon - Version imprimable - Divertissement - maghrebin". http://www.maghrebin.net/news-print.storyid-4428.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
Sources
- Pipes, Daniel. "Saddam the Novelist."
- BBC: 'Saddam novel' on sale in Tokyo
- Middle East Media Research Institute: Special Dispatch Series No. 509
External links
Saddam Hussein Biography - Human rights record
- Relations with the United States
- Relationship with Al-Qaeda (timeline)
- Rumours of death
- Alleged shredder
- Capture
- Interrogation
- Trial
- Execution
Books - Zabibah and the King
- The Fortified Castle
- Men and the City
- Begone, Demons
Family - Father: Hussein 'Abid al-Majid
- Mother: Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat
- Wives: Sajida Talfah, and Samira Shahbandar
- Uncle and Father-in-Law: Khairallah Talfah
- Sons: Uday, Qusay, and Ali
- Daughters: Rana, Raghad, and Hala
- Wikimedia:
Wiktionary
Wikibooks
Wikiquote
Wikisource
Commons
Wikinews
Wikibook
Category
Categories:- Saddam Hussein
- Iraqi novels
- Lists of novels
- Novels set in Iraq
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