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| Iraq |
| Saddam the Author a Myth, Works Penned by Others |
| 2003-06-11 |
| Jeez, ya don't say?! Next you'll be telling me Kim Jong Il's not an expert at all that stuff that KCNA says he's an expert at. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein not only ended the Iraqi leader's political career but snuffed out his literary aspirations as well. Saddam's last novel -- "Get out of here, curse you!" -- was about to go on sale when U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq on March 20. It never saw the light of day. Look for Tim Robbins and Sean Penn to get in a bidding war for the movie rights. Catchy title, famous author? Box office dynamite! "This was his fourth book. It was written sometime in 2002," said Ali Abdel-Amir, a writer who has analyzed Saddam's books. But Abdel-Amir said Saddam did not write the books himself but got a committee from the Information and Culture Ministry to do it for him."Saddam would record the outlines of his novel on a tape recorder and palace employees would transcribe it and give it to the committee, whose members included a number of writers and intellectuals," Abdel-Amir said. Sounds just like the New York Times. "They would write the novel and return it to Saddam. It would go back and forth until the novel got his approval." Run with it! Toodles!...Howell Signed "a book by its writer," Saddam's nom de plume, his latest novel was stored in the Information Ministry ready for distribution but then war began. Only a few copies survived U.S. bombs and Iraqi looters, and one was obtained by Reuters. Maybe we can get Harry Pinter one. He could turn it into some kind of mind numbing antiwar play. His first book was a novel called "Zabiba and the King," which sold well in 2000 and was later made into a musical. I'm sure it got glowing reviews... or else. Saddam's autobiography is entitled "Men and a city." I don't know, Sammy. Sounds too... gay. Despite the large team working on the novels, Abdel-Aziz said, they were not literary masterpieces. "I found that Saddam's books showed he had a deep sense of individualism, he used stereotypes, was shallow. Women were always unfaithful and were either Kurds or Iranians," he said. I'm sure you mentioned this critique to him when he was alive and/or in power, right? Suuuuuuure you did. His latest book is heavily allegorical and tells the story of Salem, a noble Arab tribesman who represents righteousness and Arab nationalism, and defeats his American and Jewish enemies. So we know it's a novel. He should've called our hero "Newport" or "Kool". Might help grab the American audience. "Saddam of course is Salem," Abdel-Amir told Reuters.The tale describes how Salem unites divided Arab tribes in Iraq to defeat Hisquel, a foreign intruder who represents greed, evil, and filth but who is extremely attractive to women. "Hi, baby. I represent greed, evil, and filth." "Ohhhhhh, Hisquel! You irresistable disgusting bastard! Take me now!" So if Sean don't get the rights, he could still get the Hisquel role? Sounds like a natural for him. "Saddam presents the Jews in his novel as this foreign intruder under the name of Hisquel. Hisquel's ally, a Roman tribe leader, is the United States. Of course Salem defeats them soundly in a battle between good and evil," Abdel-Amir said. He said the description of Salem's victory was meant to echo the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Oooooh, heavy symbolism. Are there any rap stars in it? Or super models? How about dead dictators and their psychopathic sons? The destruction of the United States and Israel came with the burning of two towers by Salem's men and then the collapse of the towers that represent the two states' wealth and power. "Here, Saddam imports the pictures of the suicide attacks on New York's World Trade Center buildings and the collapse of the two towers," Abdel-Amir said. Looks like things worked out a little different, eh, Sammy? Too bad, so sad. Saddam's last novel shows his skewed depiction of women, limiting their role to satisfying men's sexual desires, and portraying them as deceptive, either cheating on their husbands or harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Got/ had some issues dealing with women, do/ did you Sammy??? Why don't/ didn't you ask Uday for some tips on scoring with the chicks? I sure he has/had some great pickup lines, all ending with "... or I'll kill you and your family and everyone who lives on your street!" The poor quality of the books did not prevent hundreds of Iraqi newspaper and magazine articles praising them in glowing terms. "Writers did not dare do otherwise," Abdel-Amir said. "Who would dare criticize his work and stay alive?" You sure as shit didn't... The final draft of Saddam's first novel, "Zabiba and the King," was penned by the writer Sami Mohammad, who months later died in mysterious circumstances, Abdel-Amir said. Yeah, he accidently fell in the Eurphrates with a Buick tied around his neck. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #2 Sounds a lot like how a junior senator from New York writes her books. "Men and a City", "It Takes a Village", men's sexual desires, cheating, harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Humm, has anyone ever seen the two of them at the same time? |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-06-11 16:41:15 |
| #1 Sounds a lot like how a junior senator from New York writes her books. "Men and a City", "It Takes a Village", men's sexual desires, cheating, harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Humm, has anyone ever seen the two of them at the same time? |
| Posted by: Steve 6/11/2003 4:41:15 PM |