Kanan Makiya

Explores the connection between art and totalitarianism, using Saddam Hussein's "Victory Arch" in Baghdad as a starting point for a discussion on how dictators use art to legitimize their regimes.

In Baghdad, an enormous monument nearly twice the size of the Arc de Triomphe towers over the city. Two huge forearms emerge from the ground, clutching two swords that clash overhead. Those arms are enlarged casts of those of Saddam Hussein, showing every bump and follicle. The 'Victory Arch' celebrates a victory over Iran (in their 8-year long war) that never happened. 'The Monument' is a study of the interplay between art and politics - of how culture, normally an unquestioned good, can play into the hands of power with devastating effects. Kanan Makiya uses the culture invented… (meer)

The Rope has turned out to be the kind of book I'll recommend that people read even if I didn't love it. It begins with a deeply disturbing, masterfully written scene of the execution of Saddam Hussein, then backtracks to give perspective on Iraq just after the US invaded and Saddam went into hiding. The novel has a lot to say about competing identities--what it means to identify as Iraqi, Baathist, Sunni or Shia, Pan-Arab, patriot, family member, and citizen of an occupied country. The way these loyalties shift and compete is the heart of this novel.

For my taste the writing trends toward overwrought, an easy mistake to make with this kind of material, except for the first scene which is very stripped down and works because of it. Another issue is that there is a lot of expository writing here--which is fair, given that Makiya's English-language version is for people not familiar with the facts on the ground--but the explaining sometimes got in the way of the storytelling and it made me wonder if the Arabic language version (the novel was published simultaneously in both languages) has less exposition.

I'm very glad to have read this novel in spite of my criticism. It's good to be reminded of what happened, to not forget the many disasters large and small that made up the Iraqi experience in these years.… (meer)