Description
Book SynopsisPluralism in the Iraqi Novel is about the use of literature and the novel to express the new content of an Iraqi national identity constructed after the American invasion of 2003. Instead of the homogenizing national identity in Iraqi literature created before 2003, postoccupation literature presents Iraqi society as a kaleidoscope of multiple religious identities converging in an accommodating Iraqi national identity. The author argues that this could not have happened without the upheaval of 2003 and its consequent results: democracy and political restructuring that incorporated Shia for the first time into the ruling political coalition in recognition of their numerical majority. Literature was consequential to processing the complicated subject of Shia-Sunni relations and the sectarian identity of each and, even more, in the wake of the geopolitical events of 2003, literature was instrument in bringing representation of the Kurds, the small minorities, and even the last Jews of Ira
Trade ReviewRonen Zeidel’s excellent book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the history of modern Iraq, in post-dictatorship societies, especially those that had been afflicted for generations by malignant ethno-religious conflict. The book is also inspiring for those who are looking for a ray of hope. Zeidel shows how, almost over-night after 2003, Iraqi culture began to celebrate diversity and pluralism rather than suppressing it as was the case before the downfall of the Ba’th regime. The book shows how culture and particularly the novel became a tool for repairing the wrongs of past nation building attempts, and the vehicles for formulating a more inclusive national Iraqi identity. Zeidel covers a remarkably wide horizon of production mainly of young novelists and his analysis is an eye-opener. -- Amatzia Baram, University of Haifa
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1: The Shīʿa in Iraqi Novels Chapter 2: Sunnis and Novels in Iraq Chapter 3: The Iraqi Novel and the Kurds Chapter 4: The Iraqi Novel and the Christians of Iraq Chapter 5: Gypsies in the Iraqi Novel: Between Marginality, Folklore and Romanticism Chapter 6: On the Last Jews of Iraq and Iraqi National Identity: A Look at Two Recent Iraqi Novels Conclusion: From Self Identity to Pluralism Index Bibliography About the Author
