KHADRA, YASMINA. THE SIRENS OF BAGHDAD

The author is an Algerian male living in France and he does not write pot-boilers. He writes with distinction about a number of issues thrown up by American occupation of Iraq. Rural life during and after; irrational military behaviour; civilian suffering; the need for revenge; the chaos of urban life; the different forms of coping and resistance; betrayal and retribution; the killing of fellow Iraqis; hatred of the West. In a world full of inconsequential fiction, here is a novel that manages to get inside every facet of imperial occupation of a Muslim country. Rating: Excellent.