- Muḥammad Ḥasan (?, Iraq) – Hubūṭ al-Malāʾika (‘The descent of the angels’, 2013). This novel narrates the life of Khalīl, an Iraqi artist and tailor who deserts the Iraqi army and seeks refuge in Belgium. The novel depicts Khalīl’s time in Europe and as well as the flashbacks he relives of his life and friendships (reference). His friend Mālik, for example, is imprisoned after his desertion, manages to escape to Iran where he is imprisoned again, then escapes again and ends up in Pakistan, where he is arrested and sent to Iraq. In Iraq Mālik was tortured and castrated before being sent to the infamous Abū Ghraib prison (also in 1979 – 1988 Iran – Iraq War: Novels on Desertion).
- Shākir Nūrī (1959-, Iraq) – Majānīn Būkā (‘The madmen of Camp Bucca’, 2012). Based on the testimonies of camp survivors, Majānīn Būkā focuses on the US supervised detention camp ‘Camp Bucca’ (note) in the Iraqi desert. The story is narrated by a survivor who is contracted by an American film crew to make a movie about his three-year experience in the camp (reference). Among the written observations is the dividing of camp prisoners into different sectarian groups, the increased influence of radical Islam and the violence between prisoners which is encouraged by American soldiers. The novel furthermore describes the different methods of torture implemented in the camp, especially using music and the sun as mechanisms (also in 2003 – 2011 US – led Invasion of Iraq).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Ikram Masmoudi. 2015. War and Occupation in Iraqi Fiction. Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, p. 77, 185