Review: The Ministry of Culture

June 2, 2007

The Ministry of Culture: A Novel, by James P. Mullaney.
[rating:5/5]

Mullaney’s book follows a few characters (mainly a journalist and an artist) through 1984 Iraq, then under the control of Saddam Hussein and at war with Iran. He captures the mechanics of the police state:

Ibrahim noticed the line of sweat creasing Jazeri’s brow. Despite the dputy minister’s visible warmth, he still wore the full green uniform of the elite Republican Army. Ibrahmi wondered about the reasons behind the formal dress. And why the three-policemen escort?

Jazeri took a crisp white handkerchief with a picture of the Iraqi presiden embroidered in the silk from out of his front pocket and wiped down his forehead. He quickly motioned the other men out of the apartment and abruptly closed the door behind them. Then Jazeri turned to Ibrahim with a disarmingly paternal smile, and after an intentional pause he began to yell abusively at him, spewing forth a stream of curses and demeaning phrases in Arabic. The deputy minister of information walked over to where Ibrahim was sitting and placed his hands affectionately on his shoulders. His face had grown bright red with his continuous ranting, and for a moment Ibrahim thought the man might pass out for lack of breath. Jazeri motioned his eyes toward the closed door and the soldiers waiting behind it, and Ibrahim understood that there was some underlying purpose behind Jazeri’s manipulations; something in Jazeri’s smile that contrasted with the man’s tone and language. He continued to curse at Ibrahim, and at one point he furiously slammed his fist down upon the dresser top. Jazeri then produced a thick manila packet from inside his khaki jacket and tossed it onto the floor in front of him. Ibrahim stared at the package on the floor and noticed the inch-long scuff marks stretched across Jazeri’s leather shoes. With his foot, Jazeri pushed the manilla packet underneath the table next to Ibrahim. He pause for a moment to catch his breath, an awkward silence now taking place of the abuse. After a few moments when his breathing had settled, Jazeri’s face hardened and he regained his sense of composure.

And we get a look at the Iran-Iraq war:

Men curse loudly and the boys moan to themselves; a few curse the ayatollah. The man whose shirt had caught fire is lying outside the trench, propped up against a car tire and sipping slowly from a water canteen he also periodically runs over the length of his back. The area east of us is now clear, but there is a change in the air; the same kind of change noticed when a stranger first enters a room but you do not yet see him.

And then I do see them. Hundreds of Iranian children, boys and girls- some of them even holding hands- walking in rows toward us. The smoke clouds part before them, and as the children move closer, I can see the ropes attached to their legs, binding them to each other to prevent their desertion.

The Ministry of Culture: A Novel, by James P. Mullaney.
[rating:5/5]

Posted by trent | Filed Under Reviews, The Best (no longer updated) 

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