The Sirens of Baghdad

Along with Swallows of Kabul and The Attack, this forms a trilogy of short novels dealing with two important themes. First, there is the destruction, physical and otherwise, caused by Islamic extremism. But at the same time, the author presents a strongly critical view of the Western/Israeli response to same-- in his view, equally destructive.

Mohammed Moulessehoul, who writes as Yasmina Khadra, is a former officer of the Algerian army, an army that for the better part of the last two decades has primarily involved itself with fighting several well organized terrorist organizations within Algeria’s borders. Some critics, including many Algerians, have accused the army of being as bad as the terrorists it professes to fight, labeling it little more than the government’s own band of terrorists. Whatever the case may be, Khadra’s experience certainly places him in the position to offer insights into the minds of those who dedicate their lives to the destruction of the West and everything for which it stands.

The Sirens of Baghdad, originally published in France, is the show more story one young Iraqi university student (the book’s narrator) who is almost accidentally transformed overnight from a peacefully ambitious young man seeking to honor his family by his educational achievements into a human weapon of mass destruction. When the American invasion of Iraq reached Baghdad, this nameless student was forced to return to his remote desert village, Kafr Karam, to wait for a time that would allow him to return to his studies. His home is so remotely located that for a time he and the rest of those in the village were hardly touched by the war being waged in their country.

But, of course, time would bring the war even to a village as remote as his, and direct contact with the violence of war turned him into someone convinced that there was only one worthy goal left to him in his lifetime: revenge on the people who destroyed his way of life and, most importantly, dishonored his family in perhaps the worst way imaginable to an Iraqi Bedouin like him.

First he was stunned to witness the shooting of a retarded villager by American troops who mistakenly believed the man to be trying to escape from them at a roadblock. Only a few days later, even before he could recover from the shock of that death, an American missile struck a nearby wedding celebration, killing a number of women and children. But those events alone were not enough to turn him from student to avowed terrorist.

He reached his own personal tipping point when American troops searched his home and, in the process, almost inadvertently managed to dishonor and disgrace his family by the way they treated his father. The former student knew that revenge for a disgrace of this magnitude required blood to be spilled, and he immediately walked out of his village and made his way back to Baghdad so that he could spill as much American blood as possible.

As the narrator tries to connect with terrorist organizers who can use his willingness to die for the cause to their advantage, The Sirens of Baghdad describes life in occupied Baghdad through the eyes of others like him, men and women whose only purpose in life has become to maim and kill as many Westerners as possible before they die in the effort. What Khadra describes is a vivid portrayal of the dangers, intrigues and frustrations faced by American and Iraqi soldiers and those working with them to stabilize the country.

Although Yasmina Khadra does not attempt to justify what either side in Iraq is doing, he does tell his story only from the Iraqi point-of-view despite occasionally pointing out that American soldiers often insult Iraqi customs and cultural expectations more from ignorance of the culture than from spite or anger. Books like this one offer Western readers a rare opportunity to get inside the heads of those who live only to see our culture destroyed and, despite its relatively weak ending, this is a book that has much to offer to anyone struggling to understand the mindset of those so willing to blow themselves up simply to take a few Westerners with them.

Rated at: 4.0 show less

Nice and entertaining read, but I wasn't all that much impressed at the ending. The book builds up anger, depression and hate over almost two hundred pages, resulting in an overdetermined protagonist with a Cause. And then it only takes one newly introduced character, one deus-ex-machina, to sow a seed to turn it all around in a matter of only a few pages. That made the main story line not very credible to me.

« Le coup parti, le sort en fut jeté. Mon père tomba à la renverse, son misérable tricot sur la figure, le ventre décharné, fripé, grisâtre comme celui d'un poisson crevé. et je vis, tandis que l'honneur de la famille se répandait par terre, je vis ce qu'il ne me fallait surtout pas voir, ce qu'un fils digne, respectable, ce qu'un Bédouin authentique ne doit jamais voir – cette chose ramolie, repoussante, avissante; ce territoire interdit, tu, sacrilège: le pénis de mon père. Le bout du rouleau ! Après cela, il n'y a rien, un vide infini, une chute interminable, le néant. »

Connu et salué dans le monde entier Yasmina Khadra explore inlassablement L'histoire contemporaine en militant pour Le triomphe de l'humanisme. show more Après Les Hirondelles de Kaboul (Afghanistan) et L'Attentat (Israël ; Prix des libraires 2006) Les Sirènes de Bagdad (Irak) est le troisième volet de la trilogie que l'auteur consacre au dialogue de sourds opposant l'orient et l'occident. Ce roman situe clairement l'origine de ce malentendu dans les mentalités. show less

The Sirens of Baghdad is truly an eye-opener, provided us with an insight and perspective on the war and the people who directly involved in the war itself. The story was told from the point of view of a young Iraqis and took place during the invasion of US army in Iraq after the tragedy of September 11. He experienced all the damages including the emotional damage due to the cruelty of the war. This is a well crafted story with full of emotions, disappointments, sadness, anger and resentment. Yasmina Khadra did such a brilliant job in writing such a sensitive issue like this. He didn't put the blame on any party, but rather he gave us the details about how the conflict arose and why it happened in the first place. So, when you closed show more the book you'll be thinking in different way from when you first opened the book.

The first part of the book was taken place in Kafr Karam, somewhere in Iraq, which is the village of the main character. A series of regretful events occurred before his own eyes. His friends got killed unreasonably, and his family was assaulted by the enemy resulting his father got killed brutally with no pity at all. These events leave a deep wound in his heart and it won't be healed over time. He sought for a better life and left Kafr Karam to Baghdad, with the hope that life would be better. But, thing didn't happened as he expected.The situation worsen and his wound became deeper. The war have turned the society into chaos, the place once was beautiful turned into a rotten and disgusting place. So, this man loathed the West so much and sought for revenge. Then, his only aim was to destroy the enemy and to make them feel what he and his people feel. SUFFER. So, then he went to Beirut to be injected with a powerful weapon, "the virus" and his mission is to bring the virus to the enemy territory and infect as many people as possible, innocent or guilty both will be punished. It scared me a lot.

All in all, The Sirens of Baghdad was a gripping story with full of regretful events which slap you hard on your face so that you'll wake up from your deep sleep. Yasmina Khadra crafted the story beautifully with the strong characters and breathtaking storyline. But, the only irritating thing about this book is, you don't know what is the name of the main character, because it never once mentioned in the story. The rest is great! Well, I'm so grateful that I'm living in peace here in Malaysia, without fear to go to university, to sleep on bed, and to write this review. *smile

Favourite Quotes
The imam concluded his lesson by saying, "It's not a question of washing your bodies, but your souls, young men. If you're rotten inside, neither rivers no oceans will suffice to make you clean." pg. 37

Life's nothing but an insane gamble; it's the way you die that determines whether or not you win the bet. That's how legends are born. pg. 269 show less

A mixed bag, really. At times it was very gripping, and some of the settings are vivid and politically powerful, but at the end of the day, I never really believed in the characters, who seemed pale shadows of real people - including the protagonist, who was too much a mixture of independent intelligence and conformistic sheep.

A novel about an Iraqi wanna-be suicide bomber. Paper-thin characterizations, a (surprisingly) boring plot, and one giant,ridiculous, Deus ex machina ruin what should have been a good read. Read for school, as a lead-in to the topic of terrorism. So, I guess it served its purpose. Awful book though. Looking for a better read on Islamism/the Middle East: try No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes, by Anand Gopal.