{"product_id":"shalash-the-iraqi-9781913505646","title":"Shalash the Iraqi","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFirst (authorized) publication (in any language) of a\u003cbr\u003ewildly popular, anonymously written serial novel that started life as a blog\u003cbr\u003eduring the US invasion of Iraq\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePopulated by a\u003cbr\u003ecast of imagined con artists, holy fools, drag queens, and partisans--as well as\u003cbr\u003esome very factual politicians, priests, and generals--this novel started life as\u003cbr\u003ea pseudonymous blog written \"live\" by \"Shalash\" during and after the Second\u003cbr\u003eIraq War. Never written to be published, all but lost save for disintegrating\u003cbr\u003eprintouts treasured by its devotees, \u003ci\u003eShalash\u003cbr\u003ethe Iraqi\u003c\/i\u003e is here presented in its first authorized translation, with the\u003cbr\u003eblessing and commentary of \"Shalash\" himself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe second U.S. invasion of Iraq began in the spring of 2003. By the\u003cbr\u003eautumn of 2005, though the Saddam Hussein regime had reached its bloody end, \u003cbr\u003eordinary Iraqis were seeing little improvement in their daily lives. Their\u003cbr\u003ecountry was \"free,\" but to many it seemed free mainly to become a mire of\u003cbr\u003esectarian violence, corruption, confusion, and fear. In the midst of this\u003cbr\u003eturmoil, a hero arose--or, rather, a jester. In a country where electricity was\u003cbr\u003eonly intermittently available, a series of blog posts began to appear at a\u003cbr\u003esoon-to-be-defunct website and took Baghdad by storm. Individual entries were\u003cbr\u003eprinted out and passed around for months, until the pages were nearly shredded.\u003cbr\u003eWhere neither computers nor printers were available, the posts were retold\u003cbr\u003ealoud, then passed along at second- and third-hand. What could inspire such\u003cbr\u003edevotion? Signed \"Shalash the Iraqi,\" the posts proved to be nothing less than\u003cbr\u003eportions of a madcap serial novel thumbing its nose at Iraq's new normal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom drunken\u003cbr\u003emonologues to prayers, from poetry to dirty jokes, from fairy tales and folk\u003cbr\u003estories to pratfall humor, this novel delights readers and sheds light on Iraq\u003cbr\u003ein equal measure. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLuke Leafgren is an Assistant Dean of Harvard College. He has published five translations of Arabic novels and received the 2018 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation for his English edition of Muhsin Al-Ramli's \u003ci\u003eThe President's Gardens\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"And Other Stories","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50568293089554,"sku":"9781913505646","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_70d0ea07-040e-4e21-b955-10025da08cdb.jpg?v=1731941513","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/shalash-the-iraqi-9781913505646","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}