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The Weight of a Mustard Seed

The Weight of a Mustard Seed

by Wendell Steavenson (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2010

    $3.25
Synopsis

This is the account of one family's struggle to survive the iniquities of Saddam Hussein's savage dictatorship. A proud man, father and soldier struggles to protect himself, and his family, from tyranny.

LONGLISTED FOR DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2010

In The Weight of a Mustard Seed, Wendell Steavenson tells the true story of General Kamel Sachet, a decorated hero of the long Iran-Iraq war and a favourite of Saddam Hussein's. As Steavenson reveals the emotional and psychological scars the Sachet family suffer as a result of decades spent living with war and repression, she reaches towards the heart of a previously unspoken story of Iraq: a once prosperous nation, reduced by Hussein's megalomania and paranoia to bankruptcy, corruption and impotence. The result is an intimate, startling and gripping account of the slow destruction of Sachet, his family and his country. Reminiscent in part of Stasiland and The Bookseller of Kabul, it is a career-defining book for Wendell Steavenson.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 320
 Edition: Main - Print on Demand
 Publisher: Atlantic Books
Published: 01 Feb 2010
ISBN 10: 1843543060
ISBN 13: 9781843543060
Book Overview: If you are unable to protect yourself from a tyrant, how can you protect your family? And how does a proud man live with that knowledge? Reminiscent in part of Stasiland and The Bookseller of Kabul, this is the story of one family's struggle to survive the iniquities of Saddam Hussein's savage dictatorship. It is a career-defining book for Wendell Steavenson.

Media Reviews
'An impressive feat of research, reconstruction and above all empathy, a book with a strong echo of Stasiland... Riveting and profoundly sad.' Guardian 'Unlike any other book on Iraq... Far more chilling than all the blood-and-guts accounts so far published, Steavenson's book should be a must-read on Iraq.' Christina Lamb, Sunday Times 'Steavenson is one of the most exciting non-fiction writers of her generation... Her account, pieced together in the aftermath of the Iraqi war, is ambiguous and recognisably human, written with an eye for the small, compelling detail.' Peter Beaumont, Observer 'An extraordinary book about some of those who served, fought for and killed for Saddam Hussein...Steavenson is an incomparable collector and arranger of stories.' Neal Ascherson, Prospect 'A masterly and elegantly told story that weaves together the Iraqi past and present.' New York Times
Author Bio
Wendell Steavenson is the author of the acclaimed Stories I Stole (Atlantic Books, 2002), which was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. She has worked for Time and written for a variety of publications including the Telegraph, Granta, Prospect and the New Yorker. She lives in Paris.