Customer Reviews

The Demonic Comedy: Some Detours in the Baghdad of Saddam Hussein

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Earnest idealists and humorless conservatives will never get it. The book is screemingly funny, obviously written by a keen student of the tragiocomic human condition. Roberts does a fine job clubbing us over the head with the absurd realities of third world existance (and making us enjoy it), while never letting us forget the underlying human tragedy. Nothing's sacred here, not history, not his host's English skills, not the press corps, not 300 pound gay secret policeman, not George Bush, and certainly not Saddam Hussein. I particularly enjoyed Roberts' hilarious commentary on Saddam Hussein's official biography, his tripped out interview with the demonic dictator poster boy himself, and the bit where he dared the leader of Islamic Jihad to show him exactly, exactly mind you, where it says in the Koran that Israel must be destroyed. I also loved the eerily plausible conspiracy theory where George Bush orchestrated the invasion of Kuwait. On another level I cannot forget the harrowing descriptions of a clandestine trip into the heart of Bagdad in the midst of the Gulf War bombing. The book had me laughing and at the same time educated me a bit about the history of the region. I liked it immensly, but then I'm more cynical then your average third world dictator.

A savagely funny, bitingly realistic description of three visits to Iraq, before, during and after Desert Storm. Chilling in its detailed realism. Buy it! (or at least check it out at the library)

The best qualities of this book were it's humor, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and its open-minded account of the realities of life in Iraq. However, if you are offended by harsh language, by irreverence towards authority, or by cynicism, then you may not like what you read. Also, some of the funniest parts were the author's (supposedly) phonetically accurate accounts of conversations with various Arab people. While I found these very funny, I was a little concerned that they appealed to a certain stereotype. But since I don't mind when my foreign friends make fun of me, I comfort myself that I am entitled to laugh at this purported butchery of the English language (matched only by my last sentence!).

I also enjoyed the book's exploration of the causes of the Iraqi situation. As an American, I found some of the author's conclusions offensive, but overall, I thought he did a good job of extrapolating some very plausible explanations out of what seemed like a limited amount of exposure (which is still infinite compared to mine). Profound and insightful conclusions were drawn out of what were often very ordinary situations, and the whole thing was woven together with an almost total lack of pretense.

Overall, I think I came away with a better understanding of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi situation, and the similarities of human nature around the world. The humor, the realism, the disregard for authority, propaganda, and easy answers -- all of these factors made the book a pleasure to read.

Robert's gem is a rare look at a horrific world that most of us have only glimpsed behind the muted green lens of night vision camera work. Instead of the usual talking heads who have been regulated to a rooftop to photograph anti-aircraft fire, we are privy to some of the cruel and ridiculous inner workings of Iraq. Combining humor with raw fact, Roberts is also adept at giving names, and personalities to a people who usually end up as faceless statistics. Next time though, sombody better get this guy a flack vest.

If you haven't read anything yet by Paul William Roberts, it is a shame. Aside from being brilliant, hilarious, poignant, and deeply revealing, he is also a wonderful representative of Canada in all his journeys. His books are combination travelogue, deeply moving real life human drama, and historical summaries, leaving the reader feeling like he knows everything about the land and people he has just met for us. The first book I read of his was 'Empire of the Soul', a masterpiece of Indian encounters, and although I am not always interested in his subjects, I will continue to read absolutely anything he will ever produce, simply on the fact that his books are always extremely enjoyable, and teach me a lot about things I could never know. 'Demonic Comedy' will teach you more about the middle east, the gulf war, and Saddam Hussein's Iraq than if you were to read every magazine and newspaper article about them from the past decade. And, although highly articulate and factual, it never becomes stale reading. How could it, when you read about his interview with Saddam himself and the utter hilarity which brought him there? As someone extremely picky about their reading, I highly recommend Roberts for your dose of intellectual airchair travel. Never have recipients of his books been disappointed by my gifts, no matter what their taste.
Enjoy!

Roberts takes an approach to Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi political structure similar to the way Hunter S. Thompson went after Nixon. A definitive compliment. However, he wrongly treats Hussein, his secret police and military like a bunch of largely inept, malicious buffoons. This is a dangerous impression to leave the reader with. While undeniably funny and thereby enjoyable, Roberts appears to avoid taking into account Saddam's not inconsiderable intelligence. He may not have been a soldier but he is a crafty SOB, cold-hearted and utterly ruthless. The work gives a winning account of a general Arab mindset, while showing how distressingly uninformed the Iraqi people are about the world beyond their borders.

Probably the only journalist ever to have interviewed Saddam Hussein while stoned on ecstasy--Roberts, that is, not Hussein!--Roberts paints a chilling portrait of an Iraq thirty or so years into the Hussein regime. The book is very funny in parts, but there's terror behind the canvas that Roberts covers with his amusing anecdotes. I found some of the treatment spotty and some jibes needlessly cruel, but on the whole, an entertaining account.

Funny because Roberts has a strong sense of the absurd.
Interesting because he makes up his own mind about the situation in Iraq.
Flawed because he insists on spelling out every accent he hears, a device that is both condescending and tiresome. (His editor seems to have told him this, as after a few pages he makes an unconvincing claim to the effect that he is not actually laughing at the fact that non-native speakers of English don't all speak flawless English).

A wonderful mixture of history, theology, politics, human nature, travel, gallows humor and a plethora of reasons to re-examine our priorities as a nation and the official govt. party line. Certain passages were a little heady for me, but I'm no political scientist. Just buy it, you wont be sorry.

The Demonic Comedy is a series of trips through Iraq with Canadian journalist Paul Roberts. His topic is serious, but the dark humour he finds on his journeys makes this book more accessible to the jaded modern reader. Most of us don't want to read the normal, boring, and self-important [stuff] that "reporters" churn out about their days in the Inter-Continental Hotels of the world's hotspots.
I'd highly recommend his book.
The only bad things I can say is that the US and the UK still want to bomb those poor [people] that hate Saddam as much as anyone. Plus, my copy had a few print setting and typographical errors but nothing horrible.
Try to find this book!