Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
by Jennifer Roy
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Pub Date 6 Sep 2018 | Archive Date 7 Sep 2018
Oneworld Publications | Rock the Boat
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Description
Video game villains and real-life dictators dominate daily life for eleven-year-old Ali
Ali Fadhil has very simple likes and dislikes. It is 1991 in Iraq and all Ali wants to do is read his comics and play football and video games. But President Saddam Hussein has other plans. After he invades neighbouring Kuwait, the U.S. and their allies launch Operation Desert Storm to force him out. Over the next forty-three days, Ali and his family would survive bombings, food shortages and constant fear.
Cinematic and timely, this is the story of how war changed one boy's destiny forever and would one day bring him face to face with Saddam himself at the UN trial.
Advance Praise
'Ali's narrative voice captures the tension of a boy who is young enough to cry when his mother burns a comic book to cook their rice and old enough to comprehend the absurdity of Americans dubbing the nightly bombing "the video game war." A disturbing but accessible portrait of a civilian child's perspective on war.'
'This blending of biography, historical fiction, and realistic fiction paints a vivid portrait of daily family life in Iraq and the trials many faced. A good choice for most middle grade shelves.'
'What strikes are the mundane aspects of the brief war: going out to play and explore a familiar but ruined neighbourhood, the boredom and fear of awaiting scheduled airstrikes, living with uncertainty about loved ones returning home. Still, there's room for optimism and humour despite Fadhil's harrowing experience.'
'This slightly fictionalized biography of a half-Kurdish boy growing up in Saddam Hussein's Iraq during Operation Desert Storm is riveting. The book is full of homey details of a family simply trying to outlive and out-wait the madness of war, the bizarre behavior of a narcissistic dictator, and the fact that their home in Basra is situated right between Hussein's capital city of Baghdad and Kuwait — the small oil-rich country he has invaded. History in a nutshell.'
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781786074669 |
| PRICE | £6.99 (GBP) |
Featured Reviews
Laura R, Reviewer
This is a wonderful book based on a true story about the Gulf War. Ali Fhalid talks about his experience of Operation Desert Storm from his 14 year old perspective and the impact it had on him and his family.
I have to confess to being fairly ignorant about the Gulf War and not knowing a great deal about it but this book explains it in simple terms suitable for both children and adults.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sonya R, Reviewer
Based on the childhood of Ali Fadhil, who went on to become an interpreter during the trial of dictator Saddam Hussein, this book shows what life was like for the people of Basra, Iraq during the beginning of the war in 1991.
While this is definitely a book geared towards children, who - of course - were not even born when these events took place (in fact, they weren't even born when Hussein was executed), it is an interesting read for anyone who remembers the events of the 1990s and early 2000s.
A side note: I had no idea what "Atari" was, and had to look it up. I feel like it's something I should have known!
Margaret P, Librarian
I was not sure that I would like this book, but I found it totally riveting and ended up reading it in one day. It is based on the real-life experiences of a young boy in the lead up to the first Gulf War and really brings home the effect of politicians on the ordinary people of a country. This still resonates with us today, when we think about the horrors taking place in countries such as Yemen, Syria and beyond. A truly thought provoking book that should be promoted widely.
