(WASHINGTON POST) – Trying to decide what book to read next? If you’re in the mood for something written by former dictators, look no further. A novella, said to be written by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, will soon be translated and published in English.
Hussein might not be known for his works of fiction, but the tyrannical ruler supposedly wrote four books during his lifetime, finishing the last on the eve of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Now, nearly 10 years after his death, British publishing house Hesperus announced that it will translate and release his novella, which has been described as a mix between “Game of Thrones” and the British version of “House of Cards,” to Western audiences in December 2016 – right in time for Christmas, the Guardian reports.
The novella, reportedly set near the Euphrates river, tells the tale of an ancient tribal society that successfully ousts foreign invaders. Some chapters in the book are titled “The Foreigner Who Sold the Tribes” and “Retaliatory Tactics,”according to a 2006 article by The Washington Post.
The story tells the tale of a man named Ezekiel, an evil invader who wants to overthrow the leader of the tribe but is defeated by unlikely heroes: the leader’s daughter and an Arab warrior. Some of the names of the characters in the book – Ezekiel, Abraham, Mahmoud and Yousef — are thought to be metaphors for a “Zionist-Christian plot against Arabs and Muslims,” the New York Times reported back in 2005.
