''The Fortified Castle'' ( ar, القلعة الحصينة ''Al-Qala-ah Al-Hasinah'') is
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
's
third of four novels. The book involves political metaphor. It is 713 pages and was published in 2001. It is another
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
work. It concerns the delayed wedding of the Iraqi hero, who fought in the war against Iran, to a
Kurdish girl.
There are three characters: the two brothers Sabah and Mahmud, from rural area from the west bank of the Tigris River from a farming family coming, and a young woman Shatrin from Suleimaniya. They all go into the same university in Baghdad.
Sabah is a war hero from the days of the Battle of New Qadisiyya (Iran–Iraq War), during which he was wounded in the leg and taken prisoner of war in Iran, from which he finally manage to escape with a few friends.
Shatrin from Suleimaniya is the representative for the Kurds.
The power of the "fortified castle" (a reference to Iraq) lies in its unity; despite proposals to divide the property, the hero's mother refuses. She also states that it cannot be purchased with money: "Only those who give it their blood and defend it are its rightful owners."
See also
* Saddam Hussein's novels
References
External links
summary in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortified Castle
Novels by Saddam Hussein
2001 novels
Novels set in Iraq
Allegory