Girl of the Tigris

Author: Mohsen Al-Ramli Publisher: Dar Al-Mada Year of publication: 2020 Category: Novel In "Dijla Girl," Mohsen Al-Ramli sheds light on the state of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime and the entry of the American military forces, completing what he began in his novel "The President's Gardens," which explained the misery of life under the rule of the dictator president. Here, it can be confirmed that the reader can read both novels separately from each other, as if they have no relation. The novel "Dijla Girl" talks about parallel forms of deterioration that prevailed during Saddam's time, but in new images: the emergence of parties, militias, looting, assassinations, rapes, bombings, and power struggles, as well as the absurdity of death and killing. Human life has become completely worthless, and the dead have become unknown numbers, and mass graves have returned — those graves that were a symbol of the regime and oppression have, surprisingly, turned into shrines and places of reverence.