The Ministry of Culture: A Novel - Hardcover

Mullaney, James P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312354460 ISBN 13: 9780312354466

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007

Synopsis

In his debut novel, James P. Mullaney brilliantly portrays the lives of two men, one an American and the other an Iraqi, each caught up in the turmoil of the Iran-Iraq war. Over the course of just a few days, each will seek a way to change the course of a violent conflict that has irrevocably altered their futures. 
Journalist Michael Young has come to Baghdad to cover the war and the seemingly relentless pattern of violence in Iraq. His return has also given him the chance to reunite with Daniella, a British-Iraqi journalist whose family history has drawn her back to a city that offers her only danger and distrust.
Ibrahim Galeb al-Mansur has devoted his life to the study of art. But the government's repression and paranoia have destroyed his family and silenced his talents. Forced to paint the enormous murals of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that appear throughout the country, he finds refuge each night among insurgents plotting the overthrow of the brutal dictator.
The Ministry of Culture is a compelling, sometimes unsettling look at the history of Iraqi politics, the complicity of Western governments, and the universal question of how much a person can endure -- and what is art's worth -- amidst the violence of war.
 

About this title

About the Author

JAMES P. MULLANEY lives on Long Island.  He is a graduate of Providence College.  This is his first novel.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Outside the room gunfire has erupted into small explosions. The night has lifted into a state of heightened activity.  Sirens soon follow and fill the streets of this ancient place. This is the sixth night in a row. There is a shutdown and curfew in effect that lasts until late morning. Daniella will have to sneak out like a Gypsy, a reference she despises, if she decides not to stay the night.
            But I am far away and safe. I am lost in the aroma of perfume off her bare neck. Its scent is like opium and triggers a familiarity I am now playing out along the edges of her dark lips with my fingers. Bombs go off close to the city's limits and their flickering light falls like drops of rain across her body.
            It is Iraq. The year is 1984.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0312354460
• ISBN 13: 9780312354466
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304