''Scattered Crumbs'': is a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

written by the Iraqi author Muhsin al-Ramli. Al-Ramli's first novel, ''Scattered Crumbs'' (''al-Fatit al-mubaʿthar''), was published in Arabic in 2000, and its 2003 English translation received the Arabic Translation Award from the

University of Arkansas Press The University of Arkansas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Arkansas and has been a member of the Association of University Presses since 1984. Its mission is to publish peer-reviewed books and academic journals. It wa ...

. Set in an Iraqi village during the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

war, ''Scattered Crumbs'' critiques a totalitarian dictatorship through the stories of an impoverished peasant family. A father, a fierce supporter of Saddam Hussein clashes with his artist son, who loves his homeland but finds himself literally unable to paint the Leader's portrait for his father's wall.

External links

Review / Scattered Crumbs / Family Matters / by Harold Braswell
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020062009/http://www.powells.com/review/2004_09_23.html , date=2012-10-20
from Scattered Crumbs by Muhsin Al-Ramli

Scattered Crumbs, in Books.google.es
Arabic-language novels 2000 novels Iraqi novels Novels set in Iraq