Studies a neglected area of postcolonial fiction fostering a better understanding of Iraqi culture and societyThis exploration of the work of Iraqi novelists begins with the early pioneering works and then moves towards an outline of the vibrant Baghdad cultural scene during the 1940s and 1950s Particular attention is paid to detailed textual analysis and the evaluation and comparison of the aesthetic and poetic qualities of the key works of the four writers who form the central subject of the book Abd al Malik Nuri 1921 98 Gha ib Tu ma Farman 1927 90 Mahdi Isa al Saqr 1927 2006 and Fu ad al Takarli 1927 2008 all of whom began to write in or around the pivotal decade of the 1950s It is in these writers works that Iraqi fiction came of age and reached artistic maturity The best of them are among the most complex portrayals of the particularities of life in Iraq and the human condition in general to come out of the Arab worldKey FeaturesIncludes an original study of works by Abd al Malik Nuri and of the Baghdad cultural scene in the 1940s and 50sPays particular attention to detailed textual analysis and the evaluation and comparison of the aesthetic and poetic qualities of the works consideredAnalyses Iraqi writings from a postcolonial and comparative perspectiveStudies the early pioneering works of Iraqi fiction