Freedomization

by Dustin Langan

April 2003. Saddam Hussein has been toppled from power and a coalition government is emerging from the rubble to rebuild Iraq. Joining the effort is Jeremy, an idealistic young American who speaks Arabic, but he is not the only one who wants to help. Soon a whole cast of characters descend upon Baghdad, competing to fill the power void and restore Iraq to its rightful place at any cost. A satirical portrayal of the first year of the occupation, Freedomization is a novel about making a difference, the corrosive nature of mistrust and how not everything can be solved with the right technique.

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Dustin Langan worked as a translator and interpreter for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad from April 2003 to February 2004. During that time he was involved in mass grave excavation, land mine removal, de-Baathification interviews, document retrieval, human rights promotion and the provision of technical support to emerging Iraqi civil activists. Born in Honolulu in 1974, he speaks English, Arabic, French, Wolof, Spanish and Catalan. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.

Reviews

[Dustin Langan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was beside myself.

[Conrad Heine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up as a gift from a friend with deep knowledge of the region, and, I have to say, found it pretty hard to put down. It’s a rollicking read… Mr Langan has clearly written what he knows, putting the tragedy/farce of his year in Iraq to good use, perhaps settling scores (Hi, “Bert”) and exorcising demons along the way. He has a mean metaphor and a mischievous catchphrase (usually involving a “reputable company”, too many to count, usually from Texas), and his use of Biblical language to capture the awkwardness of conversational Classical Arabic is inspired. The narrative maintains its momentum, even as it peters out (if that makes sense). Which I guess is the whole point. Highly recommended - as my benefactor said, “the characters feel so real!”

[J. Schmoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an Arabic speaker who has a very good understanding of Islamic culture and was in Iraq shortly after the US invasion, Mr. Langan is able to give us a unique perspective on what happened there that we don't often see. That, along with his keen eye for the absurd and clever sense of humor, results in an entertaining story that allows us to laugh while broadening our understanding of the socially destructive effects of war, the debilitating effects that generations of dictatorship and corruption can have on a culture, and the lack of focus and organization that characterized the coalition's attempts at trying to govern and help rebuild after the invasion.

Mr. Langan does this in part by illustrating the alienating effects of an outsourced, Kafkaesque, bureaucracy, erected virtually overnight, and the futility of trying to use such a bureaucracy to rebuild a nation. His characters are a collection of people desperate to do some good in Iraq and forced to work within that bureaucracy, Iraqis desperate to receive help from that bureaucracy because they have nowhere else to turn, and antagonists desperate to destroy it and all that it represents. Through these characters and their stories Mr. Langan demonstrates for us how even the best intentions, when executed on a large scale, are virtually useless without an effective organization to execute them.

In general Freedomization addresses the clash of cultures and the flood of outside influences that are inevitable when a nation falls, and the chaos that results when interested parties rush in from all sides to fill the vacuum that has been created, each attempting to profit, establish influence, or push the now rudderless ship of state in the direction that best suits their interests.

[Brent and Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now comes Dustin Langan’s Freedomization. His title becomes more and more ironic as we take a matriculating communion with “Mister Germ,” the metaphoric protagonist. This trek through the miasma of disinformation that was our invasion of Iraq is an honest and beautiful piece of work, damn fine. Given half a chance, Freedomization will take its place alongside our finest satirical war sagas--Mash, Catch-22 and Johnny Got His Gun jump immediately to mind. Bravo, Mr. Langan.

- Brent Carter