Confessions of a Terrorist: A Novel, by Richard Jackson
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Confessions of a Terrorist: A Novel, by Richard Jackson
PDF Ebook Confessions of a Terrorist: A Novel, by Richard Jackson
In a bland concrete cell, two men face each other across a bare table. One is a wanted terrorist, the other a British intelligence officer. As they talk deep into the night, violent secrets are revealed, and the line between interrogator and confessor blurs inextricably. Who is the real terrorist? And will he pay for his guilt in blood? In this riveting novel, Richard Jackson unsettles this comforting view of terrorists as “the other” and holds our preconceived notions up to a stark light. Structured as the classified transcript of a British Army captain’s interrogation of a suspected Egyptian terrorist, Confessions of a Terrorist takes us inside the mind of a possible terrorist. Though movies and mass media often portray terrorists as fanatics, barbarians, and extremists, Jackson’s novel troubles this view, offering a nuanced portrait of the humanity behind the headlines. With a dialogue that disturbs and enlightens, Jackson probes one of the most difficult issues of our time with extraordinary sensitivity and finesse.
Confessions of a Terrorist: A Novel, by Richard Jackson - Amazon Sales Rank: #2491171 in Books
- Published on: 2015-06-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.75" h x .70" w x 5.00" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 336 pages
Confessions of a Terrorist: A Novel, by Richard Jackson Review “On a breathtaking journey through the intricacies of a counter-terrorism interrogation, Jackson asks us to confront one of the most difficult truths of our time: that to identify ‘the terrorist’ is to look in the mirror and see oneself.” (Elizabeth Dauphinee, author of The Politics of Exile)“On a breathtaking journey through the intricacies of a counter-terrorism interrogation, Jackson asks us to confront one of the most difficult truths of our time: that to identify ‘the terrorist’ is to look in the mirror and see oneself.” (Elizabeth Dauphinee, author of The Politics of Exile)“Extraordinarily intense.…A book that’s too important not to read.” (Morning Star)“Extraordinarily intense.…A book that’s too important not to read.” (Morning Star)
About the Author Richard Jackson is professor of peace studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand and one of the world’s leading experts on terrorism.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Seeing the World from the Terrorist's Eyes By Peter C. Herman Even though our literature, our movies, our television shows are awash in terrorists, there are very, very few books that try to see terrorists as human beings with comprehensible motivations. What makes this gap particularly strange is that generally speaking, we have little difficulty with creating sympathetic villains. I'm not sure that anybody would like to really spend time with, say, Tony Soprano, or Milton's Satan, or John Gardner's Grendel, to name but a few. Yet their creators take us inside each, and if we ultimately condemn the characters (how many people has Soprano killed, or Grendel eaten? alive?), we see the world from their perspective, and we some of them in ourselves. But for the most part, not with terrorists. Over and over again, terrorists in both popular and serious fiction, whether we are talking about "24" or Conrad's "The Secret Agent," are portrayed as one-dimensional, delusional lunatics who have no motivation other than destruction. The best explanation is given by Alfred in "Batman Begins: "Some people just like to see the world burn."Which brings me to Richard Jackson's "Confessions of a Terrorist." Jackson--a world renowned expert on terrorism--decided to break with academic writing for a bit and create a novel whose express purpose is to see the world from the perspective of a "terrorist." The novel itself has a fascinating premise. Instead of a plot per se, it's a transcript, with commentary, of an interrogation/discussion between Youssef, an Egyptian leader of a terrorist cell planning an attack on British soil, and Michael, an MI5 interrogator. To tell more would involve plot spoilage, and I'm not going to do that. However, I'm not giving away anything by saying that the last half of the novel cannot be put down, and in the end, the reader is forced to confront his or her biases, and to rethink how we think about terrorism. Jackson's book is not exactly unique. There have been attempts before at presenting the world from the terrorist's perspective, most famously, Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, but also John le Carre's The Little Drummer Girl and John Updike's underestimated Terrorist. Jackson's novel is a more than worthy addition to this small group, and it serves as a welcome antidote to the dangerously simplistic thinking about terrorism in public discourse. Strongly, strongly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I recommend this book to everyone By Joe Llewellyn “Confessions of a Terrorist” details the interrogation between Michael, a British intelligence officer, and Professor Youssef Said, a wanted terrorist, as they sit at either side of a table in an interrogation room. Written in a unique and accessible style, this novel reads as a transcript, complete with blacked-out text and margin notes from another British intelligence officer. This format, which I have never come across before in any other work of fiction, combined with the passionate conversation from the characters, and the well-researched content, was captivating. I eagerly read the book in one go, with only a short break to recharge with some food.Professor Jackson’s book could not have been published at a more important time, with escalating conflict in the Middle East regarding the Islamic State, and running parallel to this, rising Islamophobia throughout the Western World. This has been accompanied by a lack of critical engagement on the nature or causes of these issues. “Confessions of a Terrorist” offers such critical engagement. The fact that is written as a novel also means it has the potential of bringing these issues, and critical perspective, to an audience broader than the usual academic circles.The book challenges the standard portrayal of ‘the terrorist’ as a deranged religious fanatic, as the terrorist is given a voice and space to explain the rationale that lead him to such violent extremes. At the same time, violence perpetrated by Western governments around the world is exposed. This leaves the reader questioning the standard portrayal of the ‘evil’ and ‘immoral’ violent terrorist and the ‘good’ and ‘moral’ western interventionists whose common responses to terrorism only seems to produce more and more violence and suffering, and whose role in the creation of the problem is rarely acknowledged. The roles and righteousness (or lack thereof) of the characters quickly blurs as the novel progresses, leaving the reader questioning, as the blurb reads, “who is the real terrorist in the room?” The content of the novel draws upon the academic literature on terrorism, of which Jackson is clearly well versed. Jackson kindly offers a list for further reading in the back of the book so that the reader can explore the issues in the book further if they wish.This novel is significant for its unique exploration of the causes of terrorism, and more fundamentally what terrorism actually is. Importantly, it does so from a broad range of opinions that are rarely voiced but must be acknowledged if peaceful solutions to conflict are to be found. I recommend it to everyone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Much more than a novel. Much more than an academic book. By Monica Carrer I have enjoyed reading this novel, both as a fiction reader and as a peace and conflict scholar. This is one of those well-written, engaging novels that you want to finish in one night, particularly towards the end. Even knowing that there would be a twist, I absolutely did not expect that twist! I realized that what I was reading was not what I had thought. I went back to the beginning of the novel and realized that what I had initially thought was based on an assumption.This for me was what this book was about: breaking down preconceived assumptions. Everyone today talks about terrorism: the media, popular culture, social networks as well as academic institutions. Yet, Jackson’s work explores a perspective that is often given for granted: the point of view of the so-called terrorist himself.What I loved most about this book is that it makes you feel that the barriers imposed by the label ‘terrorism’ drop and become meaningless. After all, the two characters appear as two human beings not so different from one another. Two people who, perhaps, could have been very good friends in another world.It struck me that there was no hatred between the two in the long conversation. Nevertheless, I could feel and understand why, in this context, they could not but fight one another. Both chose violence for similar reasons, but while one’s violence is considered good and legitimate, the other’s is seen as evil terrorism.This is a very innovative book, a very successful experiment. I haven’t read anything like this before, and I strongly recommend this excellent novel to everyone.
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