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Baghdad as Babel
Tyrants are eternal Julien de Kerviler's novel (2003) recounts the Anglo-American invasion of Baghdad in the spring of 2003 from the unusual perspective of Saddam Hussein's favorite. The novel breaks with conventional narrative structures, weaving together reality, fiction, and paranoia into a tapestry where the boundaries between past, present, and future blur. It reveals that Saddam Hussein had a gigantic, secret bunker built beneath Baghdad to ensure his survival and that of his closest confidants. There, in a state of artificial preservation, he continues to orchestrate his power and plot a future return and revenge against the invaders, employing doubles ("sosies") and manipulated realities to maintain his deception. The novel itself may be part of a larger deception designed to outwit or blind his enemies. The “aberrant induction” that the bunker plan is based on a very old, irrefutably completed event is intended to sow uncertainty, even if it seems obvious.
Among the novel's strategies for illuminating the eternal nature of tyranny are the subversion of the boundaries between fiction, reality, and metafiction; the themes of the doppelgänger, mimetic repetition, and cyclical history; and the question of how the female body becomes the stage and medium of power, subjugation, and subversive narrative. The novel is heavily influenced by intertextuality: at the end of the extract, a long list of authors and works that have been "revisited" is provided, including historical figures such as Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush, but also French authors from Gérard de Nerval to Olivier Cadiot. 1
The novel can also be understood as a mythography of Mesopotamia, as it not only depicts the region's history and conflicts but actively links and reinterprets them with its deeply rooted myths and historical cycles. The novel explicitly references the biblical myth of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:6-9) by posing the question of whether Baghdad can be bombed without awakening Babel. This reference suggests that the current events in Baghdad can be understood as a repetition or reactivation of an ancient conflict and a primal confusion of tongues, which can be seen as both a "primal political castration of humanity" and a "liberating" one. Felix Culpa“It is interpreted as celebrating the diversity of cultures. By portraying Saddam Hussein as a figure in the tradition of Mesopotamian rulers like Nebuchadnezzar and Saladin, whose actions are subject to the “eternal recurrence of the same,” historical figures merge with mythical archetypes. Furthermore, the text undermines linear historiography by blurring the lines between reality and fiction, truth and deception (for example, through the many doppelgangers and fake treasures), and by suggesting that language creates the world. The repeated destruction and reconstruction of cities in Mesopotamia are mirrored in the novel's cyclical structure, transforming the entire narrative into an active process of myth-making that perpetuates and updates the past in the present.”
Saddam Hussein orchestrated an elaborate phantasmagoria, encompassing fake treasures, fabricated events, and the construction of a supposed bunker beneath Baghdad, to deceive his opponents and conceal his plans. His "massive projects" were described as dictated from "distant peripheries," and he possessed a prophetic vision of his own history and the future of the world, which he sought to shape through his actions. Furthermore, Saddam Hussein's character was revealed as cruel and authoritarian, as seen, for example, in his execution of engineers involved in his bunker construction and his tight control over his followers. His narcissism was evident in his predilection for reading novels about himself and watching himself on monitors.
Saddam Hussein's intention to disappear into a bunker and later "reappear" to destroy civilization underscores his ambition to transcend mortality and secure posthumous dominance. The novels emphasize the fluidity of reality in his world, where "everything and its opposite" exist and truth is constantly renegotiated. Saddam Hussein's character is inextricably linked to Kerviler's philosophy of language, as his actions and legends are shaped by language itself, and he actively works to control his own history and the perception of reality. Ultimately, in Kerviler's poetics, Saddam Hussein symbolizes the impermanence of power, the ambiguity of truth, and the perpetual rewriting of history, in which the ancient world of Mesopotamia and its myths are reflected and perpetuated in the present.
The body of the favorite/narrator and her actions become the medium through which the tyrant's story and secrets are expressed. Sexual acts become "prose" or "scenes" that must be repeated and perfected, establishing a profound connection between physical experience and literary creation. The narrative alternates between the favorite's immediate experiences in the bunker, her memories, and the fictions dictated by Saddam Hussein, which, as convoluted conspiracy theories, reinterpret the past and foreshadow the future. This process serves not only to deceive the outside world but also to indoctrinate the bunker's prisoners, who themselves become part of the grand plan by acting as doubles or being physically prepared for their future role as survivors. The novel plays with the idea of the “eternal recurrence of the same” and the power of narrative to reshape history and identity, thus allowing the figure of the tyrant to persist beyond his physical presence and preparing for a “colonial” takeover of the earth from within.
The novel argues (as its title suggests) that tyrants are never truly defeated, but rather that their power and influence can survive and even perpetuate themselves through elaborate schemes, doppelgangers, and the manipulation of reality and history. The story suggests that perceived reality, particularly during times of war and political upheaval, is often a carefully constructed fiction designed to deceive the masses and achieve specific political objectives. Language and narrative creation are portrayed as the ultimate tools of power, possessing the ability to shape, manipulate, and even destroy the world.
The work questions the ambitions of the Enlightenment and modernity by highlighting their failure through events like Auschwitz and Hiroshima, while simultaneously revealing a postmodern world where meaning and authenticity are elusive. Modern technologies, from genetics to surveillance systems, are portrayed not as progress, but as tools for domination, deception, and the maintenance of power by tyrants. Despite global interconnectedness and international organizations, the novel demonstrates the inability of the global community to find genuine solutions to conflicts and to see through political power games. The novel constructs a future in which humanity has exploited and abandoned Earth, only to discover that the "tyranny" of the old regime (Saddam Hussein and his followers) re-emerges from underground bunkers, seeking revenge.
Tyrants are eternal It defies conventional genre classifications. The publisher, L'ampoule, positions the book in its preface as "a continuation of the Enlightenment through other, modern means." This formulation is programmatic: the novel is not a simple narrative, but an intellectual and aesthetic "experiment in perception" that deliberately blurs the boundaries between reality, fiction, history, and identity. At its heart is the Anglo-American invasion of Baghdad in the spring of 2003, which is presented not as a singular event, but as a link in an endless chain of repetitions and deceptions. Told from the fragmented and often physically experienced perspective of a favorite of Saddam Hussein, who could herself be a doppelgänger, the text challenges the reader to question their own interpretation of the world. The title points to the novel's central thesis: tyrants are not merely historical figures, but archetypal forces that manifest themselves over time and shape history in endless cycles. The "enlightenment" that is meant to take place here is not an enlightening, rational insight in the Kantian sense, but rather a disillusioning confrontation with the "inseparability of good and evil" and the manipulative power of narrative itself. The book becomes a "mirrorless mirror" in which the reader reflects their own understanding of the world, shaped by media and political narratives.
compared with Les movements de l'Armée rouge in 1945 (2025)
Julien de Kerviler's latest novel, Les movements de l'Armée rouge in 1945 in the new Aventures series by Yannick Haenel at Gallimard (2025), shows remarkable parallels to Tyrants are eternal while simultaneously setting new accents.
Both novels are metafictional in nature. Movements The first-person narrator, a young French professor, constantly questions the "truth" of his memories and experiences, which are described as "flawed," "approximate," and in "contradictory relation to reality." This reflects the systematic undermining of reality in Les Tyrans This contrasts with the way events and people become intangible through layers of simulation and doppelgangers. Both texts compel the reader to become aware of the constructed nature of the depicted world. – Both works are a dense network of literary and philosophical references. Les Tyrans cites an extensive bibliography, ranging from ancient chronicles to modern theorists. Movements The text directly or indirectly quotes authors such as Borges, Sebald, Mo Yan, Shen Congwen, and Arno Schmidt, whose works significantly shape the professor's recounted experiences and constitute his "history of reading." The texts are self-critical regarding the way literature creates and processes reality.
The motif of the doppelgänger is in Les Tyrans very explicitly by the “Sosies” of Saddam Hussein and his entourage. In Movements This theme is more internalized and psychological: The narrator recognizes himself in other characters, experiences the blurring of faces and identities (e.g., Madame Chen, Louise, Laetitia). The discussion about masks and the collection of faces in Movements is a direct equivalent to the doppelgänger theme in Les TyransBoth narrators are trapped in obsessive thought patterns and repetitive loops. The favorite in Les Tyrans must repeat poses and scenes over and over again, to the point of absurdity. The professor in Movements experiences recurring dreams, noises, and actions that indicate deep psychological instability and paranoia.
Les Tyrans It addresses the comprehensive political power of regimes and secret societies. “Les mouvements” focuses more on the more subtle exercise of power in bureaucratic contexts (the “Examinateur” and his examination) and in interpersonal relationships, which are often characterized by manipulation and opacity (e.g., David, Mr. Li).
However, there are also important differences to note. While Les Tyrans a grandiose, global conspiracy unfolds, encompassing centuries and even the evacuation of Earth and the re-creation of humanity, remains Movements more intimate in its scope. It is primarily the psychological breakdown of an individual, even if there are brief allusions to broader political contexts (e.g., Saddam Hussein T-shirts or Chinese politics). The apocalyptic vision in Les Tyrans is global and physical, in Movements more individual and psychological.
Les Tyrans It is eccentric and provocative due to its explicitly sexual depictions and the physical torture of the favorite, as well as the shocking brutality of the tyrants. Movements Its depiction of violence and sexuality is more subtle, often filtered through the narrator's disoriented perception and less directly explicit. The "bizarreness" in Movements It is more of an existential, inner insecurity.
In Les Tyrans The book itself is an active weapon in the depicted conspiracy, a "time bomb" that attacks the reader's "civilization." Movements While books are important to the narrator and his reflections, they are more like catalysts for his inner states and symptoms of his disorientation, not themselves directly involved in a geopolitical plan.
The narrator in Les Tyrans It offers a female perspective on submission, power, and subversive narrative. The narrator in Movements He is male, and his interactions with female characters (Madame Chen, Liu Min, Laetitia, Emma) are often characterized by misunderstandings, projections, and a deep loneliness.
Thus, it Les movements de l'Armée rouge in 1945 from this year the core themes and poetological strategies of Tyrants are eternal Both works explore themes such as the deconstruction of reality, metafiction, identity fluctuation, and cyclical history, but within a more personal, psychological framework and with a less explicit degree of physical brutality and global conspiracy. Nevertheless, both are challenging, dense reading experiences that explore the nature of fiction and its relationship to truth.
The deconstruction of reality
the novel Tyrants are eternal Its complex structure unfolds through radical fragmentation and a constant shifting of perspectives and time levels. It is less a coherent story than a dense web of narrative threads that overlap, contradict, and reflect one another.
The layers of deception
The novel opens with a preface by the publisher L'ampoule, which immediately reveals the metatextual nature of the work. It raises the question of the novel's "modernity" and establishes a connection to the "Enlightenment," which here is understood as critical energy, but in a "miniaturized" form, where the senses of the body serve as "verifiers of semantic conformity." Jorge Luis Borges and Peter Sloterdijk are quoted to establish the idea of a critique beyond praise and blame. This prepares the ground for a reading that does not aim for simple truths, but rather for the unveiling of complex structures of perception and morality.
The novel itself begins with the announcement that it recounts the Anglo-American invasion of Baghdad in the spring of 2003 from the perspective of Saddam Hussein's favorite, who may be a double. This multiple uncertainty—novel or not, favorite or double, perspective or simulation—immediately establishes the central theme of distorted reality. The invasion is linked to the myth of Babel, highlighting the importance of language and the danger its confusion poses to humanity.
Scenes follow showing the favorite in her role as a double and the preparations for the invasion. She is part of a complex system of "sosies" (doubles) for Saddam, his ministers, and generals. These doubles are trained to an almost obsessive degree to embody their roles. The concept of the "double-double" is traced back to ancient Mesopotamian rulers such as Shamsi-ilu and Tiglath-phalazar III, underscoring the perpetual repetition of power games.
In parallel, a far-reaching future scenario is revealed: In the year 2200, a "Directoire," formed from the former United States, plans the evacuation of the exhausted Earth. The 2003 Iraq War serves as a pretext for staging a supposedly bunker-hidden Saddam Hussein, who threatens the world with a nuclear reactor. A "Commissaire" is tasked with writing this fictional story, but he sees through the deception and attempts to create a counter-narrative. However, this too is part of the even larger plan of the Directoire, which intends to manipulate "the League" (Ligue du Nord) to gain control of a space program. The favorite, who initially believes she is helping the Commissaire undermine the Directoire, herself becomes a tool of an even higher power, the League.
The chosen woman is drawn ever deeper into the charade. Her "training" includes physical and psychological torture designed to refine her "identification to the point of absurdity." Sexual acts become ritualistic "poses" that solidify control over her body and perception. She serves as a conduit for Saddam's visions and the "legend" he dictates to himself. The bunker is described as a complex subterranean paradise, a "geometric garden" where the chosen ones are to be preserved while the world above descends into chaos and destruction. The destruction of Iraqi cities and cultural treasures is explicitly depicted in the novel as part of the tyrants' plan to use the world as "food."
A pivotal moment is the revelation that the ancient treasures collected in the museum, which are looted by the invaders, are "all fake." This underscores the idea that history and cultural heritage are malleable. Later, it is revealed that the book itself, which the reader holds, is a "time bomb," a "cryptogram of a military project hatched over a thousand years ago," designed to destroy the reader's civilization. The narrator (possibly the "Commissaire" or "JR") admits to having manipulated history in order to save himself and test the enemy's "perception."
The sexual scenes intensify and are explicitly linked to the reproduction and preservation of the "tyrants." The female body becomes the "matrix" in which the "organs" of Raïs and his new world are incarnated. The "enlightenment" permeates the text as a radical revelation of human depravity and the inevitable rule of the tyrants. The tyrant's "eternal return" signifies not only the return of Saddam Hussein but also the rebirth of a fundamental, destructive force. The novel concludes with the favorite's complete subjugation to this plan, which utilizes her existence and body for the "birth" of a new, tyrannical future. The final vision is apocalyptic: humanity dies, and the "tyrants" rise from the shadows to take over the world they themselves created and destroyed.
The chapter-by-chapter development of these layers of fiction and reality is crucial to understanding the novel. It creates a constant sense of disorientation and doubt. Each new revelation undermines the previous truth, forcing the reader to continually renegotiate the meaning of what they have read. This structure is itself a reflection of the "eternal deception" that the novel represents. It serves to initiate the "enlightenment" announced in the preface by plunging the reader into a "perceptual experiment" that tests their capacity for meaning.
Tyranny – cyclical history and mimesis
Tyrants are eternal The novel rejects a linear view of history and instead asserts an “eternal recurrence of the same,” portraying tyranny as a fundamental, imperishable force that perpetuates itself through mimetic repetition and the staging of historical events. It not only links the 2003 invasion of Baghdad to ancient Babel but also spans centuries and millennia. Saddam Hussein's character is identified with ancient Mesopotamian rulers like Nebuchadnezzar and Oriental rulers like Saladin. These identifications are not merely historical comparisons but suggest a metaphysical continuity of tyranny. The book itself, dictated by Saddam, serves as a vehicle for this timeless power.
Enfermé pendant deux semaines dans l'un de ses nombreux Palais, the grand Nabuchodonosor dresse la list des dignitaires de sa cour.
The great Nebuchadnezzar, imprisoned for two weeks in one of his numerous palaces, compiles a list of the dignitaries of his court.
Here, Saddam Hussein not only dictates history but embodies the figure of Nebuchadnezzar, demonstrating the overlapping of identities and eras. History is not a progression but an eternal cycle, a "retour du même." The concept of "sosies" (dolls) is central. They are not merely imitators but the embodiment of the idea of the mimetic reproduction of power. The favorite herself is a highly trained "doublure" who reproduces Saddam's essence through her poses and actions. This process is brutal both physically and psychologically.
Nous avons beau connaître par coeur les moindres rimes de notre personnage, avoir raffiné notre identification jusqu'à l'absurde, la fin nous échappe à tous les coups, sans avertissement, en d'innombrables fuites.
Even if we know every rhyme of our character by heart and have refined our identification to the point of absurdity, the ending always eludes us without warning in countless evasions.
The search for perfect identification leads to absurdity and the loss of one's own identity. The body becomes the medium through which eternal tyranny manifests itself. The recurring "Saddam Husayn" in the sexually explicit passages underscores the takeover of the favorite's body and the penetration by the tyrant figure.
The staging of history becomes a weapon. The "Commissaire" is tasked with writing a fictional apocalypse caused by a nuclear reactor, legitimizing the 2003 invasion and justifying the evacuation of Earth. But this fiction is itself manipulated by a higher power, the Ligue. The discovery that Baghdad's plundered ancient treasures are "fake" is a metaphor for the construction of history itself. The "book" is not an objective account, but a tool of deception, a "bait" designed to manipulate the enemy's perception. It is a "malevolent narrative" whose success lies in its ability to shape reality.
La publication de semblables péripéties paranoïaques s'avéra catastrophique, évidemment: un Americain rallié à l'immonde cause adverse, ou, je ne sais pas si c'est pire, incapable d'en juguler la menace.
The publication of such paranoid episodes, of course, proved disastrous: an American who had joined the abhorrent opposing cause or, perhaps worse, was incapable of containing the threat.
The goal is to confuse the enemy – and the reader. History here is not a fact, but a performative staging created by the "tyrants" to secure and prolong their rule.
The subjugated body and the narrative empowerment of the favorite
Despite her extreme physical and psychological subjugation to the role of the favorite and the associated sexual and mimetic acts, the narrator achieves a subversive form of narrative control that establishes her body as a site of knowledge and resistance. The favorite is the central subject and object of the novel. Her body is explicitly and meticulously described as the stage for the exercise of power. From the "training" in mimetic identification to the forced sexual acts, her body becomes the primary medium of narration and subjugation. The explicit depiction of the sexual acts, often in an almost bureaucratic or technical language, depersonalizes her, reducing her to a mere instrument of a larger machine.
Saddam Husayn me fait placer sur le dos, par terre, le derrière pose sur un coussin; Puis, se mettant between mes cuisses, Saddam Husayn m'enfile en ayant de me faire appliquer la plante de mon pied droit contre la plante de mon pied gauche.
Saddam Hussein made me lie on my back on the floor, my buttocks on a cushion. Then he stood between my thighs and penetrated me, making sure that I pressed the sole of my right foot against the sole of my left foot.
The repetition of the name "Saddam Husayn" at every stage of the sexual description underscores the total dominance and the erasure of the favorite's individual identity. Her body becomes an "object with drawers" to be "rummaged through" by Saddam, or a "microsphere" into which power penetrates.
Yet, paradoxically, it is precisely this radical submission that grants the favorite a unique narrative perspective and a form of power. She is not merely a passive object, but an active observer and reporter of events. Her ability to "incarnate all of [her master's] other desires" becomes her "primal longing." She transcribes Saddam's "testament," is a "scribe" of his legend, and thus a co-creator of the "fiction" that shapes reality.
A crucial moment of empowerment occurs when the favorite realizes that she is not only an object of manipulation, but has also manipulated others:
En effet, si ma couverture, acquise à l'issue d'affinements excessifs n'est celle que d'un agent double enterré dans sa fiction, c'est toi, d'une marge lointaine, qui règles les ébats. Davantage. If you have successive metamorphoses, you don't want me to leave the theater, you will be in front of the place, and you will be subject to rigoureusement according to the presidential command…
For if my disguise, acquired through excessive refinement, is merely that of a double agent buried in his own fiction, then it is you who is pulling the strings from afar. Moreover, if you manage, through successive transformations in which I am the stage, to take my place, I will strictly adhere to the President's orders…
Here, the favorite reveals herself as the true master of manipulation. She has personally "calibrated" the "agent" (the "Commissaire"/JR) to subjugate him to her own purposes. Her "story" is her "guarantee against your story." Through the literary shaping of her own suffering and subjugation, she constructs a "legend" that ensures her survival while simultaneously luring readers into her own trap. Her physicality, her pain, and her sexual acts are not only signs of her subjugation but also the "threads" with which she manipulates the narrative and, consequently, the reality of others.
Communication and control in the age of disinformation
The novel explores the mechanisms of information control and disinformation in a post-truth world where the boundaries between "true" and "false" are deliberately blurred to exert power and shape reality.
In Tyrants are eternal Communication is rarely direct or honest. Instead, it is an instrument of control, concealment, and manipulation. Official reports are "falsified, censored, and distorted." Rumors are deliberately spread, and even the media are instrumentalized by those in power to disseminate the desired narrative. The repetition of propaganda and "victory speeches" serves to overlay reality and enforce acceptance of the staged truth.
The book itself is the ultimate medium of disinformation. It is described as a "cryptogram" and a "weapon" whose purpose is to manipulate the reader's perception.
What improbable émissaire, catapulté dans les lointains autrefois selon une balistique temporelle inédite, serait capable de faire publisher, par anticipation, les secrets de our stratégie ?
What unlikely emissary, once catapulted into the distance by unprecedented time ballistics, would be able to reveal the secrets of our strategy in advance?
This metafictional level emphasizes that the novel is not a neutral narrative, but rather plays an active role in the depicted "war." The story of the favorite is constructed in such a way that, despite being full of "improbabilities," it is accepted by readers as a "harmless story." The "trick" lies in incorporating so many "exact symmetries and overly obvious references" that the actual "secret strategy" is overlooked.
Visual communication also plays a crucial role. Monitors in the bunker display the "images and sounds of the country," allowing Saddam to monitor and manipulate events on the surface. Even the bodies of those preserved are digitized as "mutual images" and projected in "three dimensions," representing ultimate control over visual representation and reality itself. The "only weak point" in this system is the "storage of the corpus," as not enough new images can be fed into the matrices, forcing old images to loop. This is a subtle indication of the limitations of even the most comprehensive control systems—they must ultimately draw from what already exists and cannot endlessly produce new material.
The blurring of truth and falsehood becomes a permanent state. The reader is placed in the role of a witness who can recognize the contradictions but cannot resolve them. Paradoxically, the novel's "enlightenment" lies in revealing the impossibility of a clear truth and the omnipresence of manipulation, leading to profound disillusionment.
The political landscape of the apocalypse – a hidden agenda
The novel uses the Iraq War as an allegorical approach to a broader critique of global power structures and their apocalyptic goals, portraying the destruction of the earth as a result of human greed and the resurrection of the tyrants as the ultimate victory.
The 2003 invasion of Baghdad is the apparent "pretext conflict" for a much larger project planned over centuries: the evacuation of an Earth exhausted by exploitation and environmental destruction. The true motives of the Directory are not the fight against terror or the search for weapons of mass destruction, but rather securing its own power and colonizing new worlds. The Northern League, which opposes the Directory, itself becomes an object of manipulation, drawn into a "fictitious betrayal" and sent into space, where its missiles explode as "useless debris."
The political landscape depicted in the novel is profoundly cynical. The international protests against the war, the humanitarian catastrophes, and the internal conflicts in Iraq are portrayed as predicted and planned events that do not disrupt the larger game but actually enhance it. The Americans, who believe they are “liberating” Iraq, are unwittingly the executors of a much older, more malevolent plan. The archaeological discovery of torture lists and the revelation that the ancient treasures were “all fake” expose the official narrative as a lie and the “liberators” as naive tools.
The ultimate political message is apocalyptic. The "tyrants" (Saddam and his followers) have not been defeated, but have instead preserved themselves in a high-security bunker. Their goal is to rise again on the surface after humanity's self-destruction and take over the world.
You have found two incapable levers against which you pass your aura prepared, your present your aura signified, against your future your aura reserved, in the propres mines abandoned, sous vos pieds, au center de la Terre.
You will feel utterly incapable of rising up against what your past has done to you, what your present has meant to you, against what your future holds for you, in your own abandoned mines, beneath your feet, at the center of the earth.
Humanity will collapse in its own "America's prison," and its achievements will become meaningless. The "tyrants" will "scrape off" the decaying world, "rebuild" it, and consume the "last explosives in bonfires." This is the ultimate victory of the hidden powers that have manipulated history to their advantage. The political context thus transforms into a dystopian myth in which humanity is a victim of its own hubris and an eternal, invincible tyranny.
“Enlightenment” as disillusionment and the inevitability of fiction
The concept of "enlightenment" in the novel is a radical reversal of the traditional understanding; it leads not to clarity and liberation, but to disillusionment, to the realization of permanent deception, and to the acceptance of the inevitability of fiction as reality. L'ampoule's preface speaks of a "continuation of enlightenment." But this enlightenment is far removed from Kant's ideal of mature thought. Instead, it is a "perceptual experiment" that immerses the reader in the "microsphere" of a physically experienced, chaotic reality. The "illuminating" effect here is not rational clarification, but the shocking realization that reality itself is a construct, a "trick." Peter Sloterdijk's definition of critique—"beyond good and evil"—is fitting here, as the novel demonstrates the fundamental irresolvability of these concepts in the reality of power.
The favorite's narrative is permeated with self-reflection on the act of writing and reading. She grapples with the text's "density" and the book's capacity to dictate and accredit reality. The "book" she dictates becomes a "guarantee against your story," a weapon that reveals the "Directorate's true intentions." But even this revelation is part of an even larger plan, a trap for the reader. "Enlightenment" here means recognizing one's own complicity in this fiction.
The recurring figure of the "Commissaire" or "JR" with the black glasses is a symbol for the seer who looks behind the veils of deception, but also for the manipulator who creates the fictions. The black glasses point to an ambivalence: they can be a protection from the dazzling truth, but also a tool to conceal or distort it. The novel's "enlightenment" is therefore painful. It reveals that even what is supposedly "true" in this world was "a trick, from the very beginning." The reader's disillusionment is the book's true aim. It forces them to acknowledge the fragility of their beliefs and the manipulative nature of the narratives that shape their understanding of the world. In this sense, the "enlightenment" is a radical, albeit profoundly pessimistic, form of expanding consciousness.
Mythography of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is often called the "cradle of civilization," a historical myth that encapsulates its fundamental importance to human development. In the fertile valleys between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the first cities emerged over 5.000 years ago, enabling complex social and political organization. Here, the Sumerians developed cuneiform script, the first known form of writing, which laid the foundation for the documentation of law, religion, and history. The urban centers of Uruk, Babylon, and Nineveh became hubs of trade, science, and religion, shaping the development of astronomy, mathematics, and law. The myth of Mesopotamia lies in the notion that it was here that the fundamental concepts of civilization—writing, urban life, law, and the structure of the state—originated, concepts from which later cultures around the world benefited.
Olivier Guez' Mesopotamia (2024) in comparison
The historical region of Mesopotamia, the fertile "land between the rivers" between the Euphrates and Tigris, lies today mainly within the territory of Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, western Iran, and parts of Kuwait. Julien de Kerviler presents Mesopotamia in Tyrants are eternal (2003) presents Mesopotamia as a place of timeless, mythical significance, where past, present, and future merge in a complex “fantasmagoria.” The narrative is deeply rooted in the history of Baghdad and the surrounding region, but extends far beyond the specific events of the 2003 Anglo-American invasion. Kerviler explicitly links the modern conquest of Baghdad to the mythical destruction of Babel, raising questions about the relationship between language, the world, and the ability to narrate or manipulate history. Mesopotamia appears as a “forbidden zone,” a place where reality is distorted by doppelgangers, hidden bunkers, and secret plans, suggesting a deeper, non-linear conception of history. It is a setting where prophecies and ancient power games dictate current conflicts, and even the invention of writing in this region is viewed as an “unconventional weapon.”
In contrast, Olivier Guez presents in Mesopotamia (2024) the region as the geopolitical heart of the world in the early 20th century, a hub of imperial ambitions, particularly those of the British and German powers. Guez focuses on the historical, detailed reconstruction of events surrounding the First World War and the postwar period, with the discovery and control of oil playing a central role. Mesopotamia is described as a “land between two rivers,” inhabited by diverse ethnicities and religions, whose future borders were negotiated and “invented” by the colonial powers. The narrative is rich in biographical detail and the everyday realities of diplomats, soldiers, and local figures such as Gertrude Bell and T.E. Lawrence, who attempted to shape the region according to their own visions.
Guez's writings also incorporate mythopoetic elements of pre-modern Mesopotamia. It is described as "the land between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates," which "held the world in its hands," as "the land of legends and revelations, the cradle of civilizations, the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Allah." The text directly connects Mesopotamia with biblical myths such as "the homeland of Abraham, the Flood, and Babylon." The city of Baghdad is mentioned as "the tomb of Alexander the Great." Comparisons are drawn to his time, that of Caesar, and the first Arab caliphates, reinforcing the idea of it as the "navel of the world." Baghdad is referred to as "the city of Mansour and Haroun, O Madinat al-Salam, city of peace!" and as the "magnificent setting of the tales from One Thousand and One Nights." These descriptions lend the city a fairytale-like, almost transcendent quality that transcends its actual historical existence. It was the “center of a fertile valley” where an “extraordinary Arab-Persian symbiosis flourished” and scholars from all faiths translated ancient knowledge.
The British imperialists, particularly Gertrude Bell, are portrayed by Guez as having a mission in Mesopotamia that is “an undertaking of salvation, Promethean and sacred, the apotheosis of the imperial project.” The notion that “British life force will fertilize the Mesopotamian desert, for the benefit of mankind” also has mythical overtones. The characters, especially Dick Doughty-Wylie and Gertrude Bell, often reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations and the cycles of history. The idea that Mesopotamia has always been the “center of gravity of the great cosmopolitan empires of the Near East” underscores the belief that it will return to its former glory. The mention of Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria anchors the narrative in the origins of civilization and emphasizes the profound historical and mythological significance of the land. Through these partly mythopoetic elements, Guez highlights the strong connection that the protagonists, especially Gertrude Bell, feel to Mesopotamia, and glorifies the imperial ambitions of the British as a kind of fulfillment of fate or rebirth of an ancient glory.
While Kerviler portrays Mesopotamia as a place of perpetual recurrence of tyranny and complex, almost mystical manipulation, where the signs of history are deeply hidden and difficult to decipher, Guez illuminates the region through the lens of imperialism and realpolitik, in which specific historical actors and interests drive the modern “invention” of Iraq. Both works, however, emphasize Mesopotamia’s strategic importance and vulnerability to external forces. Kerviler focuses on the inevitable, cyclical nature of power and conflict inherent in the region. Guez, on the other hand, demonstrates how the pursuit of resources and the shaping of geopolitical power have profoundly altered the landscape and population of Mesopotamia, often with tragic and unforeseen consequences.
Babel Poetics
In Julien de Kervilers Tyrants are eternal The poetics of Babel, as a central and multifaceted motif, permeates the structure, themes, and philosophy of language of the text. This poetics is initially closely linked to the connection between the mythological Babel and contemporary reality. Kerviler refers to the biblical myth of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:6-9), where God confuses the language of humankind to thwart their unified project and scatter them across the earth. This confusion of languages is interpreted ambivalently: on the one hand, as a "primordial political castration of humanity" that prevents unity and power, and on the other hand, as a "liberating Felix Culpa“which celebrates the diversity of people and cultures resulting from forced separation. The question, “Can you bomb Baghdad without waking Babel?” establishes a direct link between the historical destruction of Babel and the Anglo-American invasion of Baghdad, suggesting that actions in the present can reactivate mythical dimensions and cosmic orders.”
At the heart of this poetics lies the philosophical question of the relationship between language and the world: "Does the world exist prior to language, or does language create the world?" Influenced by Stéphane Mallarmé, Kerviler suggests that words possess the power to create human space and even to actively shape and distort reality. What is shown need not be said, and what is said is not reducible to the commonly accepted linguistic component of utterance.
The multiplicity, ambivalence, and confusion of Babel are reflected in Kerviler's narrative style. The novel Tyrants are eternal The story is told from the "multiple, inevitable" perspective of Saddam Hussein's favorite, who grapples with doppelgangers and intertwined realities. Characters are interchangeable and their identities fluid, reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, which obscures clear distinctions and is expressed in the characters' "multiple identities." The text itself is a "labyrinth" and a "nested web of words" that leads the reader into "endless agitated parentheses." The narrative jumps between times, places, and levels of reality, underscoring the "unstable" and "ambiguous" nature of the story. The repeated use of excessive parentheses and minimal shifts is a stylistic feature that amplifies this confusion and emphasizes the complexity of the narrated world. The concept that “everything and its opposite” exist is also a recurring motif, highlighting the inherent contradiction and ambiguity of reality.
Simulation and deception are key elements of this poetics. The multitude of doubles (sosie) of Saddam and his ministers, the fake treasures, and the staged events are expressions of a world dominated by illusion and deception, where the real is barely distinguishable from the false. The text itself is described as a "cryptogram of a military project" or a "mongrel" intended to mislead readers. The theme of memory and perception also contributes to the Babel poetics. Memory is described as "deficient," "approximate," and standing in "contradictory relationships with reality," which the examiner corrects to "unstable relationships with truth." This points to the unreliability of perception and the possibility of "fissures in reality." The images of memory are "uncertain" and constitute "a deception," emphasizing the difficulty of constructing a coherent and reliable narrative. The text conveys a “form of presence that is constantly undermined by a form of absence,” a “wavering between two opposing states” that are nevertheless states of the same identity. This leads to an “unstable and ambiguous narrative” that oscillates between rigidity and anxiety.
The history of Mesopotamia, marked by the repeated destruction and rebuilding of cities, including Babylon itself, is reflected in the novel's cyclical structure. Events and scenes repeat themselves, often with slight shifts, as if history were staging itself. The power of storytelling is put to the test: the figure of the favorite becomes the transmitter of a story that is itself a fiction, yet still wields power over reality. Writing a "book" is both a weapon and a means of self-preservation, capable of rewriting and manipulating history.
Kerviler's poetics of Babel represent a literary exploration of the multiplicity of the world, the ambivalence of language, and the instability of reality. It celebrates the diversity that arose from the original dispersion while simultaneously addressing the resulting confusion and the difficulty of ascertaining truth. The text itself becomes a mirror of this Babylonian experience—a place where meanings multiply, identities blur, and the narrative moves in an endless cycle of creation and destruction, truth and fiction.
The eternal cycle and the power of the text
The title Tyrants are eternal (The Tyrants Are Eternal) is programmatic for the novel's central theme, expressing the idea of an immortal, self-perpetuating power on multiple levels—physical, ideological, historical, and narrative—that transcends the deaths of individual characters and conveys a deeply pessimistic view of human history and the fate of civilization. The primary explanation lies in Saddam Hussein's plan to fake his death and survive in a gigantic, underground bunker preserved in a solution. This plan envisions him and his followers one day returning to the surface and assuming control of a world ravaged by the "invaders." Thus, the tyrant becomes "eternal" in the literal sense by outliving the demise of his enemies.
Even when the physical tyrant disappears, his ideology and influence persist. Saddam Hussein created a system of doubles who assumed his role and multiplied his presence. This symbolizes that the idea of tyranny, or the "rule of the Raïs" (the leader), is not tied to a single individual but lives on through imitation, manipulation, and the creation of a specific narrative. The novel plays with the notion of the "éternel retour du même" (eternal return of the same). Conflicts, power structures, and patterns of human behavior repeat themselves across the centuries. The historical and mythical references (Babel, Nebuchadnezzar, Saladin, the Crusades) reinforce the idea that tyranny is a constant in human history, reappearing in ever-new forms. The "eternal" nature of the tyrant thus serves as a metaphor for the repetition of abuse of power and violence.
The novel itself is a reflection on literature's power to create and manipulate realities. The story Saddam Hussein dictates to his favorite becomes a tool to cement his legend and either conceal or reveal his true intentions. By writing and controlling his own history, the tyrant secures a kind of literary immortality that extends beyond his physical death. The title can therefore also be understood as a commentary on the permanence of narratives and their ability to perpetuate historical figures. The tyrants' plan is designed to defeat their enemies, the "invaders," in future generations. The mention that future archaeologists will discover the remains of the bunker, thus unwittingly triggering the tyrants' campaign of revenge, emphasizes that the effects of tyranny reach far into the future and will bring about "eternal" retribution.
The final part of the novel is a synthesis of all previously introduced themes and an ultimate apocalyptic vision. The preserved tyrants, above all Saddam Hussein, are in their "transparent glass coffins" in the bunker, ready for their rebirth. The sexual acts of the favorite woman are explicitly transformed into an act of procreation, in which her body serves as a "matrix" for the "incarnation of my organs in colonial mass phenomena." The "ogiva giratoire" (a rotating spike) that penetrates the women is the symbol of this total control and the procreation of a new, tyrannical humanity. The world on the surface is doomed to self-destruction, while the tyrants in the underground plot their triumphant return. The victory is not military, but metaphysical: the tyrants will consume humanity as "food" and build a new paradise upon its ruins. The book itself is revealed as a "time bomb" and a "weapon" threatening the reader's civilization. The final sentence of the excerpt, which poses the question of whether the book the reader has opened can protect them from their own history, makes the reader the ultimate victim of this literary trap. The truth is that by reading this book, the reader is already integrated into the reality of the tyrants.
The novel provokes the realization that the ultimate form of tyranny is not physical oppression, but the complete colonization of individual and collective imagination. When the ability to distinguish reality from fiction, truth from lies, is lost, humanity becomes a mindless instrument of an all-encompassing narrative controlled by the "tyrants."
This article is written in German and can be found at https://rentree.de. Automatic translations into English and French are available. English, French.
Notes- Mentioned include Gérard de Nerval, Gustave Flaubert, Jules Verne, Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Stéphane Mallarmé, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Paul Claudel, Marcel Proust, Raymond Roussel, Guillaume Apollinaire, Blaise Cendrars, Nathalie Sarraute, Pierre Klossowski, Claude Simon, Robert Pinget, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Claude Ollier, Michel Butor, Jean Ricardou, Jacques Roubaud, Philippe Sollers, Pierre Guyotat, Danielle Mémoire, Olivier Cadiot.>>>
