Steavenson's time spent with the family of Iraqi General Kamel Sachet really shows the progression in the life of the country from the early optimism of Saddam's rule to the abuses that followed and the ambivalent complicity of those Baathies in high places. Sachet is shown to be a moral man whose guilt over the role he played in the regime is pushed to the breaking point. The irony is that his sons became involved in the anti-American insurgency - perhaps a twisted attempt to continue their father's tradition of military courage. ( )

I am having the hardest time thinking of something to say about The Weight of a Mustard Seed. I am just plain stuck. I liked the book, some parts more than others. I thought it was relevant to the times, informative, and thought provoking. I have read a handful of reviews in which this book is described as reading like a novel, but I cannot say that proved true for me. It definitely read like a nonfiction book—and not at all in a bad way. It certainly lends credibility to the author’s research and efforts in putting together and writing this book.
Author and journalist Wendell Steavenson spent many years researching her story, interviewing various sources, reading through documents, and living in the country she wrote about. In part, she wanted to know why: why reputable people like General Kamel Sachet would remain loyal to a government regime that he did not agree with, one that, at times, was oppressive, practiced torture and executed people for believing differently or speaking out, including his own followers and supporters.

Although the author sets out to tell the story of General Kamel Sachet, there are many stories within the novel about individuals, some powerful and some with no power at all, sharing their experiences. The book spans over several years, marking much of Saddam Hussein's reign over Iraq. While the focus of the book is on the negative impact of Saddam Hussein’s rule over Iraq, the author does make mention of some of the positives as well, however briefly.

The people, including those in high positions, had to adapt as best they could to survive, sometimes compromising their own beliefs, whether through denial or looking the other way. They rationalized their actions or lack thereof. The author points out the difference in cultures and beliefs between the West and the Middle East through the words of those she interviews. Wendell Steavenson also uses science to seek answers to her questions, looking into psychological studies conducted in the United States. The scientific results are not all that different from what happened in real life Iraq, demonstrating that man is not so different even countries and cultures apart.

The Weight of a Mustard Seed provides no real new insights into those age old questions, "Why did you go along with what you knew was wrong? Why didn't you speak out when so many of you disagreed? Why didn't you do something to stop it?" However, what the book does offer is insight into a people and country that have been in turmoil for many years. It shows the strength and resilience of individuals who do what they feel they must to survive. Unfortunately, some do turn to extremism as a way to survive, and it really is no wonder considering the life they have known, the constant fear they live in. There are many though who do not go that route, and who instead are trying their best to get by and hoping for a better day, one free of occupation and oppression, one where they can walk down the street without fear.
( )

I found this on a long abandoned TBR pile. I received an ARC and made it to pages 138/139. It has sat unfinished all these years and I really don't want to resume reading it. I don't know if I just wasn't in the mood for some non-fiction material or if I found myself getting weighted down in all the historical happenings.

The book does have names listed in the back to help keep the names and historical significance of some of the people straight while you're reading.

Quite an education. This book gives not merely a historical flavour of the last thirty years in Iraq from the perspective of several characters closely associated with the regime, but an interesting insight into the psychological effect on those people of living under such extreme duress. The ambivalent nature of the Iraqui psyche appear to support the mental survival of the various people interviewed by Steavenson. Coping with the immense stress and constant fear of living under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship proves a need, above all, to keep silent. We have in Steavenson's narrative a vivid and compassionate portrayal of the Iraqui people as they accommodated their own individual morality to the every-changing reality of their personal experience. ( )

While I did have some of the same problems as other reviewers (sentence structure, haphazard switching of times and places, particularly), wonder if resultant bewilderment and confusion were intentional. There are too many questions, yet, about how people can be brought into such situations and anyone in the west would be hard-pressed to empathize with such an environment. The book was a difficult journey that probably could have bene edited into ease, but it's a difficult story, too. ( )