What can literature teach us about the Iraq invasion? A case study of Ian McEwan’s ‘Saturday'

by Afrah Almatwari ‘Saturday’ by Ian McEwan. Published January 1, 2005. This blog post examines the novel Saturday by Ian McEwan, which takes place in the shadow of the great London marches of 15 February 2003, before the Iraq invasion. The novel tells the story of a day in the life of a neurosurgeon named Henry Perowne and depicts the contentious debate present in British society about the justifications for initiating war in Iraq and its ethical implications. Through the two main characters, Perowne, who is pro-war, and his daughter Daisy, who is anti-war, this article analyses whether humanitarian crises justify military intervention, as well as the irrationality of fighting terrorism militarily. It shows that Saturday is just one example of how literature can be instructive in examining justifications for major political events, such as the invasion of Iraq.