Hussein s starkly beautiful novel Beyond Love plunges us into the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath. Huda, the young woman at the center of the story, experiences the deprivation and humiliation of life in sanctioned Iraq, working in the satirically named al-Amal factory (factory of hope) making men s underwear. While surveillance and fear permeate daily life, Huda dares to vote "no" in the referendum for Saddam Hussein. This courageous act could have cost her her life had she not fled to the closest border, Jordan, where the novel begins. Huda is not alone: Iraqi exiles are legion there, all...