Reviews

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

asmareading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ermw0's review against another edition

3.5

I wanted to love this book so badly, but it just didn't do it for me. Though advertised as a "white knuckle horror" I didn't find it to be horror at all. More supernatural/magical if anything. The premise of this book is incredible but I don't feel like the execution was there. I did enjoy all of the characters and felt the time and place was perfectly captured. 

pea_che's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.75

michaellortz's review against another edition

5.0

Enjoyed this. Very unique spin on the Frankenstein tale and an interesting perspective on 2005-era Baghdad.

crystaltheacademic's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It’s well written but a tough read. I walk away from reading this book better informed about Iraq and what it’s been through. I just felt heartbroken for everyone in this story (except the realtor) 

adleekay's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

eulrch's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

1abookwormdiary_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.25

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

4.0

Short listed for international man booker

Shouldn't it rather be called Frankenstein's Monster? The book sure picks up the atmosphere of Iraq suffering from aftereffects of war and terrorism. The very idea of making a complete dead body out of parts of victims of bomb blasts which couldn't be identified with their owner is something that could occur easily to someone living in Baghdad and, for whom, bombs are a daily occurrence. In fact, the characters who seem to be prospering the most are those gaining from ruins - one of them gets rich by buying old junk from those migrating out and other by buying or illegally occupying their properties. Then there is the fact that monster like Baghdad contains elements of verious communities.

Another element would be religion:

"There were people who had survived many deaths in the time of the dictatorship only to find themselves face-to-face with a pointless death in the age of “democracy”—when, for example, a motorbike ran into them in the middle of the road. Believers lost their faith when those who had shared their beliefs and their struggles betrayed them and their principles. Nonbelievers had become believers when they saw the “merits” and benefits of faith."

It too raised my hoped - this magical religious realism of sort one enjoys in old stories (Arabian nights,.Katha Sarita sagar etc), where thing that superstition people believe - souls waiting for the judgement day, the ability of dead (Jewish) saints to communicate through their idols, a person possessing a quite unbelievable good luck which is saving a whole locality from misfortunes, the highly accurate future forecasts made by astrologers and card readers etc. Of course, the motif makes sense when one thinks about how easy it is to lose the sense of reality in times of war and hostile governments:

Dead people had emerged from the dungeons of the security services and nonexistent people appeared out of nowhere outside the doors of their relatives’ humble houses. There were people who had returned from long journeys with new names and new identities, women who had spent their childhoods in prison cells and had learned, before anything else in life, the rules and conventions for dealing with the warders."

And so this book definitely held the promise till ... The monster decided to create a team and start killing criminals to revenge the killers of victims whose body parts made his own body. Yes, you heard it - talk about killing a book. As if it was not enough, he also does a self-interview for a newspaper. The characters remain forgettable and after the first quarter of the book, there is not much to keep one going.

sskinner155's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

An interesting narrative with multiple characters and perspectives all centering around a mystery killer. I did find the beginning a confusing but as I got further in I was able to connect characters and scenes. It bleak but hopefully, sad and intense but overall a great reflective read.