Reviews tagging 'Death'

فرانكشتاين في بغداد by Ahmed Saadawi

38 reviews

toffishay's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of my favorite books of all time and I am so intrigued by how stories that we know can be reimagined and adapted to analyze different fears and different times with different actors. In the case of Frankenstein in Baghdad, the tale of a Frankenstein monster is not used to expose fears of science and paternalism, but of exploring violence and the impacts of war, religion and spirituality, and identity and purpose. All that I didn't like was that I would have liked more exploration of the female characters who have interesting stories, but not as much time on the page and some characters get a lot of time, but little payoff. I think that if you are interested in horror and a reimagined classic, this is certainly worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Blood, Alcohol, Body horror, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, War, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Excrement and Religious bigotry

tessieferro's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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? Yes

3.75

“They all dreamed something about Hasib. Parts of one dream made up for parts missing in another. A little dream filled a gap in a big one, and the threads stitched together to recreate a dream body for Hasib, to go with his soul, which was still hovering over all their heads and seeking the rest it could not find.”

Beautiful, somewhat comical in a twisted way, an unexpected twist on an overused concept. Some parts fell short, but the concept made up for all of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, and Body horror

roenfoe's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

2.5

I wanted to love Frankenstein in Baghdad so, so badly. The blurb was witty, darkly tantalizing, and hinted at an upsetting, modern take on a familiar Western classic. Unfortunately, the actual novel fell very short of my expectations and said summary.

First off, the prose was staccato and largely devoid of flavor. It was difficult to imagine the titular Baghdad, as the luscious descriptions of decaying architecture and its unsettling inhabitants were largely absent. There was a mystery element, but very little intrigue generated. The supernatural elements were not frightening or dark- rather they were discussed in a dry, matter-of-fact way. I read several reviews and papers that classify Frankenstein in Baghdad as a modern Gothic novel, but in my opinion it is severely lacking the crucial Gothic elements to classify it as such. However, after consulting a friend with some expertise, it seems this may have been due to a poor English translation. Over 100 pages were cut from the original text, which likely included some of the meat I felt it lacked. 

The characters were one-dimensional and each felt the same as the next. Beyond their initial descriptions, their unique characteristics or personalities were never expounded upon, resulting in a cast of virtually identical men (and a handful of women). The most memorable character was Elishva, and I still had to google her name just now because I couldn't remember. The list of names and roles at the beginning of the book is a necessary tool to understand the story at all. Because these characters all felt the same, I was not invested in any of them and struggled to care about the problems they faced. Even the monster (called Whatsitsname) had the same character voice as the rest of the crew. 

It may seem that this book was terrible, but the themes were fascinating: the banality of violence, creation (and the morality of creation), survival in the face of collapse, ritual, religion, and belief, the decay of norms under occupation... I just wish that the author had done something more interesting with them within the story. 

I can't remember the ending other than it was underwhelming and gave us no answers. A book doesn't need to do the latter, but after such a drag of a read I was hoping for something good at the end. Part of me thinks I should have DNFed this one, but it was extremely short and I wanted to love it so badly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Gore

lizlikesfrogs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality and Alcohol

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Violence, War, Classism, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia and Stalking

annemaries_shelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

As a retelling of Frankenstein and its philosophy - who is the monster, what does it mean to be a person and to purse justice, how do you reconcile your past with your future, the balance of nature vs nurture - Frankenstein in Baghdad did a good job. 
I can see why people think it's brilliant and how it won awards, but for me personally, it's fine as a novel. Nothing too special in my reading experience. 

As with the original, the monster is the most interesting character and we never get enough time with him. There are a lot of tangents and other character povs, which may be annoying to some readers. I enjoyed how all the characters added to the sense of place and time and the exploration of the American invasion of Iraq and subsequent impacts of war on society. However, this detracted from the framing device of the monster - an extra 20-30 pages with the monster's perspective would've been great. 

My favourite characters were Hadi (his story and resolution made me so sad) and Elishva, whose enduring love for her long lost/dead son was bittersweet. I do wish there were more female characters pov than just Elishva, who was painted as the "crazy old woman." Mahmoud - my least favourite and most common pov - had a really awful perspective on women and "love" (aka obsession) that was delusional, disrespectful, and all too common among many men. He frustrated and engaged me as a character. 

Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking read that probably won't stick with me too long. I'm glad I finally read this off my shelves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Grief, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Torture, Murder, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual harassment

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Vomit, Violence, Death, Police brutality, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death and Body horror

Minor: Child death and Mass/school shootings

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I really loved the concept and execution of this book, it was horrifying and thought-provoking and just a great exploration of the logic of violence and vengeance. This was definitely a difficult read but it was absolutely worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Torture

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Kidnapping

aegireads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Death, Grief, War, and Suicide

mme_carton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Moderate: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty