Reviews tagging 'Torture'

فرانكشتاين في بغداد by Ahmed Saadawi

16 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I must confess, I was never a huge fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I reread it over and over again in high school and college, and I could never get into it. Something about the text was too dense and archaic for me to connect to - which is not normally a problem I have with classics.

When I came across Frankenstein in Baghbad, I thought the concept of a surrealist look into early Iraq War era Baghdad was an interesting concept, but I was skeptical that I'd find the same stumbling blocks with this version as the original. After all, it takes place in a time and setting very different from my own, just like Shelley's original.

But Saadawi's work is different. I realized pretty quickly that this book is much, much closer to my time and place than I thought it would be. It demonstrates, with an unparalleled hand for metaphor, the monster that is the cycle of revenge which makes up the wheels of war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Body horror, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Police brutality, Classism, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual harassment, Car accident, Sexual content, and Suicide

-Suicide bombing, explosions -Corpses -Mutilation

tashtasher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Torture, War, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Death, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Physical abuse

wishbea's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content

hoppskotch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.25

Honestly, one of the finest adaptations of classic literature into modern sociopolitical contexts. I highly recommend this to anyone who either enjoys the creature feature genre or just in general is looking to expand their adult fiction and horror bookshelf. So many of the characters are complex that equally measures that they are written with deep respect to each person's humanity. That being said there are quite a handful of characters who I could have lived without but were essential for the plot and overall were enriching. An incredible dive into the moral and philosophical nature of death, murder, criminality, and victimhood within the context of war and loss. This has become one of my favorite books nearly overnight. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Body horror, Blood, War, Death, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Murder, Grief, Gore, and Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

elysephone_escapes's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

more speedreading for my essays - one day I'll actually be on top of everything 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence and Violence

Minor: Vomit

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

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

otherworlds's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit

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