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gingerreader99 's review for:
Frankenstein in Baghdad
by Ahmed Saadawi
This was surreal and I agree with a review in the guardian that suggests it evokes Kafka more than Shelley. It is the combination of the fantastical and also the commentary on Post-(illegal)US Invasion Iraq. With the shadows of the Iran-Iraq war hanging overhead, the omnipresent threat of death via terrorists, imperialists or something else, the political machinations of several characters and the relatively mundane day to day in between. All that to say the reader is left with a clear picture of occupied Iraq, and the senselessness of the war with some compelling horror fantasy mixed in.
I've seen the following quotes pop up in other reviews but they stood out to me when reading also, both are from the Whatsitsname:
“There are no innocents who are completely innocent, and no criminals who are completely criminal … every criminal he had killed was also a victim.”
“Because I’m made up of body parts of people from diverse backgrounds – ethnicities, tribes, races and social classes – I represent the impossible mix that never was achieved in the past. I’m the first true Iraqi citizen, he thinks.”
I've seen the following quotes pop up in other reviews but they stood out to me when reading also, both are from the Whatsitsname:
“There are no innocents who are completely innocent, and no criminals who are completely criminal … every criminal he had killed was also a victim.”
“Because I’m made up of body parts of people from diverse backgrounds – ethnicities, tribes, races and social classes – I represent the impossible mix that never was achieved in the past. I’m the first true Iraqi citizen, he thinks.”