A review by laurenbookwitchbitch
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

 I’ve been on a big reinterpretation of Frankenstein kick so I had to read “Frankenstein in Baghdad,” translated from Arabic. In the midst of the Iraq War a junk dealer begins to sow human body parts together from people killed in bombings. What follows is a gut wrenching tale of chase and pursuit, grief and saints, war and friendship, death and destruction. A powerful story about what it takes to create and maintain life in the worst of war zones. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, War, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Islamophobia, Murder, and Physical abuse