Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

فرانكشتاين في بغداد by Ahmed Saadawi, أحمد سعداوي

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

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

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

-Suicide bombing, explosions -Corpses -Mutilation

delainey5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

im not sure that I understand the ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and War

woweewhoa's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, and War

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

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

Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

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

Moderate: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty

savvylit's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-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

More of a political commentary than a horror story, Frankenstein in Baghdad was a fascinating glimpse into post-Hussein Iraq. The story was engaging for two distinct reasons: (1) the literal setting and (2) the multiple points of view. By including the perspective of multiple residents of Baghdad, Saadawi demonstrates how an entire community experiences daily violence and trauma. Each character has suffered immense loss and been witness to unfathomable brutality. Many of the characters have also resigned themselves to daily danger and are unsurprised to be nearly killed.

The multi-character narration is also what conjures the powerful setting. Saadawi portrays a Baghdad that has been utterly destroyed by the U.S. invasion. Not only that, but he also demonstrates the resulting corruption and in-fighting that went hand-in-hand with the invasion. Baghdad is in ruins, no one can be trusted, and the streets are littered with corpses. Residents are fleeing to the countryside or leaving Iraq entirely. The glimpses of the true reality of senseless modern war in this novel are incredibly sobering.

All that being said, I ultimately felt neutral upon finishing Frankenstein in Baghdad. I think perhaps some of the dark humor that has been ascribed to this book fell flat for me, personally. Maybe it is an issue of translation or just general cultural differences. I'm not sure. I definitely got that some of the bureaucrats featured were exaggerated caricatures of real officials. However, I didn't actually experience comedy. Also, the portrayal of women in this novel is pretty terrible. Elishva is pitiful & disrespected and the way that Mahmoud acts around Nawal near the book's end is gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual harassment