Reviews with content warning for Murder - فرانكشتاين في بغداد

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

فرانكشتاين في بغداد by Ahmed Saadawi, أحمد سعداوي

28 reviews

disauci's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Frankenstein in Baghdad is a dark, yet thoughtful book. While its characters were pointedly unlikable (except maybe Elishva), the themes were provocative and interesting.

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gouachebleue's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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bashsbooks's review against another edition

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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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delainey5's review against another edition

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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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jillaay_h's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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sofipitch's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Weird little book which is very interested in good and evil and more the lack of a clear distinction between the two. The Whatsitsname beginning it's killing spree in what seems like justified revenge only to kill plenty of innocent civilians to keep itself alive is particularly salient rn

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tashtasher's review against another edition

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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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aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

5.0

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hoppskotch's review against another edition

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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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laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition

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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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