Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Frankenstein a Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

21 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

jillaay_h's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

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

Moderate: Physical abuse and Toxic friendship

draven_deathcrush's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I'm obsessed with Frankenstein now and I thought this would be like a retelling, but it wasn't really. It didn't really focus much on the actual Frankenstein part, which is completely fine, but I just thought/hoped it would. It's a good book, but I just had different expectations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Gore and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual content

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

lizlikesfrogs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Police brutality and Alcohol

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Xenophobia and Stalking

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: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, 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, Police brutality, and War

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit