Reviews

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

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megadan777's review against another edition

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4.0

Really enjoyed this satirical version of Frankenstein set in Baghdad during the American Invasion.

kumipaul's review against another edition

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4.0

Fascinating story of the violence in Baghdad during the American occupation, and how the local residents dealt with it from day to day. Woven in was this odd story of "Frankenstein", aka "whatsitsname" who was made up of bits and pieces of blown-up and murdered people. Criminals and innocent people. (Of course, no one was all criminal, and no one was all innocent.) Whatsitsname lived to take revenge for the wrongs perpetrated on those people who were now part of him, and then as a body part fell off of him, he would find a new body to replace the lost part. There would always be bodies. There would always be bombs to provide parts. Whatsitsname might just live forever on the violence.

ainoiisa's review against another edition

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challenging

4.5

amess's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Amazing use of Shelley's Frankenstein set in war torn Baghdad. A wonderful philosophical journey about the nature of death, violence, and justice.

jpwoodruff's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

geve_'s review against another edition

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3.0

I really enjoyed the first 25-30% of this book. It was funny, dark, tragic and clever. There were tons of characters and they really fill out what this book is, a story of the time and place. Baghdad features prominently of course, and for such a big city, this feels very much like a neighborhood here, and I mean that in the best possible way. Though the beginning does a great job of setting up the premise and story, it got really slow after that. The time shifts were confusing, and that could just be the translation. The characters started getting a bit much, and there were A LOT for such a short book. In addition, after the set up, we know what's happening but we still have to experience the discussions and realizations with each different set of characters, so it was really repetitive. Felt very much like just going through the motions at some point.

Still, this was a great idea and a great premise, not the best execution. The dark comedy was generally absurd, which is my favorite kind, but these good points couldn't save this book. It was fine, but not great.