Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

4 reviews

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

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

Minor: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

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

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

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual harassment