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mollyadelman's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 idk something about this did not captivate me. def thought it would be freakier scarier. lots of interesting commentary on iraqi sectarianism and the us forces, i wish he like dug deeeep into some of the interesting things he brings up but then sort of glosses over
the_discworldian's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bluereen's review against another edition
4.0
"There are no innocents who are completely innocent or criminals who are completely criminal."
The quote best sums up Saadawi's masterpiece. I had put off reading this book for a while because I wanted to read Shelley's Frankenstein first. It really helped because he draws from the original to create his own novel's 'monster,' the Whatsitsname. Similar to his predecessor, the monster can't be simply labeled as the bad guy: once again, readers find themselves questioning the innocence of the human race. What makes this novel special, though, is its setting. In the midst of the Iraq War, Saadawi provides a haunting account of how the US forces acted with impunity, thus leaving citizens with no choice but to fight for their survival. The novel emphasizes how the innocent are always caught in the crossfire.
The narrative is just as chaotic as the landscape—Saadawi delivers information in fragments—and readers, just like the monster, are tasked with picking up the pieces in order to make sense of it all. It is commendable how he shows the nature of the war from varying perspectives through his extensive cast—all coming from different walks of life. There is the poor junk dealer who creates the monster and unleashes chaos all around; an old woman waiting for her dead son to come home; a journalist dedicated to the truth yet falls prey to affluence, and an officer desperate to put the city at rest.
The monster, first intent on delivering divine justice, soon finds himself at a crossroads. Though he had sworn to avenge all the victims and only take the body parts of criminals, he later realizes that he can't help but become a murderer himself if he is to survive long enough to complete his mission. But then reality eventually hits: will all this ever end, though? In the end, no matter how innocent a person claims to be— in the face of death—self-preservation is the default action. As raised by the Magician, "who's to say how criminal someone is? ... each of us has a measure of criminality."
Definitely an eye-opening and powerful read.
The quote best sums up Saadawi's masterpiece. I had put off reading this book for a while because I wanted to read Shelley's Frankenstein first. It really helped because he draws from the original to create his own novel's 'monster,' the Whatsitsname. Similar to his predecessor, the monster can't be simply labeled as the bad guy: once again, readers find themselves questioning the innocence of the human race. What makes this novel special, though, is its setting. In the midst of the Iraq War, Saadawi provides a haunting account of how the US forces acted with impunity, thus leaving citizens with no choice but to fight for their survival. The novel emphasizes how the innocent are always caught in the crossfire.
The narrative is just as chaotic as the landscape—Saadawi delivers information in fragments—and readers, just like the monster, are tasked with picking up the pieces in order to make sense of it all. It is commendable how he shows the nature of the war from varying perspectives through his extensive cast—all coming from different walks of life. There is the poor junk dealer who creates the monster and unleashes chaos all around; an old woman waiting for her dead son to come home; a journalist dedicated to the truth yet falls prey to affluence, and an officer desperate to put the city at rest.
The monster, first intent on delivering divine justice, soon finds himself at a crossroads. Though he had sworn to avenge all the victims and only take the body parts of criminals, he later realizes that he can't help but become a murderer himself if he is to survive long enough to complete his mission. But then reality eventually hits: will all this ever end, though? In the end, no matter how innocent a person claims to be— in the face of death—self-preservation is the default action. As raised by the Magician, "who's to say how criminal someone is? ... each of us has a measure of criminality."
Definitely an eye-opening and powerful read.
ajax's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jiggityjog's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
indezoee's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
Being able to put a face with unconscionable violent acts makes it feel more immediately real than a vague concept of the person committing those acts. Ahmed Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad demonstrates the concept of recognizing and identifying the cruelty present within a war-ravaged region.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In the streets of Baghdad in the aftermath of US occupation, the lives of a mother, junk dealer, and journalist become intertwined by the actions and fate of a Frankenstein-like man that the junk dealer claims to have stitched together from disjointed body parts so they can be recognized as people and given a proper burial. When the composite corpse disappears followed by a series of murders that take place throughout the city, the authorities are driven to seek the entity. The mother is kind to him and talks with him, believing it's her departed son returned to her, while the journalist seeks out the details of his creation and actions to be able to write a story to tantalize the readers of his magazine. As the entity exacts the revenges his body parts demand, he needs to replace them with new ones, criminal or innocent, creating a cycle of killing that seems to have no end.
The story presented an interesting concept of a piecemeal person exacting revenge for heinous acts perpetrated against the persons creating the composite being, with plenty of opportunity to do so in Baghdad's politically unstable streets. This narrative portrays the horrors experienced by ordinary people in Iraq but manages to enlighten without the incredibly heavy reality entirely depressing its readers; however, I did feel that it was difficult for me to connect with the story, leaving me at a slight emotional remove from the events and characters, but this could be, in part, due to translation and my unfamiliarity with some cultural references. With an intriguing cast of characters, whose lives intersect in connection with the sought after entity, the narrative provides the stories of their lives and engenders compassion for the suffering they've endured.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In the streets of Baghdad in the aftermath of US occupation, the lives of a mother, junk dealer, and journalist become intertwined by the actions and fate of a Frankenstein-like man that the junk dealer claims to have stitched together from disjointed body parts so they can be recognized as people and given a proper burial. When the composite corpse disappears followed by a series of murders that take place throughout the city, the authorities are driven to seek the entity. The mother is kind to him and talks with him, believing it's her departed son returned to her, while the journalist seeks out the details of his creation and actions to be able to write a story to tantalize the readers of his magazine. As the entity exacts the revenges his body parts demand, he needs to replace them with new ones, criminal or innocent, creating a cycle of killing that seems to have no end.
The story presented an interesting concept of a piecemeal person exacting revenge for heinous acts perpetrated against the persons creating the composite being, with plenty of opportunity to do so in Baghdad's politically unstable streets. This narrative portrays the horrors experienced by ordinary people in Iraq but manages to enlighten without the incredibly heavy reality entirely depressing its readers; however, I did feel that it was difficult for me to connect with the story, leaving me at a slight emotional remove from the events and characters, but this could be, in part, due to translation and my unfamiliarity with some cultural references. With an intriguing cast of characters, whose lives intersect in connection with the sought after entity, the narrative provides the stories of their lives and engenders compassion for the suffering they've endured.