A review by melanie_galea
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

4.0

I personally really enjoyed reading this book! This was a part of history that I wasn't too familiar with but the events that happen in the book are still relevant today. I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley last year and I think this was a clever retelling to really capture the pain and confusion happening in Baghdad at the time. We get to delve into the stories of various characters in the book, all of which have been effected by the bombings and terrorist attacks happening in their city. There was a line further on in the book that talked about how even the careful people can end up dying at any moment. The people are walking on eggshells everyday while trying to go about their life as normal... or well adapt to their new normal.

Whatsitsname aka the figure depicting Frankenstein's Monster in this book was created from parts of victim's bodies from bombings - stitched together and inhabited by a lost soul who died in one of the bombings. We see the figure seek revenge on the individual who caused the death of the people whose parts he's made of. Once he's exacted revenge on someone, the body parts of the person he's avenged fall off and Whatsitsname is left to find more body parts to replace what he's lost. Essentially a never ending cycle of violence as Whatsitsname starts to shift his focus from just wanting revenge to prolonging his life.