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A review by zlaza
The Corpse Exhibition: And Other Stories of Iraq by Hassan Blasim
4.0
"Spilled blood and superstition are the basis of the world. Man is not the only creature who kills for bread, or love, or power, because animals in the jungle do that in various ways, but he is the only creature who kills because of faith."
"The Corpse Exhibition" is a unique and well-written short story collection about war-torn Iraq. It was written by Hassan Blasim, an Iraqi author who now lives in Finland.
The stories in "The Corpse Exhibition" are told from the point of view of an Iraqi. There are 14 stories in total, and many of them have a supernatural element to them. In this collection of stories, Hassan Blasim masterfully blends realism with fantasy, and shows us the horrors of war in a new and creative way. He's been compared to authors like Roberto Bolano and Jorge Luis Borges, and I couldn't agree more.
Some stories in "The Corpse Exhibition" were better than others, my personal favourite was "An Army Newspaper", which is narrated by the spirit of a literary editor. He recounts the story of how he died after he stole a dead soldier's story and published it as his own.
There's also some truly bizarre stories in this collection. One of them is "The Hole", a story of a man who ends up falling into a hole while trying to escape gunfire. In the hole he finds a peculiar old man, a cannibalistic djinni, and the body of a Russian soldier who died during the winter war between the Russians and the Finns.
The writing in this book is so disturbing, violent and unsettling. It's not an easy read at all, it's brutal and haunting, but it's worth your time.
"The Corpse Exhibition" is a unique and well-written short story collection about war-torn Iraq. It was written by Hassan Blasim, an Iraqi author who now lives in Finland.
The stories in "The Corpse Exhibition" are told from the point of view of an Iraqi. There are 14 stories in total, and many of them have a supernatural element to them. In this collection of stories, Hassan Blasim masterfully blends realism with fantasy, and shows us the horrors of war in a new and creative way. He's been compared to authors like Roberto Bolano and Jorge Luis Borges, and I couldn't agree more.
Some stories in "The Corpse Exhibition" were better than others, my personal favourite was "An Army Newspaper", which is narrated by the spirit of a literary editor. He recounts the story of how he died after he stole a dead soldier's story and published it as his own.
There's also some truly bizarre stories in this collection. One of them is "The Hole", a story of a man who ends up falling into a hole while trying to escape gunfire. In the hole he finds a peculiar old man, a cannibalistic djinni, and the body of a Russian soldier who died during the winter war between the Russians and the Finns.
The writing in this book is so disturbing, violent and unsettling. It's not an easy read at all, it's brutal and haunting, but it's worth your time.