Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

Review by Dina Al Bayati

The Short 

This exceptional novel combines everyday events of US-occupied Baghdad since 2005. The novel is described as a "Fantastical Manifestation of War's Cruelties," and dives into what it’s like to live in ongoing trauma in Baghdad's streets. The book won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2014.

The Long 

As masses of explosions mounted in Baghdad, the scavenger Hadi collects human body parts during explosions and stitches the pieces into a corpse. He wants the government to recognize these parts as people and bury them properly. As he is in the process of building a corpse, "Whatsitsname," it goes missing, walks through the city, and encounters endless murders, explosions, and on-going trauma. Walking through Baghdad's old neighborhoods, Whatsitsname witnesses the tragedies as the violence intensifies. This is a real estate novel that portrays struggles over houses and hotels, where the central character is an editor who shadows the creator's story.

To read or not to read? 

Read! Read! Read! It illustrates the complicated and layered Iraqi citizens' life through every day's Baghdad's spiritual disaster. This novel doesn't only tell a story; it unfolds across multiple layers to reveal something new.