Frankenstein in Baghdad
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Author: Ahmad Sa’dawi, translated by Jonathan Wright
Publisher: London : Oneworld Publications, 2018
Annotation:
Translated into English from the original Arabic, this heavy hitting political piece sheds a new and terrifying war time spin on Mary Shelley's montster in her 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein.
Set during the Iraq War in 2005, this novel is written from multiple perspectives, it mainly follows the story of Hadi a junk dealer and his assistant who are involved in a car bombing and when Hadi goes to collect his assistant's body he is confronted with assorted parts of other's bodies. He repairs the body with the parts and thus Whatsisname is born and inhabited by the spirit of a young man who died in a previous Iraq war and vows to take revenge upon all criminals.
The Iraqi perspective and life in Baghdad during this time period is not one often heard in Western literature and this translated work is one that combines the haunting experiences and dark humour to comment on even the best intentions going wrong.
Awards:
Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Winner of France’s Grand Prize for Fantasy
Winner of The Kitschies’ Golden Tentacle Award for Best Debut
Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
For more information:
Translated into English from the original Arabic, this heavy hitting political piece sheds a new and terrifying war time spin on Mary Shelley's montster in her 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein.
Set during the Iraq War in 2005, this novel is written from multiple perspectives, it mainly follows the story of Hadi a junk dealer and his assistant who are involved in a car bombing and when Hadi goes to collect his assistant's body he is confronted with assorted parts of other's bodies. He repairs the body with the parts and thus Whatsisname is born and inhabited by the spirit of a young man who died in a previous Iraq war and vows to take revenge upon all criminals.
The Iraqi perspective and life in Baghdad during this time period is not one often heard in Western literature and this translated work is one that combines the haunting experiences and dark humour to comment on even the best intentions going wrong.
Awards:
Winner of the International Prize for Arabic FictionWinner of France’s Grand Prize for Fantasy
Winner of The Kitschies’ Golden Tentacle Award for Best Debut
Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
For more information:
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