"Frankenstein in Baghdad" (Saadawi)

Ahmed Saadawi gives up on none of his characters. No less than 20 recur in Frankenstein in Baghdad.

How he managed to keep each one relevant amazed me only in hindsight, however. The total number of characters even mentioned -- more than 30 -- overwhelmed me throughout the book.

Ultimately, I finished Frankenstein in Baghdad because I'm a fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. That, and a local librarian who didn't even know this recommended it to me two years ago. (At the time, I stopped reading it early on because I was moving.) Unlike Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, F.I.B. focuses less on the creature's conscience than the interconnection of the citizenry that surrounds him.

In hindsight, another thing that amazed me was Saadawi's modes of characterization. Considering the recurring ones alone, a few characters have no dialogue at all. One is a pet. Another is an inanimate object. And so on. Given the array of characters and backstories, I'd recommend reading F.I.B. as part of a book club or group. That, and to better connect with some of the characters.

One of my favorites is the elderly Elishva, who resolves to stay in occupied Baghdad for an extraordinary reason. Another is Father Josiah, who exercises incredible patience with her.

I was gleaning the mentorship of Saidi, who became more of an intrigue as the book went on.

Given his previous political affiliation, Brigadier Majid was always a curiosity in his sensitive role under U.S. occupation.

I appreciated Mahmoud because his navigation of different interrelationships and events provided the most perspective of the story and convergence of the plot.

​Yet it's Hadi, who is -- besides Mahmoud -- the most invaluable character. He has the pulse of Baghdad under his feet as a pedestrian; the stuff he buys and sells from other residents as a junk dealer; and the rubbish he stores as a collector.

Frankenstein in Baghdad leaves you with some twists, mysteries, and cliffhangers. It's otherwise frustrating to keep up with the who's who of the myriad characters. But there's so much material for fan fiction or a second book that I'd still bother to read it.

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Note: Just minutes before I post this review, I notice a List of Characters in small print for the first time. 

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A book review of Frankenstein in Baghdad (Aḥmad Saadawi)

Recommender/Reference: Librarian | Dauphin County Library System

"Frankenstein in Baghdad" book cover (Courtesy of Penguin Random House)

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Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, at landturn.com/reviews.

Commemorating 5 years of landturn.com​ (2019 - 2023)

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