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Frankenstein in Baghdad
A man sews together the victims of Baghdad's bombings and the body gets up to take revenge. Turns out revenge always needs spare parts.
Who it's for
Saadawi turns the chaos of post-2003 Baghdad into a grimly funny fable: a junk dealer, Hadi, stitches together bombing victims' body parts so they can be buried, and the corpse comes alive to avenge each of them.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Ahmed Saadawi's 2013 novel, translated into English by Jonathan Wright in 2018, is set in Baghdad after the US-led invasion. Hadi al-Attag, a junk dealer, collects body parts of bombing victims and stitches them into one corpse so they can be buried; when a dead guard's soul enters it, the creature, called the Whatsitsname, comes alive and sets out to avenge the victims.
Where to find it
In print (Penguin, 2018); available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: Suicide bombings and dismembered bodies.
Age: Ages 16+
But believe me, my dear boy, there is nothing stronger than those two: patience and time, they will do it all.Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Chapter XVI (tr. Louise and Aylmer Maude)
