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An interesting concept, a metaphor of the impact of the US occupation of Iraq with the old tale of Frankenstein‘s monster. It‘s less horror in the classic sense of the genre, but it is heavy nonetheless. I found it a challenge to consume as an audio book and due to that found the characters hard to become entrenched in. However, the metaphor of the novel is engaging throughout.

#bookspinbingo November card @TheAromaofBooks

Oh yes, I need this whether I want it or not—I‘ve got some emergency TBRs! I‘m plotting for Friday through Monday, with try or die finishings of *The Riddle of the Sands*, *A Good Girl‘s Guide to Murder*, *Frankenstein in Baghdad* & heavy headway on *The Porpoise*. 😱

How about you?? @Andrew65

#Halloween #20in4 #Readathon

The creature finds a purpose in exacting revenge for the people that make up his form, but he is falling apart faster than he can avenge the wrongs and new pieces are added… But this is only a part of the story. It is as much about the people affected by his existence who project their hopes and fears onto his actions. It is cobbled together from many stories, stitched with the fantastical, and somehow creating a whole that, just barely, coheres.

I enjoyed this novel, but I suspect there's much more to it than I can grasp as someone very unfamiliar with Iraq beyond headlines and basic history. There's a sense of inevitability, chaos, violence, and this feeling of a "true" Baghdad buried under the surface---in some ways literally---an ancient city of peace, prosperity, and grandeur, and a modern one of little boys in soccer leagues.
#ReadingAsia2021 #Iraq @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

Listening to the tagged book with my feline friends.

This was a smart political satire. Sometimes it‘s easy to dehumanize a country when the world has demonized its government, so this was a powerful tool in reminding us that it‘s citizens are all innocent victims caught in a political vacuum. Thanks for the recommendation @4thhouseontheleft 👇🏽

Thanks for the recommendation @4thhouseontheleft I‘ve started the audio and I‘m hooked 🙌🏻 #ReadingAsia21 #Iraq #pop21 #MagicalRealism would work for other #Pop21 & #booked21 prompts too, but I‘ve already fulfilled them😁 Definitely check out the audio @Megabooks @Kalalalatja @KarenUK

Saadawi has written a powerful novel on the trauma and grief that engulfed Iraq, esp Baghdad, following the 2003 American invasion. This is a witty and satirical tale, using the gothic horror Frankenstein as inspiration.

Amid the unending car bombs, al-Qaeda, sectarian violence, and US actions, we see how daily trauma impacts the lives of everyday citizens. The inclusion of astrologers, djinn etc gave it a magical realism feel.

Highly recommend!

It‘s interesting to read this book - set in the years following the 2003 Iraq invasion - during a week when GWB is getting attention again for his friendship with Michelle Obama.

All that cuteness and nicety aside, it‘s hard for me to forget the royal screw up of his Iraq War decisions, and the war crimes that have gone unpunished.

I‘m really enjoying this genre-bending Frankenstein retelling so far. #readingasia2021 #Iraq #translation

Let‘s put a twist on those classics now. 📖

1. I‘ve read a couple for #PemberLittens this year. And I‘ve read at least one of A Christmas Carol for a book club.
2. I can‘t remember who I mentioned this to on here, but I‘m really looking forward to somebody writing The Great Gatsby in Space when it enters the public domain next year.
3. Done! The tagged book! 👆🏻

#sundayfunday Hope y‘all have a good day, and don‘t forget to tag me!

I just shutdown my work computer and am officially starting my staycation!!! The tagged book is one I'm hoping to finish reading this weekend during the #CYOReadathon as I am leading book club on Tuesday.
@Sace

Some new books I'm excited to read / re-read

Ordinary and not so ordinary people live together in the rubble-strewn streets of Baghdad in the beginning of the 21th century. Suicide killings are happening all the time, yet people live their lives. Then Frankenstein comes to live among them. Made of body parts from the dead. A tragic yet comical story that leaves me a bit sad and thinking about life in war torn Iraq.

#Booked2020 Book not so much #aboutgenocide #ATY2020 (theme of survival)

A black humored capture of the mood in Iraq in the early 2000. At times when bombs regularly go off in Baghdad, a ragman collects limbs and body parts from victims to stitch together a new being. The creature gets a soul and starts a life of its own, avenging each of the victims its body is composed of. The story is set in Bataween, a Baghdad neighborhood. Interesting representation of what Iraqis have been going through in recent times. Nice read

The tale of Frankenstein and his monster has already been told and retold many, many times. But in my opinion nobody has it done so well like Ahmed Saadawi. Mainly, because it's not about the monster, but about the city, the politics and the brutality that create the monster. In this book you'll get a good view on how it is to live and die in Irak.

This is my first book of the year. And it was a great choice. I don't know why it took me so long to read it but I am happy I finally did it. Is a great way how he brings the concept of Frankenstein to the modern times. Even more to a war....

#bookly
#arabliterature

“I was not a murderer: I had merely plucked the fruit of death before it fell to the ground.”

Yes, there‘s an eloquent creature made of corpses killing people in the Bataween neighborhood of Baghdad, but, this novel suggests, is that really more horrible than life in a city where a walk to the store could end with you dead from an explosion or random gunfire?

A large cast of characters paints a brutal, thoughtful portrait of modern Iraq.

Pointedly political, grotesquely surreal, and topped off by the blackest of humors - I'm enjoying the hell out of this one. 🎃

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Need some #screamathon inspiration? My library is here to help!

If your library also has reading suggestions for October reads, I'd love to see them!

I really struggled to get into this. I went back to the beginning 4 times because I didn't feel like I had a hold of the plot or characters and must have missed something. Eventually I decided to just plough on, and things didn't get much clearer. I recognise this is likely a failing on my part rather than the book, which is a translation and filled with symbolism. A reader who is more aware of the history of Baghdad might enjoy it more.

A modern re-invention Of Frankenstein set in war torn Baghdad. In many way more reminiscent of golem tales than Mary Shelley. I listened on audiobook which was 💯

#audiobook

Such a good premise! The idea of a non-western retelling Frankenstein in modern Baghdad that wove together contemporary politics and technology with a supernatural twist was so cool, but I can‘t say it kept my attention. I think it was me, not the book or the narrator (Edoardo Ballerini is always a good one!). So don‘t let me discourage you from picking up this book. I‘d love to hear others‘ reviews!

Such a beautiful novel exploring war, justice, and politics through a community of characters and a retelling of Frankenstein. I absolutely loved this novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Multitasking 👌🏻

Kindle sale for 2.99 USD. #Arabicliterature #translatedliterature I loved this but just be aware - it‘s NOT a retelling of Shelley‘s Frankenstein. Not at all.

Hmmmm.. I sort of liked this book. I loved the allegorical aspect of the plot, but thought that 1. The writing was extremely awkward in spots OR 2. The translation was atrocious. I‘m assuming the clever allegory is what earned this a man booker nom, otherwise, I don‘t get it. This is chock full of great discussion points- criminal vs innocent, violence vs peace, fair vs unfair... think “Exit West” with way more gray area. 3.5/5

Fascinating & powerful retelling of Frankenstein which has it all—“Monster” born of its creator‘s ambitions who cannot be controlled as it tries to find justice & to keep himself alive. The chaos & sheer challenge of living in an occupied city where religious & ethnic factions engage in a cycle of violence so it‘s hard to distinguish good/bad, right/wrong. Interesting, eccentric & intriguing characters populating modern Baghdad. Really good read.

My grab-and-go book today is a modern retelling of Frankenstein set in U.S. occupied Baghdad. Interesting (& familiar) premise—a man collects body parts and stitches them together creating a corpse which then goes missing. Shortly after, there is a series of murders across the city. Intense stuff. It‘s well written and the translator did a good job. I‘m a few chapters in and really enjoying it.

Well I think I read my last book of 2018 (although I suppose there‘s still time...). I didn‘t do a great job posting or reviewing this year, but I did do a decent job tracking! Pretty happy with my results overall... excuse the shaky pic of my spreadsheet :/. #2018reads

Great time out with @ElishaLovesBooks last night. BBQ and books to celebrate her birthday. Of course, I wasn‘t smart enough to get a picture of both of us but I did get one of her and my new books. (Her stack was even more impressive!!!) Love the sale shelves at Unabridged Books!

It was interesting but it didn't wow me.
Although it did remind me of Exit West because this was illustrating the contemporary situation in Baghdad with a supernatural twist.

Next! #screamathon #spooktober

I found this book dark and disturbing. Sometimes funny other times boring. Something about the writing held me at a distance and I think I wanted a more visceral experience. I‘d love to know what others thought of it. Plenty to unpack. #screamsbymail

I enjoyed large sections of it but I feel I missed a lot of what the author was trying to say. It‘s fascinating and sad, a little creepy and terrifying, a portrait of Baghdad and the chaos of daily car bombs and violence and the breakdown of daily life, community ties, and government. I wouldn‘t recommend it as a retelling of Shelley‘s novel but perhaps as a disturbing glimpse of what Baghdad is like. Need to think about this one more.

#screamsbymail folk, I‘m just over halfway through this surreal work of literary fiction and there‘s horror in it, but it‘s definitely heavier on the literary surrealism. Do you still want me to pick it for round two or shall I go with Universal Harvester instead?

Just started but fascinating and creepy so far.

There is a lot I liked about this book: the gothic imagery in the beginning, the surreal everyday reality of living in a city that is being blown apart and put together continually, but ultimately I didn‘t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. The sprawling cast of characters diminishes the intensity of the initial intrigue, and the heavy metaphors detract from the “white-knuckle horror” they advertise the book having.

How we roll

Switching between two reads as I lounge in the sun #vacayallday

My night stand holds my over flowing collection of bookmarks, chapstick (Shakespeare theme, of course), the stack of books I‘m currently reading + my tablet (which is exclusively used for ebooks) and a few friends to keep watch. 🐙🦖

#24in48 #Hour18ReadingChallenge #NightstandChallenge

A lonely old woman waiting for her son to return from a war that ended twenty years earlier, a secondhand furniture dealer upset at the death of a friend to a car bomb, a young journalist trying to find his footing in a complex and dangerous world, as well as politicians, businessmen and magicians populate this fascinating story of a patchwork corpse reanimated.

I liked this inventive and bleak tale set in Baghdad under American occupation a lot.

New book I picked up at one of my favorite bookstores last night. Super excited to finally get my hands in this! 😄

Only just started this but loving it so far. Doggo less impressed, prefers books about squirrels.

Modern day Frankenstein story set in the Middle East. Sounds interesting! About to drive in to this

Too many characters and an unsteady timeline. This just wasn't for me.

Not as gripping as I‘d hoped for.I am about halfway through and not impressed.I pray it gets better.