The recent appearance of the English translation by Jonathan Wright makes multiple readings of Ahmad Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad (2013) possible. Saadawi’s novelbespeaks the traumatic experiences of Iraqis after the invasion of Baghdad where most of the action takes place. The narrator develops a deep interest in Hadi al-Attag, who is a dealer of antiquities and a clever storyteller or “hakawati” as generally referred to in the Middle East. Living in al-Bataween, one of the roughest neighborhoods in Baghdad, al-Attag creates a monster by collecting the body parts of dead Iraqi citizens and stitching them together during the most violent times in Iraq. The monster,called “Whatitsname” ("الشِسْمَه"), begins its violent mission of retaliation against those who killed the various people to whom his body parts belonged. The readers may be pleased with the monster’s achievements, which bring justice and peace to those suffering, they are soon drawn into a vortex of intense distaste and doubt when the monster starts killing randomlyfor the sake of survival; “Whatitsname”is a survivalist, not a savior.

Title

Middle Eastern Literatures

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

0.0

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

21

Year

2019

Pages

258-260