Frankenstein in Baghdad is a unique book, partially because it is a book written by an Iraqi and from the Middle East. Saadawi weaves a tale right in the middle of the American Operation "Iraqi Freedom", but what makes it even more interesting and fitting is that the Americans themselves are not characters in the book. Indeed, their presence is off screen, for the reader to formulate from the coverage of the Iraqi War in the larger War on Terror led by the United States of America. The book has a cast of Iraqi characters from different sectarian and social classes, which serves to paint a richer picture of this Iraq, and more closely, certain neighborhoods in the capital of Baghdad.

As the title states, the story follows the creation of Frankenstein, and the monsters exploits throughout the city amidst the aftermath of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party. The chapters and the shifting narrators add a holistic picture of the changes that the monster is wrecking on the city, and I appreciated that Saadawi was able to use Frankenstein as the foil for the atrocities and horrors that Baghdad faced from the American invasion.

Often times while reading the differing views in the chapters, I would find myself wishing that the narrative would not jump between so many characters at once. I also felt that we should have gotten more from Whatsitsname - the Frankenstein of the novel. While there is one chapter where we get to hear him in his own words, I would've liked a bit more insight.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you are interested in a good read, stories from the Middle East, and an intriguing story to serve as a commentary on some pivotal issues from our time.