Frankenstein in Baghdad

Ahmed Saadawi

50 pages 1-hour read

Ahmed Saadawi

Frankenstein in Baghdad

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Assembled from the body parts of bombing victims, this entity is brought to life following a fatal explosion. Elishva calls him 'Daniel,' believing him to be her missing son, while his creator refers to him as 'The Whatsitsname.' Driven by an urge to avenge the victims whose parts make up his physical form, he roams the volatile streets of Baghdad.

Key Relationships

Creation of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Reanimated by the Soul of Hasib Mohamed Jaafar

Adoptive Son Figure to Elishva

Supported by The Magician

Supported by The Sophist

Animal Companion of Nabu

Hadi is a heavy-drinking junk dealer and local storyteller residing in the Bataween neighborhood. Grief-stricken by the loss of his close business partner to a car bomb, he collects human remains from explosion sites. He pieces together a complete corpse with the stated intention of providing it a proper burial.

Key Relationships

Creator of The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature

Former Business Partner of Nahem Abdaki

Friend and Frequent Customer of Aziz

Neighbor of Elishva

Source of Stories for Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Rival and Neighbor of Faraj The Realtor

Mahmoud is a young, ambitious journalist from Amara who relocated to Baghdad to escape local disputes in his hometown. Living in the run-down Orouba Hotel, he seeks to establish a successful career and record the violent reality of the city. He receives a digital recorder containing an unbelievable story that challenges his journalistic skepticism.

Key Relationships

Protégé of Ali Baher Al-Saidi

Interviewer of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Romantic Admirer of Nawal Al-Wazir

Friend and Colleague of Hazem

Colleague of Farid

Elishva is an elderly Assyrian Christian widow living in Bataween. She maintains an unshakable belief that her son, who went to war twenty years prior, is still alive and will return. She routinely converses with a portrait of Saint George and obstinately refuses her daughters' pleas to emigrate to Australia.

Key Relationships

Mother of Daniel

Mother of Matilda

Mother of Hilda

Adoptive Mother Figure to The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature

Friend of Umm Salim

Resentful Neighbor of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Harassed Neighbor of Faraj The Realtor

Parishioner of Father Josiah

Grudge Holder against Abu Zaidoun

Supporting Characters

Faraj is an opportunistic realtor and conman operating in the Bataween neighborhood. He uses connections with the post-invasion regime to illegally acquire properties left vacant by fleeing residents. He persistently attempts to purchase homes from vulnerable neighbors to expand his local influence.

Key Relationships

Harasser of Elishva

Business Rival of Abu Anmar

Rival of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Abu Anmar owns the dilapidated Orouba Hotel, a business that formerly thrived before the American invasion. Because of his ties to the old regime, his fortunes steadily decline in the new political climate. He desperately attempts to keep his failing business afloat while watching his competitors succeed.

Key Relationships

Business Rival of Faraj The Realtor

Hotel Landlord to Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Hotel Landlord to Hazem

Brigadier Majid heads a secretive government intelligence branch tasked with investigating unusual crimes. A survivor of the former regime's purges, he employs a team of astrologers to help predict disasters. He deeply desires recognition and career advancement, feeling overlooked by his superiors despite his department's efforts.

Key Relationships

Childhood Friend of Ali Baher Al-Saidi

Interrogator of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Employer of The Senior Astrologer

Employer of The Junior Astrologer

Saidi is the wealthy, well-connected owner of the al-Haqiqa magazine. He navigates the dangerous political climate of post-invasion Baghdad by relying on his charm and strategic alliances. He acts as a mentor figure in the journalism world but maintains secretive ties to powerful government officials.

Key Relationships

Mentor and Employer of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Professional Associate of Nawal Al-Wazir

Childhood Friend of Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid

Employer of Sultan

Hasib is a young security guard working at a prominent Baghdad hotel. He attempts to stop a suicide bomber but dies in the resulting explosion. His disembodied soul wanders the city until it seeks refuge inside a patchwork body.

Key Relationships

Reanimating Soul of The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature

Nahem is Hadi's former business partner who shared an old dwelling known as the Jewish ruin. Despite maintaining a cleaner, more traditional lifestyle than Hadi, the two shared a close bond before Nahem perished in a car bombing.

Key Relationships

Former Business Partner of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Umm Salim is a resident of Bataween who lives near Elishva. Unlike others who pity the old widow, Umm Salim reveres Elishva, believing she possesses special spiritual powers that protect their neighborhood from harm.

Key Relationships

Wife of Abu Salim

Friend and Admirer of Elishva

Abu Salim is Umm Salim's husband and a passive observer of the neighborhood. He spends much of his time watching the events of Lane 7 from his balcony and relies on his network of local contacts when trouble arises.

Key Relationships

Husband of Umm Salim

Neighbor of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Aziz is an Egyptian expatriate who owns a local coffee shop in Baghdad. He serves as a sounding board for the community, frequently listening to his patrons' wild stories while trying to parse fact from fiction.

Key Relationships

Friend of Hadi The Junk Dealer

Acquaintance of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Nawal is a successful film director working in Baghdad. She is fiercely independent and strictly maintains professional boundaries, though she frequently deals with the advances and rumors created by her male colleagues.

Key Relationships

Professional Associate of Ali Baher Al-Saidi

Professional Associate of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Father Josiah is a local priest who ministers to the dwindling Christian community in Baghdad. He attempts to provide spiritual and practical guidance to his parishioners, particularly regarding the safety of emigrating abroad.

Key Relationships

Priest to Elishva

Conspirator with Matilda

Abu Zaidoun is a local barber who draws the intense hatred of Elishva. She holds him personally responsible for dragging her son away to military service decades earlier.

Key Relationships

Target of Resentment from Elishva

Daniel is Elishva's missing son who departed for a war twenty years prior. His absence defines his mother's existence, as she meticulously maintains his old clothes and awaits his impossible return.

Key Relationships

Son of Elishva

Brother of Matilda

Brother of Hilda

Matilda is one of Elishva's daughters living in Australia. She constantly worries about her mother's safety in the violent climate of Baghdad and actively schemes to extract her from the country.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Elishva

Sister of Hilda

Sister of Daniel

Conspirator with Father Josiah

Hilda is Elishva's other daughter residing in Australia. Like her sister, she wishes to reunite her scattered family in a safer environment far away from the war zone.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Elishva

Sister of Matilda

Sister of Daniel

Hazem is a photographer and friend to Mahmoud. He navigates the difficult landscape of Baghdad by seeking distractions through nightlife and eventually embeds himself with military forces for work.

Key Relationships

Friend and Colleague of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Hotel Tenant of Abu Anmar

Farid is a journalist working at the al-Haqiqa magazine. He acts as a connection point, bringing his talented friend into the publication's chaotic orbit.

Key Relationships

Colleague of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Employee of Ali Baher Al-Saidi

The Senior Astrologer is an occult advisor employed by the Tracking and Pursuit Department. He reads cosmic signs and cards to predict threats, operating in a constant state of bureaucratic and spiritual rivalry with his junior counterpart.

Key Relationships

Rival of The Junior Astrologer

The Junior Astrologer works under Brigadier Majid, attempting to map the movements of dangerous figures. He utilizes mystical tools to manipulate events, often clashing with his senior colleague over methodologies.

Key Relationships

Rival of The Senior Astrologer

The Magician is a follower who claims he was sent by a djinn to assist the patchwork entity. He helps keep the creature safe during missions and possesses a cynical view of humanity, arguing that everyone harbors some measure of criminality.

Key Relationships

Follower of The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature

Rival of The Sophist

The Sophist is another acolyte drawn to the mysterious savior figure. He is capable of arguing any point from any angle without fully believing in his own rhetoric, leading to deep ideological divides among the followers.

Key Relationships

Follower of The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature

Rival of The Magician

Sultan serves as the personal driver for the wealthy magazine owner, Saidi. He acts as a quiet observer to his employer's secret dealings and eventually attempts to flee the violent capital to transport his employer's family.

Key Relationships

Driver for Ali Baher Al-Saidi

Rescuer of Mahmoud Al-Sawadi

Nabu is a stray cat who inhabits the Bataween neighborhood. The feline forms a quiet bond with the strange entity occupying the abandoned buildings.

Key Relationships

Animal Companion of The Whatsitsname, Or The Creature