Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi wins 2014 International Prize for Arabic Fiction

ABU DHABI- ‘Frankenstein in Baghdad’ by Ahmed Saadawi was tonight(April 29th) announced as the winner of the seventh International Prize for Arabic Fiction. 

Saadawi was named by this year’s Chair of Judges, Saad A. Albazei, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi. In addition to winning $50,000, Ahmed Saadawi is guaranteed an English translation of his novel, as well as increased book sales and international recognition.

Set in the spring of 2005, Frankenstein in Baghdad tells the story of Hadi al-Attag, a rag-and-bone man who lives in a populous district of Baghdad. He takes the body parts of those killed in explosions and sews them together to create a new body. The body is entered by a displaced soul, bringing it to life. Hadi calls the being the-what’s-its-name,’ while the authorities name it Criminal X’ and others refer to it as Frankenstein’. Frankenstein begins a campaign of revenge against those who killed him, or killed those whose parts make up his body. 

Ahmed Saadawi is an Iraqi novelist, poet and screenwriter. Born in 1973 in Baghdad, where he works as a documentary film maker, he took part in the annual IPAF Nadwa’ or literary workshop for promising young writers in 2012.

Frankenstein in Baghdad was selected as the best work of fiction published within the last 12 months, selected from 156 entries from 18 countries across the Arab World. On behalf of the 2014 judging panel, Saad A. Albazei comments,”We chose Frankenstein in Baghdad for several reasons. Firstly for the originality of its narrative structure, as represented in the ‘what’s-its-name’ character, who embodies the violence currently experienced in Iraq, other Arab countries and the wider world. The story is expertly told on several levels and from multiple viewpoints.”

For these reasons and more, Frankenstein in Baghdad is a significant addition to contemporary Arabic fiction.’The five other shortlisted finalists were also honoured at the ceremony alongside the winner; each of the finalists, including the winner, receives US$10,000. 

The six names on the shortlist were announced in February, at a press conference at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation in Amman, Jordan, by the judging panel. The judges are: Chair of judges, the Saudi Arabian academic and critic Saad A. Albazei; Ahmed Alfaitouri, Libyan journalist, novelist and playwright; Zhor Gourram, Moroccan academic, critic and novelist; Abdullah Ibrahim, Iraqi academic and critic and Mehmet Hakki Suin, Turkish academic specialising in the teaching of Arabic language and the translation of Arabic literature into Turkish.

The Prize is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation in London and funded by the TCA Abu Dhabi in the U.AE.

Professor of Modern Arabic Studies Yasir Suleiman, Chair of the Board of IPAF Trustees, comments:Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad is an outstanding achievement, teeming with characters who are both earthy and real but also transcend reality. It raises questions about an oppressive legacy from which neither individuals nor society can escape. The novel dazzles with captivating storytelling, utilising the techniques of magical realism to reveal the depths of the human soul in its darkest hours. Although set in Baghdad, its subject matter goes beyond that city to embrace humanity everywhere.’To date, six of the seven winning IPAF novels have secured deals for publication in English. Overall, winning and shortlisted books since 2008 have been translated into over 20 languages. 

Ahmed Saadawi is an Iraqi novelist, poet and screenwriter, born in 1973 in Baghdad, where he works as a documentary film maker. He is the author of a volume of poetry, Festival of Bad Songs (2000), and three novels, The Beautiful Country (2004), He Dreams or Plays or Dies (2008) and Frankenstein in Baghdad (2013). He has won several prizes and in 2010 was selected for the Beirut39 Festival, as one of the 39 best Arab authors below the age of 40. He took part in the annual IPAF Nadwa’, or literary workshop for promising young writers, in 2012. 

In the novel ‘Frankenstein in Baghdad’, Hadi al-Attag lives in the populous al-Bataween district of Baghdad. In the Spring of 2005, he takes the body parts of those killed in explosions and sews them together to create a new body. When a displaced soul enters the body, a new being comes to life. Hadi call it the-what’s-its-name’; the authorities name it Criminal X’ and others refer to it as Frankenstein’. Frankenstein begins a campaign of revenge against those who killed him, or killed the parts constituting his body. As well as following Frankenstein’s story, Frankenstein in Baghdad follows a number of connected characters, such as General Surur Majid of the Department of Investigation, who is responsible for pursuing the mysterious criminal and Mahmoud al-Sawadi, a young journalist who gets the chance to interview Frankenstein. Frankenstein in Baghdad offers a panoramic view of a city where people live in fear of the unknown, unable to act in solidarity, haunted by the unknown identity of the criminal who targets them all.-WAM