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This is such a captivating book. Ahmed Saadawi glided seamlessly along the emotional spectrum, from hilarity to poignancy. It kept me engaged the entire time.
We were brought to a typical Baghdad neighborhood in Lane 7. It was 2005,in the aftermath of US invasion. Despite the constant threat of suicide bombing, the residents were doing their best to hold on to their normal lives: Abu Anmar desperately keeping his ramshackle hotel from going under, realtor Faraj taking advantage of neighbors� devastation to amass his own wealth, Hadi the junk dealer hoarding items as gross as a human nose, aspiring young journalist Mahmoud al-Sawadi being torn between climbing the career ladder and pursuing his unrequited love for his boss� mistress, and the old “mad woman� Elishva deserting her living daughters, but stubbornly waiting for her long-dead son Daniel to return.
the Whatsitsname, the monster constructed from human body parts and animated by the sole of hotel guard Hasib Mohamed Jaafar, was a magical creature who couldn’t be killed by bullets. But he was neither a superhero nor a Dark Lord; rather, he was in every way as human as any human characters above. He longed for a sense of belonging, emotionally attached to his creator ‘father� Hadi and “mother� Elishva who named him after her dead son. We watched his coming of age struggle in search of his identity and moral scruple; he had the power to kill, but killing for justice had its dear price—killing the innocents.
None of the characters were free of flaws. “There are no innocents who are completely innocent or criminals who are completely criminal.� And yet I grew attached to them, and found myself sympathizing with their causes.
This was a small, mixed-faith community built on gossips and superstitions. Neighbors cared for and held grudges against each other, like in a small community anywhere in the world. It embodied the frictionless cohabitation of reality and unreality, which is also the most characteristic of the book. For example, who had the upper hand in telling the future, playing cards or red sand?
The pacing was just right, and the vignette structure in the chapters made the story easier to follow. Arabic names often confuse me, and this book had 4 people by the name of Abu. Because of the way the characters were introduced and the story was told, i.e. mostly focusing on one or two characters at a time, I rarely had to go back and consult the character chart at the beginning of the book.
This is another MBI longlist title, and my second so far. I can definitely see it making the shortlist.