关键词: 艾哈迈德•萨达维, 《弗兰肯斯坦在巴格达》, 怪物形象, 伦理, 伊拉克战争

Abstract: Frankenstein in Baghdad by the newly emerged and talented Iraqi writer, Ahmed Saadawi, is regarded as a masterpiece produced after “Arab Spring”. Using the post-Iraq War social turmoil as its backdrop, the novel delineates a strange case which occurred in the old neighborhood of Bataween in Baghdad. It successfully represents a composite image of monster by imitating and reconstructing one of the classical images in the Western Gothic literature. The ethical morass experienced by the monster, “whatsitsname,” during its transformation from a “savior” to a “destructor” is consequent upon the intermixing of the complicated human nature and the chaotic social reality. The city of Baghdad, once a world-renowned “City of Peace”, is now shrouded in the haze of horror like the monster due to its loss of the cultural spirit of openness and inclusiveness as well as its social imbalance triggered by the military intervention of foreign powers. The people living in Baghdad become the variants of the monster and produce a series of ridiculous stories within this city of desire. Revolving around the composite image of the monster, the novel discloses a devastated society after the Iraq War and strongly criticizes some of the age-old Iraqi social issues, such as sectarianism, authoritarianism and ethnic centralism.

Key words: Ahmed Saadawi, Frankenstein in Baghdad, the monster's image, ethics, Iraq War