WORLD LITERARY ATLASBOOKS WITHOUT BORDERS · 2026
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Asia · A READING GUIDE

Iraq

Ahmed Saadawi is a writer associated with Baghdad. His novel turns the Frankenstein story into a dark satire of violence in contemporary Iraq. Sinan Antoon, Inaam Kachachi and Hassan Blasim approach war through work, migration and fractured everyday life. Fadhil al-Azzawi and Dunya Mikhail's poetry place grotesque, history and lyrical witness side by side.

Books to begin with

An editorial selection · not ranked

Edition cover: Frankenstein in Baghdad — Ahmed Saadawi
English edition

Ahmed Saadawi

Frankenstein in Baghdad

About the book

A creature assembled from bombing victims’ remains comes to life in Baghdad and demands justice.

Original title: فرانكشتاين في بغداد (Frankenstein fi Baghdad)

EnglishTranslation

Frankenstein in Baghdad

Penguin Books

Translated by Jonathan Wright

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The Corpse Washer — Sinan Antoon
English edition

Sinan Antoon

The Corpse Washer

About the book

Jawad wants to become an artist, but war draws him into his family’s trade of washing the dead.

EnglishTranslation

The Corpse Washer

Yale University Press

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The American Granddaughter — Inaam Kachachi
English edition

Inaam Kachachi

The American Granddaughter

About the book

An Iraqi American interpreter returns with the US army and faces her grandmother’s disapproval.

EnglishTranslation

The American Granddaughter

Interlink Books

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The Last of the Angels — Fadhil al-Azzawi
English edition

Fadhil al-Azzawi

The Last of the Angels

About the book

A grotesque story of neighbours in 1950s Kirkuk joins magic with rising political violence.

EnglishTranslation

The Last of the Angels

American University in Cairo Press

Edition source ↗

Hassan Blasim

The Iraqi Christ

About the book

Stories transform war, exile and trauma into violent, fantastic fiction.

EnglishTranslation

The Iraqi Christ

Comma Press

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The War Works Hard — Dunya Mikhail
English edition

Dunya Mikhail

The War Works Hard

About the book

Poems of war and exile use irony and precise imagery to resist the language of violence.

EnglishTranslation

The War Works Hard

New Directions

Edition source ↗

Sinan Antoon

I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody

About the book

A prisoner’s notes combine memories and nightmares into a portrait of life under Saddam Hussein.

EnglishTranslation

I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody

City Lights Books

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The Baghdad Eucharist — Sinan Antoon
English edition

Sinan Antoon

The Baghdad Eucharist

About the book

A novel of Iraqi Christians, memories of an earlier Baghdad and violence transforming the present.

EnglishTranslation

The Baghdad Eucharist

American University in Cairo Press

Edition source ↗
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