awhipp17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
a brutal but important book. the efforts of this journalist are commendable, to go back three times between 2012 and 2013 to try and document the stories of those fighting al-Assad's military force. the story is complicated and she helps to illuminate why. things don't get untangled in this book, but she manages to show how so many realities co-mingle. she works with civilian activists and women's groups, she humanizes the people fighting for the Free Army and shows us them protecting and really looking out for her, valuing that she will tell the truth of the situation once she leaves, that she will take their stories and document that life existed. i am impressed she also got to talk with some controversial fighters and leaders who could have harmed her, but didn't. it was sweaty and tense for most of the book. but a very important collections of stories to bear witness to. i feel so bad for the Syrian people. what a destruction of massive proportions. i wish them peace one day, soon.
harinid's review against another edition
4.0
Samar Yazbek's journey into Syria, despite being persona non grata, thrice over the course of two years or so makes for a compelling read, an important read. With each crossing, Syria is thrown further into a state of despair, not only due to its own dictator but due to losing monopoly over its own revolution. The revolution is reduced to a pawn in the ISIS (Sunni dominated) vs. Assad (Alawi, a sect of Shia Muslims) battle. No external parties are coming to the rescue of the revolution itself for the enemy they want contained is the ISIS.
As Yazbek crosses into Syria for the third time post the onset of the civil war, the battles and conversations have taken on a far more opaque religious coat; hope- the quintessential human quality, seems to be short supply, and a general sense of disillusionment seems to be stronger among common Syrians vs. her first crossing.
Perhaps this is a horrible thing to say but as a reader I felt the third crossing portion of the book could have done with fewer interviews to deliver the narrative with a punch even though each narrative deserves a place in mankind's shameful history of 21st century. Then again excerpts like the one below draw you back into sorrowful despair:
"The most we could dream of was to wake up in the morning and discover we weren't buried beneath rubble, or that we had avoided having our heads cut off at the hands of ISIS."
Do read this journalistic account. Perhaps the one of the greater tragedies of the 21st century being written in front of our eyes.
As Yazbek crosses into Syria for the third time post the onset of the civil war, the battles and conversations have taken on a far more opaque religious coat; hope- the quintessential human quality, seems to be short supply, and a general sense of disillusionment seems to be stronger among common Syrians vs. her first crossing.
Perhaps this is a horrible thing to say but as a reader I felt the third crossing portion of the book could have done with fewer interviews to deliver the narrative with a punch even though each narrative deserves a place in mankind's shameful history of 21st century. Then again excerpts like the one below draw you back into sorrowful despair:
"The most we could dream of was to wake up in the morning and discover we weren't buried beneath rubble, or that we had avoided having our heads cut off at the hands of ISIS."
Do read this journalistic account. Perhaps the one of the greater tragedies of the 21st century being written in front of our eyes.
whybeanonymous's review
5.0
Heartbreaking.
I have no words that could do justice describing the horrors that have happened in Syria.
A beautiful country with an ancient history, it got thrown into ruins in the blink of an eye.
While I cannot claim to know the whole story or even decide who is in the right, all I can say is that I felt guilt, sadness, anger, frustration, helplessness, disgust and horror when I read Samar's descriptions of the plight of Syrians.
All they wanted was peace and to live their lives, but instead, all they know now is bloodshed and death.
I feel silly to even think reading Samar's words and shedding tears could bring me closer to the pain those embroiled in the conflict feel. My empathy if anything is shamefully temporary, as I have not experienced the wretchedness of a life like this first hand. If anything, her account has made me feel blessed for living in a safe country, free of war. At the same time, I feel helpless for having no ability to stop or change anything happening to this once glorious country.
My heart goes out to all Syrians, and while I know this won't mean much (or even anything at all), my prayers are with you, and I hope you'll know peace as I do in your homeland one day.
I have no words that could do justice describing the horrors that have happened in Syria.
A beautiful country with an ancient history, it got thrown into ruins in the blink of an eye.
While I cannot claim to know the whole story or even decide who is in the right, all I can say is that I felt guilt, sadness, anger, frustration, helplessness, disgust and horror when I read Samar's descriptions of the plight of Syrians.
All they wanted was peace and to live their lives, but instead, all they know now is bloodshed and death.
I feel silly to even think reading Samar's words and shedding tears could bring me closer to the pain those embroiled in the conflict feel. My empathy if anything is shamefully temporary, as I have not experienced the wretchedness of a life like this first hand. If anything, her account has made me feel blessed for living in a safe country, free of war. At the same time, I feel helpless for having no ability to stop or change anything happening to this once glorious country.
My heart goes out to all Syrians, and while I know this won't mean much (or even anything at all), my prayers are with you, and I hope you'll know peace as I do in your homeland one day.
o0oitzjenny's review
4.0
I had to read this for my English class. Brilliant book!
It really gives an inside look of what is happening in Syria and Samar Yazbek gives descriptive details on her experience when there. She is an inspiring journalist and I am grateful to have read her story and the stories of the lives that she's documented in Syria.
It really gives an inside look of what is happening in Syria and Samar Yazbek gives descriptive details on her experience when there. She is an inspiring journalist and I am grateful to have read her story and the stories of the lives that she's documented in Syria.
steveatwaywords's review
4.0
Yazbek's personal convictions are not merely heroic and self-sacrificing, but the poetry she offers the beleaguered people of Syria make the work she is doing compelling and vital. She offers a ground-level reality to the complex relationships and politics of war, properly placing the macro-dynamics in the background and focusing on the moments of a young woman's infected knees, and despondency of a boy who is returned to living in caves, to a driver's ironic respect for a woman/author who has set aside the art of fiction for the work of human rights.
intonewrealms's review
I don't think it's appropriate to rate these kind of books so I won't be doing that. Although I found it difficult to focus on this book, I am glad I read it. I think it would have been more engaging for me if there was more context in between the stories. This is essentially just the author recounting what she wrote down that others told her while she was in Syria. Of course, these stories are all very harrowing and I liked the focus on the everyday going on whilst bombs fall, in broken down buildings. The author and narrator is an Alawite and a woman which makes this journey a lot harder for her. She constantly has to hide and the men try to protect others from finding out she is Alawite. I particularly liked the metaphor she used for Syria as an infected body, and a group that stood out to me were the elderly women who were being carried away by their sons but would rather die than become migrants and lose their identities.
benevolentreader242's review
5.0
One of the hardest and most heartbreaking books I've picked up. To have names and stories to this complicated war in Syria makes it more real. Everyone who want to know why refugees are leaving at such high risk should pick up this book. Powerful, pailful and yet there is still the hope of the human spirit.