Scan barcode
christinaigloo's review against another edition
5.0
City of Thorns is an important book in the current world we live in. Rawlence gives both context and voice to the lives of 9 refugees, humanizing "The Refugee" in the process. The novel reads like fiction, but exposes the very real journeys and troubles of present day refugees. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for insight into the world of a refugee.
devanh's review against another edition
3.0
Finished half and had to put it away....the repetitive nature of their misery was too much to handle right now.
A sobering and fascinating look into the lives of refugees and the corruption and hopelessness that refugee camps created and instills in both the refugees and the aid workers.
A sobering and fascinating look into the lives of refugees and the corruption and hopelessness that refugee camps created and instills in both the refugees and the aid workers.
shelitelschow's review against another edition
4.0
I actually did not have time to finish this book before it was due back at the library, but I got through half of it.
mubeenirfan's review against another edition
4.0
Africa - the continent which is overlooked by the entire world be it world wars, civil wars, unrests, famines or droughts. The only image our mind conjures up when thinking about its people is poverty, AIDS and dying kids. Africa has always been put as a small news item where the headline has almost always been reserved for Europe/America and Middle East.
One such news item often overlooked by people like myself while going through our daily dose of news is Dadaab, the second largest refugee camp in the world, hosted (read, exploited) by Kenya comprising of Somalian refugees fleeing Al Shabab and civil war happening inside Somalia. Ben Rawlence visited the camp several times during last few years and has end up writing a story of different refugees held (actually, incarcerated) in the camp. For these refugees one option is life of endless daily misery in camp or an almost certain death in case of going back. How does one live with that and how do you choose one over the other? (Kenyan government has announced it will close the camp and push all refugees to go back to Somalia).
Some reviewers mentioned that the writing style is cumbersome because the writer keeps going from one refugee to another and that it gets confusing. For me it was hardly an issue and mostly was a smooth read. Emphasis on mostly here and thus 4 stars and not 5.
One such news item often overlooked by people like myself while going through our daily dose of news is Dadaab, the second largest refugee camp in the world, hosted (read, exploited) by Kenya comprising of Somalian refugees fleeing Al Shabab and civil war happening inside Somalia. Ben Rawlence visited the camp several times during last few years and has end up writing a story of different refugees held (actually, incarcerated) in the camp. For these refugees one option is life of endless daily misery in camp or an almost certain death in case of going back. How does one live with that and how do you choose one over the other? (Kenyan government has announced it will close the camp and push all refugees to go back to Somalia).
Some reviewers mentioned that the writing style is cumbersome because the writer keeps going from one refugee to another and that it gets confusing. For me it was hardly an issue and mostly was a smooth read. Emphasis on mostly here and thus 4 stars and not 5.
marisamoo's review against another edition
5.0
just such a hidden and terrible part of our world today
kilkilshah's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a very interesting view into life in a refugee camp. The author did a good job talking about both the large struggles that its residents go through and also the routine tasks of human life. I had a little trouble keeping all of the people in the book straight but that is probably my fault. Even though it isn't really part of the scope of the book the few times the author talked about the people that work in the donor agency or in security for the camp was particularly interesting. Would have been great to have more of that.
misspalah's review against another edition
4.0
I don't like the way it was written. The way character shifted chapter by chapter cause a disruption in my reading flow. It disengage my attention away from the book. Regardless of how i feel about the writing, this book is informative. The author gave voices to these refugees and shared their story with us. When it comes to refugees, most people failed to recognized that between border of Kenya and Somalia, there lies an enormous refugees camp with a huge population. They keep multiplying regardless of how scarce the resources are. Kenya doesn't want them. Somalia is not a safe place to live for them. Thus, they stuck in between these countries and left to fend for themselves. The conflicts and crimes like bombing, killing and raping are rampant. My heart is aching for them. I was not ready to end the journey as i need to know more but i'm already at the last page of this book.
monkeyhippy's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly well-researched and well-written, this is one of those rare non-fiction books that engages the reader (or at least this one) like good fiction... or maybe even moreso, because the characters are real people. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the realities of war, refugee camps, East Africa, humanitarian aid... or simply very different and challenging life circumstances in another place in the world, and how people survive them.