Reviews
A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran, by Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd
rebeccafromflorida's review against another edition
5.0
A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran by Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd could be the most powerful book I have read in my life.
A Sliver of Light tells the true story of how Shane, Josh, and Sarah were hiking on a trip in Iraq, and when called over by guards, unknowingly crossed over the border into the country of Iran.
All three hikers went through psychological torture, solitary confinement (Sarah for the entire time of her imprisonment), and were not allowed phone calls nor letters from their families often.
A Sliver of Light is powerful, moving, and emotional – a story of triumph even in horrific circumstances. It reminds us of the beauty of the simple things in the world and also to be aware of the injustices that surround us as well.
For the full review, visit Love at First Book
A Sliver of Light tells the true story of how Shane, Josh, and Sarah were hiking on a trip in Iraq, and when called over by guards, unknowingly crossed over the border into the country of Iran.
All three hikers went through psychological torture, solitary confinement (Sarah for the entire time of her imprisonment), and were not allowed phone calls nor letters from their families often.
A Sliver of Light is powerful, moving, and emotional – a story of triumph even in horrific circumstances. It reminds us of the beauty of the simple things in the world and also to be aware of the injustices that surround us as well.
For the full review, visit Love at First Book
rick23's review against another edition
2.0
The world spins. Indifferent to our designs. But to read this book. You would think it spins around the authors.
I thought this would be much better than it was. Felt really flat and self involved. Not to discredit their experience, but it seemed like a lot of it was brought on by themselves. Their lack of awareness of anything greater than their microcosm is frustrating.
A belief I have, is that maybe I shouldn’t go hiking in places that have active wildfires, sub zero temperatures, or political regimes that are likely to throw me in prison for an extended period of time. Maybe that makes me a bit of a square. But the hope is that my value system prevents first/icy death or political imprisonments.
The first half of the book I thought, “good god, everyone sucks at communication.” Half truths, hunger strikes, and so on just make it worse. There’s a glaring lack of self awareness that makes reading this frustrating. And maybe that defiance helped keep their sanity. But it sure seemed to make their time worse.
In the second half, I was consistently amazed at the hints of perspective and how they were thrown away. Mentions of other political prisoners, other inmates, encounters with families after release. All presented themselves as more interesting stories than the one here. This story could be interesting, but the focus of this book was not compelling.
I think this work is a good example of the disconnect political activists sometimes have between their personal experience in the world and the world as a whole. The authors had been very critical of many of the United States policies regarding war and involvement in the Middle East. Criticisms that I personally would agree with. My impression is that many of those policy decisions are seen as a best worst option in higher levels of government But their single mindedness of opinion means they miss the tapestry for a single thread. And I think that’s what this book is. It’s a single thread trying to be a tapestry. And it’s pretty bare at that
I thought this would be much better than it was. Felt really flat and self involved. Not to discredit their experience, but it seemed like a lot of it was brought on by themselves. Their lack of awareness of anything greater than their microcosm is frustrating.
A belief I have, is that maybe I shouldn’t go hiking in places that have active wildfires, sub zero temperatures, or political regimes that are likely to throw me in prison for an extended period of time. Maybe that makes me a bit of a square. But the hope is that my value system prevents first/icy death or political imprisonments.
The first half of the book I thought, “good god, everyone sucks at communication.” Half truths, hunger strikes, and so on just make it worse. There’s a glaring lack of self awareness that makes reading this frustrating. And maybe that defiance helped keep their sanity. But it sure seemed to make their time worse.
In the second half, I was consistently amazed at the hints of perspective and how they were thrown away. Mentions of other political prisoners, other inmates, encounters with families after release. All presented themselves as more interesting stories than the one here. This story could be interesting, but the focus of this book was not compelling.
I think this work is a good example of the disconnect political activists sometimes have between their personal experience in the world and the world as a whole. The authors had been very critical of many of the United States policies regarding war and involvement in the Middle East. Criticisms that I personally would agree with. My impression is that many of those policy decisions are seen as a best worst option in higher levels of government But their single mindedness of opinion means they miss the tapestry for a single thread. And I think that’s what this book is. It’s a single thread trying to be a tapestry. And it’s pretty bare at that
kkirkhoff's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book was very well written. It held my interest, and I liked the way it was presented in a diary format, with each person getting a few pages to tell their perspective of events.
While I am not an expert on foreign policy or Leftist activist groups, it seemed strange that these “hikers”, who happened to be outspoken opponents of America’s foreign policy and of Israel, just happened to be hiking right on the border of Iran and got captured. At some point I would think they would have thought this may not be a good idea to be wandering around near a hostile country like Iran. Maybe they thought if they said they were sympathetic to the Iranian/Middle East hatred of the U.S. they would be viewed as friends. It made me think they went over there hoping to be captured so they could be part of a hostage trade between the US and Iran. Along those lines, they seemed to be upset that the US didn’t buy into a hostage swap to get them out. Depending on your trust of the CIA, I don’t see the value in trading these very low-level peacenik protesters for some of the international prisoners we have locked up.
The other thing I thought was interesting (almost funny) was how they were getting upset that the Obama administration didn’t appear to be doing anything to get them out. But these three are critical of most all things American. They remind me of skiers who dash down the part of the mountain that is off limits, then cry when they cause an avalanche and nobody comes to get them.
But, that being said, I did enjoy the book and was curious how it would end.
While I am not an expert on foreign policy or Leftist activist groups, it seemed strange that these “hikers”, who happened to be outspoken opponents of America’s foreign policy and of Israel, just happened to be hiking right on the border of Iran and got captured. At some point I would think they would have thought this may not be a good idea to be wandering around near a hostile country like Iran. Maybe they thought if they said they were sympathetic to the Iranian/Middle East hatred of the U.S. they would be viewed as friends. It made me think they went over there hoping to be captured so they could be part of a hostage trade between the US and Iran. Along those lines, they seemed to be upset that the US didn’t buy into a hostage swap to get them out. Depending on your trust of the CIA, I don’t see the value in trading these very low-level peacenik protesters for some of the international prisoners we have locked up.
The other thing I thought was interesting (almost funny) was how they were getting upset that the Obama administration didn’t appear to be doing anything to get them out. But these three are critical of most all things American. They remind me of skiers who dash down the part of the mountain that is off limits, then cry when they cause an avalanche and nobody comes to get them.
But, that being said, I did enjoy the book and was curious how it would end.
rachaelallyn's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
honnofor's review against another edition
4.0
At first I hated having three authors and it felt as if they were just repeating each other. But once they are imprisoned it really helps to show how each of them experienced prison and solitary confinement. Appreciate this book given how much work they do now to speak out against solitary confinement in the US.
bmwpalmer's review against another edition
3.0
Audiobook.
3.5 stars. Always interesting, but I've read better captivity-narrative books, even ones that take place in Iran, specifically. Plus, I couldn't get over how insufferable these three people were. They certainly did not deserve to be put in Evin prison in Tehran, and bless them for holding fast to their sometimes odious convictions throughout the ordeal, and I'm glad they're free, but. BUT. There is a massive BUT somewhere in all this that I cannot or will not put into words.
(I concede that some of the attitude I picked up from this book may have come from the narrators' voices rather than the prose itself.)
3.5 stars. Always interesting, but I've read better captivity-narrative books, even ones that take place in Iran, specifically. Plus, I couldn't get over how insufferable these three people were. They certainly did not deserve to be put in Evin prison in Tehran, and bless them for holding fast to their sometimes odious convictions throughout the ordeal, and I'm glad they're free, but. BUT. There is a massive BUT somewhere in all this that I cannot or will not put into words.
(I concede that some of the attitude I picked up from this book may have come from the narrators' voices rather than the prose itself.)
sherylk's review
4.0
I think I heard about this book on NPR - in any case it is a shared memoir of three friends who were prisoners in Iran for several years. They begin by hiking in Iraq and either accidentally or carelessly end up crossing the border into Iran where they are captured and thrown in prison.
The book alternates in each of their voices telling the story. You can feel their struggles and their joys, and how they are alternatively feeling hopeful and hopeless. They capture the soul-dullingly boredom of prison, the agony of solitary confinement, and the confusing relationships they had with the guards. While they weren't tortured (and in fact were given sufficient food, clothing, and medical care), they were manipulated, tricked, and often played against each other. At times they were allowed to share rooms or free time, but other times they were isolated. The relationships they had with each other were complex and fragile.
Not just a political statement (although it is), this book is about surviving with little to no information. It is about friendship and love, and about persevering through the unimaginable as a team.
The book alternates in each of their voices telling the story. You can feel their struggles and their joys, and how they are alternatively feeling hopeful and hopeless. They capture the soul-dullingly boredom of prison, the agony of solitary confinement, and the confusing relationships they had with the guards. While they weren't tortured (and in fact were given sufficient food, clothing, and medical care), they were manipulated, tricked, and often played against each other. At times they were allowed to share rooms or free time, but other times they were isolated. The relationships they had with each other were complex and fragile.
Not just a political statement (although it is), this book is about surviving with little to no information. It is about friendship and love, and about persevering through the unimaginable as a team.
laura_sorensen's review
3.0
I don't really understand all the vitriol against the authors in comments. I mean of course I too was like, "Don't do it! Don't cross the border! Noooooo!" but come on, they probably wish they hadn't done it either, and they'd choose differently if they'd known what would happen. I think the book had a lot to say about surviving solitary, what changes happen to a person when they're imprisoned, and how hard family members had to work to get enough attention to get them out. It was illuminating.
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