Reviews
Το πρωί που ήρθαν να μας πάρουν: Ανταποκρίσεις από τον πόλεμο στη Συρία by Janine di Giovanni
hooliaquoolia's review against another edition
3.0
More of a series of short, 20-page memoirs than a work of substantial journalism. Her accounts are moving and authentically describe the realities of war for a newly sectarian country, but they are so consumed by anecdotes that the true scale of the conflict is somewhat lost. In addition, any organized argument for specific action or intervention on the part of the international community is absent amidst her tunnel-vision focus on anecdotes. I feel like she wanted this book to be a call to action--but what action exactly? And for which side? I am left with questions and little direction, which I doubt was her goal.
betweenbookends's review against another edition
3.0
Completely harrowing and emotionally devastating, this is such an important read. While the Syrian refugee crisis, the recent chemical attacks, and so many other devastating incidents have been in the news, the bloodied history of this country and the lives lost is unthinkable. In this memoir, Giovanni, a reporter who has been investigating and interviewing both sides (the Assad govt, and the rebel forces) since 2011, gives a detailed account of the bloodshed and violence that has rocked Syria. It's absolutely traumatising when Giovanni describes the scenes in different parts of Syria and it feels unreal and post-apocalyptic, like a scene from the Walking Dead. To read about the young children, families, the innumerable civilians whose daily life is interspersed with the sounds of bombs and daily sights are dismembered bodies strewn about, is completely horrifying. Giovanni's memoir ends on a very unsettling and disturbing note as the situation in Syria spirals out of control. It haunts you long after you've read it and is a reminder of how cruel humanity can be.
The only aspect which was a bit of misfire for me, is Giovanni tends to write sometimes as a stream of consciousness and it takes focus from the horrific events to her perceptions instead.
The only aspect which was a bit of misfire for me, is Giovanni tends to write sometimes as a stream of consciousness and it takes focus from the horrific events to her perceptions instead.
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I read this all in one evening because I wasn't sure if I could pick it up the next morning. And I'm grateful I did - it was an all-consuming reading experience, and I'm still processing everything I read the next day.
The Morning They Came for Us is primarily objective reporting of events that the (Western, non-Syrian) journalist either experienced or her interviewees experienced, and the surrounding contemporary events/context. Every once in a while, the author brings up previous war reporting experiences she's had - notably the Bosnian war - and tidbits about how war journalists/foreign correspondents handle the logistics of these trips. I appreciated the (brief) acknowledgement that she, and other journalists have a new unique privilege of temporarily living in and experiencing a war zone but they're (usually) able to leave. These elements - the more personal/subjective pieces - will not be for every reader's personal preference. But much like personal accounts of war that she includes, I think it adds an additional layer of humanity to the narrative.
The personal accounts, though, are really fucking hard to read. Especially Nada, Shaheeneez, and Hussein - who all were kidnapped/taken, tortured, raped, and brutalized for months. Besides the very graphic details of their experiences, what really hurt was reading about their feelings of betrayal - betrayal from their fellow Syrians, from humanity, and how now they feel separate from other humans. A common thread throughout the book is "This isn't my Syria" - many of those interviewed in the early days couldn't believe that people of their own country would do this to each other - that it must be solely foreigners responsible. As the war progressed, the rise of divisions across religion, ethnic groups, and other ideologies demonstrated how effective separatism and fear is to any regime or group fighting for control and power.
Despite the sense of war's inevitability that pervades this book, what really struck me was how much the rest of the world failed Syria and continues to fail Syria. At the time of publication, the civil war had been going on for 5+ years - at this time of this review, the war is still going on 11+ years later. "The Book of the Dead is not yet finished" (pg 172).
The Morning They Came for Us is primarily objective reporting of events that the (Western, non-Syrian) journalist either experienced or her interviewees experienced, and the surrounding contemporary events/context. Every once in a while, the author brings up previous war reporting experiences she's had - notably the Bosnian war - and tidbits about how war journalists/foreign correspondents handle the logistics of these trips. I appreciated the (brief) acknowledgement that she, and other journalists have a new unique privilege of temporarily living in and experiencing a war zone but they're (usually) able to leave. These elements - the more personal/subjective pieces - will not be for every reader's personal preference. But much like personal accounts of war that she includes, I think it adds an additional layer of humanity to the narrative.
The personal accounts, though, are really fucking hard to read. Especially Nada, Shaheeneez, and Hussein - who all were kidnapped/taken, tortured, raped, and brutalized for months. Besides the very graphic details of their experiences, what really hurt was reading about their feelings of betrayal - betrayal from their fellow Syrians, from humanity, and how now they feel separate from other humans. A common thread throughout the book is "This isn't my Syria" - many of those interviewed in the early days couldn't believe that people of their own country would do this to each other - that it must be solely foreigners responsible. As the war progressed, the rise of divisions across religion, ethnic groups, and other ideologies demonstrated how effective separatism and fear is to any regime or group fighting for control and power.
Despite the sense of war's inevitability that pervades this book, what really struck me was how much the rest of the world failed Syria and continues to fail Syria. At the time of publication, the civil war had been going on for 5+ years - at this time of this review, the war is still going on 11+ years later. "The Book of the Dead is not yet finished" (pg 172).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Medical trauma, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, and Xenophobia
zozo9's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
A powerful eyewitness account of the first year's of the civil war in Syria. Janine Di Giovanni does little if any exposition or current events, instead just jumping into journalistic accounts of aspects of the conflict from the perspective of a variety of different people--with a heavy emphasis on relatively graphic accounts of torture, rape, killing, and the like. As powerful and important as these stories were, however, they felt missing some broader context and (as horrible as this is to admit) there is a even a certain sameness to much of the account. I preferred [b:A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS|29875848|A Rage for Order The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS|Robert F. Worth|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465635403s/29875848.jpg|50248645] which covered similar territory (but across more of the Arab countries) for its combination of current events and narrative. And neither comes close to the beauty of [b:The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between|28007895|The Return Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between|Hisham Matar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457891417s/28007895.jpg|48015462], a memoir centered around Libya.
jo_an's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
Desgarrador, simplemente desgarrador. La autora nos cuenta sus vivencias en la guerra en Siria, centrándose en todas las personas anónimas que conoce allí que están sufriendo el conflicto. Y habla de los crímenes que cometen ambos bandos (o 20.000 bandos, mas bien) sin pelos en la lengua. Es muy directa, y te hace ver el horror que están viviendo los sirios.
Lo mejor de todo es que entrevista a gente pro-gobierno y rebelde, consiguiendo una visión más completa, es decir, mantiene una posición objetiva. La única pega que le veo es que no ha hablado mucho de los refugiados. Recomendadísimo
NOTA: Este libro no es para todos, se habla de violaciones, violaciones en grupo, torturas, todo tipo de violaciones de derechos humanos, secuestros, decapitaciones, etc. Avisados quedáis.
Ojalá nunca tengamos que vivir esto.
Desgarrador, simplemente desgarrador. La autora nos cuenta sus vivencias en la guerra en Siria, centrándose en todas las personas anónimas que conoce allí que están sufriendo el conflicto. Y habla de los crímenes que cometen ambos bandos (o 20.000 bandos, mas bien) sin pelos en la lengua. Es muy directa, y te hace ver el horror que están viviendo los sirios.
Lo mejor de todo es que entrevista a gente pro-gobierno y rebelde, consiguiendo una visión más completa, es decir, mantiene una posición objetiva. La única pega que le veo es que no ha hablado mucho de los refugiados. Recomendadísimo
NOTA: Este libro no es para todos, se habla de violaciones, violaciones en grupo, torturas, todo tipo de violaciones de derechos humanos, secuestros, decapitaciones, etc. Avisados quedáis.
Ojalá nunca tengamos que vivir esto.
jmiae's review against another edition
3.0
This was an informative book in the sense that it provided a deeply personal perspective on what was/is happening in Syria. Although I have a lot of respect for Di Giovanni for the work that she has done in war-torn countries, I am less a fan of her writing and the way she decided to structure this collection of experiences that she had in different cities throughout 2012. Perhaps some of the inconsistency can be considered an editing problem. In any case, the lack of cohesion, the sort of jigsaw puzzle organisation in The Morning They Came for Us was frustrating for me, mainly because the stories she transmitted from the civilians and soldiers she met in Syria are so powerful and gripping, that if they had been built around a firmer rhetorical foundation they would have been that much more informative and constructive. But aside from my criticisms of her writing approach, there is no denying the fact that simply reading this collection (can we call them memoirs?) has engaged me in the Syrian conflict in a way that the news has not been able to over the course of seven years. The images that Di Giovanni conjured in my mind's eye are inextricably linked in a very emotional way to the stories that I read this morning about the assault on Ghouta. There is something to be said about the power of the written word, and its ability to express more effectively than contemporary news outlets, despite their use of heartstring-pulling images and dramatic voice-overs, ever could.