carmenere's review against another edition
4.0
Haris Abadi is an Iraqi by birth, American by gratitude. As an interpreter, his duty is blurred by emotion which leads to regret. Perhaps to set things right, he chooses to return to the Middle East and become a fighter for the Free Syrian Army. He meets Daphne and Amir who also struggle with events in their past and together they work to achieve their desires and cross the border back into Syria but the war is far reaching and filled with deception, revenge and betrayal. There is no place for naivete and the gullible. One needs to know where they're convictions lie, who the enemy is, what they are fighting and why. This story had an unexpected though not fulfilling conclusion and serves to reiterate just how ongoing and complicated this war can be.
cat_manders's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
itsgg's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars. This book is worth reading not necessarily for its quality, but because it humanizes an important moment in current world events. Like Virgil in Dante's Inferno, protagonist Haris leads us back and forth over the Syrian border and introduces us to characters living in a variety of circumstances whose life courses have been altered by the civil war. It's moving and specific in a way that news reports are not. I recommend it for anyone interested in getting more insight into the conflict there.
alexkerner's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting and topical but the prose isn't particularly impressive or engaging
agarje1's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
For me, the most interesting aspect of this book was how it dealt thematically with the idea of borders. Of course, there is the physical border between Turkey and Syria that the main character, Haris, is trying to cross. But there are also evident borders (or barriers) between each of the characters because none of them completely understands the feelings and motivations of the others. As a result of this, Haris often ends up completely misreading people and situations. The idea of crossing a border seems simple enough, but the trials and tribulations that Haris goes through to try to cross the actual border mirrors how difficult it is to cross the barriers people put up between themselves.
The portrayal of Antep and the Turkish border towns seemed to come from a place of intimate knowledge on the author's part, which was nice to read. The characters were also very deeply drawn and had complex relations with each other that I can only just begin to untangle. The writing style was also quite sophisticated and really fit the somber mood of the story very well.
However, the story dragged a bit towards the middle, and if it wasn't for the audiobook it probably would have taken me forever to get through it. Despite that, this book was a good portrayal of people made broken and listless by a horrific war.
For me, the most interesting aspect of this book was how it dealt thematically with the idea of borders. Of course, there is the physical border between Turkey and Syria that the main character, Haris, is trying to cross. But there are also evident borders (or barriers) between each of the characters because none of them completely understands the feelings and motivations of the others. As a result of this, Haris often ends up completely misreading people and situations. The idea of crossing a border seems simple enough, but the trials and tribulations that Haris goes through to try to cross the actual border mirrors how difficult it is to cross the barriers people put up between themselves.
The portrayal of Antep and the Turkish border towns seemed to come from a place of intimate knowledge on the author's part, which was nice to read. The characters were also very deeply drawn and had complex relations with each other that I can only just begin to untangle. The writing style was also quite sophisticated and really fit the somber mood of the story very well.
However, the story dragged a bit towards the middle, and if it wasn't for the audiobook it probably would have taken me forever to get through it. Despite that, this book was a good portrayal of people made broken and listless by a horrific war.
abeanbg's review against another edition
3.0
This was good, but rushed. I liked the tone, setting, and themes that Ackerman was working with here. But he rushes through the whole plot in a week, which makes the relationships sort of absurd. A bunch of adults in a war zone acting like, well, like characters in a book. What makes this strange is that this isn't even very plot-heavy! He could have drawn it out, or added more, I dunno. It's a solid 3.5/5 sort of novel, but not on a par with something like A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.
elisab21's review against another edition
3.0
I hate sad endings, but I guess that's reality! This novel was interesting from a historical perspective, but never really gripping in its account.
scottshepard's review against another edition
2.0
The moral of the story is: don’t try to join ISIS. It won’t go well for you.
In Dark at the Crossing we have the story of an Iraqi translator who becomes a US citizen, but can’t stand the drudgery of working as a janitor in Michigan and so goes to fight Assad’s regime in Syria. The entire story takes place on the border and follows Harris as he attempts to cross from Turkey into Syria and make his way to Aleppo. Along the way he encounters refugees, abandoned children, ISIS insurgents, Turkish police, foreign NGOs and one grieving and sexually confused married couple. It’s a story about the futility of ideals and less about the war itself, which plays only a cursory role. Harris could be trying to do anything futile and it wouldn’t necessarily matter.
The book drags in the first third with a lot of flashbacks to Iraq and the United States. But when it picks back up I was surprised at how little of the revelations stuck to the character. Harris is essentially a blank slate at the beginning, doing this task only because he has nothing else to do. By the end we’re supposed to understand his motivations, but he still remarkable boring. Everyone around him is dynamic and interesting but he remains an empty void. I did not like nor did I understand almost anything he did. He has a remarapkle apathy and predilection for self destruction.
The setting was my favorite part of the book. Ackerman clearly has an intimate knowledge of the area and peoples. I loved reading about the nebulous territory that is the border region, I just didn’t like the people described.
In Dark at the Crossing we have the story of an Iraqi translator who becomes a US citizen, but can’t stand the drudgery of working as a janitor in Michigan and so goes to fight Assad’s regime in Syria. The entire story takes place on the border and follows Harris as he attempts to cross from Turkey into Syria and make his way to Aleppo. Along the way he encounters refugees, abandoned children, ISIS insurgents, Turkish police, foreign NGOs and one grieving and sexually confused married couple. It’s a story about the futility of ideals and less about the war itself, which plays only a cursory role. Harris could be trying to do anything futile and it wouldn’t necessarily matter.
The book drags in the first third with a lot of flashbacks to Iraq and the United States. But when it picks back up I was surprised at how little of the revelations stuck to the character. Harris is essentially a blank slate at the beginning, doing this task only because he has nothing else to do. By the end we’re supposed to understand his motivations, but he still remarkable boring. Everyone around him is dynamic and interesting but he remains an empty void. I did not like nor did I understand almost anything he did. He has a remarapkle apathy and predilection for self destruction.
The setting was my favorite part of the book. Ackerman clearly has an intimate knowledge of the area and peoples. I loved reading about the nebulous territory that is the border region, I just didn’t like the people described.