A review by expatally
House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid

3.0

I would not have chosen to read this book had it not been chosen by my book club and there were many times I wondered if I would finish it. Sometimes, the minutae of the process of fixing the Samara home felt like it would not end, but having lived in the Middle East for a short time, that is exactly how it feels.

I believe the most important knowledge to gain from this book is that those unfamiliar with the Middle East often view this part of the world through a very narrow lens, often one based on fear and misunderstanding. I love that we get to know a variety of different characters through the book and hopefully, begin to understand a little more of the nuances of various cultures from the Middle East and began to try to empathise and understand rather than make quick judgments about something we don't know.