A review by eviereads124
The Raqqa Diaries: Escape from Islamic State by Samer

4.0

The Raqqa Diaries is the product of contact between the BBC and a small activist group from Syria. The book tells the story of “Samer”, one of the members of the activist group. The diarist’s father is killed and mother badly injured during an airstrike, he is sentenced to 40 lashes for speaking out against a beheading, he sees a woman stoned to death. It shows how every aspect of life is impacted – from the spiralling costs of food to dictating the acceptable length of trousers. This is a raw and profoundly brutal book, but so so important to read - I think when you hear stories from Syria they’re often so unbelievable they’re hard to comprehend that they’re actually real and happening right now, but this book does make you face the reality of the situation a lot more starkly.