A review by emilyacres
The Road from Raqqa: A Story of Brotherhood, Borders, and Belonging by Jordan Ritter Conn

3.0

And Riyad and Bashar wondered what makes a city when its people have fled or died, what makes a home when a house has become rubble, what makes a family when brothers and sisters are sent to scatter across the world.

The Road from Raqqa is a beautiful piece of narrative non-fiction. It's a story of two brothers, of immigration, of terror, hope and family. It's a moving story, and wonderfully told.

Riyad and Bashar Alkasem are the two eldest sons of the ancestral line of one of the twelve founding tribes of Raqqa. Indeed they are the descendants of the very founder himself who once set up the first tent in the desert and invited others to join him with a welcoming cup of coffee. The brothers lives follow two very different paths. Riyad became a political dissident after a traumatic experience witnessing the horrors of the state violence of the Assad regime. Syria was no longer a safe place for Riyad to live and so pursued an education in America. Bashar, now the patriarch of the family remained in Syria through the civil war and the following occupation by the Islamic State in Raqqa.

The story is expertly told by the author. It's readable in its narrative structure but also very evidently journalistic in tone which I found helpful in keeping me grounded in its reality. Though both brothers have an interesting story I was definitely drawn more to Bashar, the brother that remained in Syria and I really appreciated the historical context provided by the author to round out an otherwise personal tale. There were moments I found slower than others but I loved getting to read about two very different and yet connected immigrant experiences. I hope more people will read this book and that Jordan Ritter Conn continues his writing!

Thank you to the publisher for proving this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.