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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
4.5
What Have You Left Behind? is a gutting and heartbreaking read. It's a collection of testimonies from civilians impacted by the Yemeni civil war. I admire the fact that this book includes stories from victims of the Saudi led coalition and victims of the Houthi militia. The grief of the survivors was palpable, the magnitude of some of the losses unimaginable. Reading this, it was impossible to put images from Palestine out of my head. But it also reminded me that while Palestine is, understandably, receiving a lot of attention in the west, there are unfortunately many other countries in the world where innocent civilians are losing their lives, or having them inexorably altered, because of geopolitical issues and armed conflict not of their making.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Child death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
jouljet's review
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, War, Mental illness, Blood, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Medical content
siria's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
4.0
This is a harrowing set of testimonies collected by journalist Bushra al-Maqtari which document the incredible suffering inflicted on the people of Yemen in recent years. Yemen's ongoing civil war is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, yet one which attracts little international attention. Al-Maqtari urges the reader to listen to the chorus of voices she's assembled here: more than forty ordinary people who recount how they, their family and friends were maimed and murdered while trying to go about their everyday life: working in a clothes shop, celebrating a wedding, working on a fishing boat, playing in the street, asleep in their own bed. What Have You Left Behind? is difficult to read, but even more difficult to ignore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Grief, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Child death
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