Scan barcode
ericb4257's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Murder, and War
tracie's review against another edition
I have been a member of John Green's Life's Library book club for a year now but haven't actually read any of the books yet. My goal this year is to get up to date and by chance at least three of the books work for Book Riot's Read Harder challenge. I read 'We Crossed A Bridge and It Trembled' for the "about or by a refugee" prompt.
It features short testimonies from Syrians who have been affected by the war and in many cases needed to leave. It is not strictly just a book about refugees as the stories come from Syrians who remain and ones who fled. It covers stories from the very beginning of the crisis in Syria to current refugee camps. Of course many of the stories are disturbing but there are also tales of resilience and hope. Even though I own the physical copy I listened to the audio book as I appreciated hearing the correct pronunciations of names and places which added further authenticity.
I always knew this would be a hard category for me and to be honest I would never have picked this book up if it hadn't been a book club pick. Though I am pleased I did as I learned so much not just about the crisis but about Syria and its people.
It features short testimonies from Syrians who have been affected by the war and in many cases needed to leave. It is not strictly just a book about refugees as the stories come from Syrians who remain and ones who fled. It covers stories from the very beginning of the crisis in Syria to current refugee camps. Of course many of the stories are disturbing but there are also tales of resilience and hope. Even though I own the physical copy I listened to the audio book as I appreciated hearing the correct pronunciations of names and places which added further authenticity.
I always knew this would be a hard category for me and to be honest I would never have picked this book up if it hadn't been a book club pick. Though I am pleased I did as I learned so much not just about the crisis but about Syria and its people.
coffeebooksrepeat's review
5.0
“…it was the revolution that allowed me to see people for who they really are. It showed me that every Syrian has a hundred stories in his heart. Every Syrian is himself a story.”
We Crossed A Bridge and It Trembled is a collection of wartime stories and testimonies from Syrians who have lived through the years of conflict — Syrians who lost their homes, their friends, their families, their dreams, themselves.
There is despair and/or anger in every line, yet there is also hope. This book sadly screams what the refugees have been screaming all these years— new home, a new start.
While it does feel a bit odd to rate people’s struggles, this book deserves ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ or even more!
A MUST READ.
We Crossed A Bridge and It Trembled is a collection of wartime stories and testimonies from Syrians who have lived through the years of conflict — Syrians who lost their homes, their friends, their families, their dreams, themselves.
There is despair and/or anger in every line, yet there is also hope. This book sadly screams what the refugees have been screaming all these years— new home, a new start.
While it does feel a bit odd to rate people’s struggles, this book deserves ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ or even more!
A MUST READ.
ellie_the_kraken's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
vmalika's review
5.0
really loved this book. it's a great introduction to the Syrian revolution. author gives us more information on life in Syria before revolution, and then the book consists of the testimonies and stories of the Syrian people, who were there, who had to leave because of the dangerous regime. will definitely read more on this topic to get to know it better. i hope one day Syria and its people will get the freedom they deserve and will live a better life.
bekahtay19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
4.75
radikaliseradgroda's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really difficult and emotionally wrecking thing to read, but very necessary.
ladylizardxvii's review
5.0
There are not enough words to describe how beautiful and moving this book is. The introduction is easy to read yet gives plenty of context for the interviews. The rest of the book is entirely interview transcripts, and hearing about the Syrian conflict in Syrians' own words is so powerful. Everyone should read this book!
jiujensu's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
This is a collection of personal accounts and memories from the Syrain revolution. The only commentary comes in the introduction. I love this approach - collectively, you get a good picture of the politics and aspirations of the people where US media reports may have obscured and muddled the facts. There are stories as in Gaza of children as young as five losing all hope and wishing to die. There are truths about refugees - that they are here to work with you not against you and if you don't want refugees in your county, work for peace in Syria. More than one person details how they had hope other nations would support them in the beginning, but the US just bombed ISIS and made things worse. Sometimes they recount life in America and how they had to learn about debit cards and credit scores and every store asks for your email and then you "get a thousands of emails from Home Depot, my God."
I think this is one you'd enjoy even if you aren't into politics or foreign affairs - very human and engaging. But I hope it makes everyone consider the lives we destroy with our US "defense budget" every year and think about what else we could do with all that money.
I think this is one you'd enjoy even if you aren't into politics or foreign affairs - very human and engaging. But I hope it makes everyone consider the lives we destroy with our US "defense budget" every year and think about what else we could do with all that money.