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4.62 AVERAGE
4.62 AVERAGE
This collection of Syrian voices is the result of hundreds of interviews the author conducted between 2012 and 2016. It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read.
In her introduction, Pearlman writes, “Politicians and commentators throughout the world talk about Syrians as victims to be pitied, bodies to be sheltered, radicals to be denounced, or threats to be feared and blocked. In the whirlwind of words spoken about Syrians as a global problem, it can be difficult to find chances to listen to actual Syrians, as human beings.”
The danger of reading this is that you will no longer think of Syria in the abstract, an “over there” problem that doesn’t really affect you. School principal Azusa and physical therapist Amin and web developer Ayham and computer engineer Firas and playwright Husayn and nuclear engineer Lana and the many others, students and parents and defected soldiers. As they speak, they draw you in to their experiences under Hafez al-Assad’s 30 year reign, their hope when Bashar al-Assad came to power, their shock when the mutilated body of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib’s mutilated corpse was delivered back to his village as a threat from the regime. You feel the exhilaration of the first demonstrations, the horror of the mass killings of civilians, the hopelessness when world leaders who had pledged to hold Bashar accountable for his atrocities don’t follow through, giving tacit permission for Bashar to ramp up his campaign.
Profound and essential.
In her introduction, Pearlman writes, “Politicians and commentators throughout the world talk about Syrians as victims to be pitied, bodies to be sheltered, radicals to be denounced, or threats to be feared and blocked. In the whirlwind of words spoken about Syrians as a global problem, it can be difficult to find chances to listen to actual Syrians, as human beings.”
The danger of reading this is that you will no longer think of Syria in the abstract, an “over there” problem that doesn’t really affect you. School principal Azusa and physical therapist Amin and web developer Ayham and computer engineer Firas and playwright Husayn and nuclear engineer Lana and the many others, students and parents and defected soldiers. As they speak, they draw you in to their experiences under Hafez al-Assad’s 30 year reign, their hope when Bashar al-Assad came to power, their shock when the mutilated body of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib’s mutilated corpse was delivered back to his village as a threat from the regime. You feel the exhilaration of the first demonstrations, the horror of the mass killings of civilians, the hopelessness when world leaders who had pledged to hold Bashar accountable for his atrocities don’t follow through, giving tacit permission for Bashar to ramp up his campaign.
Profound and essential.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Murder, War
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
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.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
This is a really difficult and emotionally wrecking thing to read, but very necessary.
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!
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
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.
This book brought me goosebumps and tears at times. Pearlman did an amazing job capturing the lives of Syrians before, throughout, and after the Arab spring. This book will humble you.