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bbirchett's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Rape
One of the most brutal, eye opening accounts of war I have read in a long time. Horrifying and very, very sad but reading it felt a tiny bit like bearing witness.iceberg0's review against another edition
4.0
Horrific and gripping look at what the Syrian war did to the people of Syria.
i_b_anoud's review against another edition
Something about this book grated on my nerves. The accounts in this book were blood curdling, I wish they found a better writer to tell them in a more respectful way.
As the author goes on and on about her travels in a surgical way and completely devoid of any emotions, I felt that this was something she was doing for her on "glory." This cause was just work for her. She, in many ways, describes the violent groups as getting more violent "the more Islamic they get" as if Islam encourages rape and murder and violence. I believe that this is not something she did on purpose, but it was merely her on prejudice speaking.
Hopefully, I'm wrong, and this us not another "white savior," making them selves the center of a cause that is still causing much suffering.
As the author goes on and on about her travels in a surgical way and completely devoid of any emotions, I felt that this was something she was doing for her on "glory." This cause was just work for her. She, in many ways, describes the violent groups as getting more violent "the more Islamic they get" as if Islam encourages rape and murder and violence. I believe that this is not something she did on purpose, but it was merely her on prejudice speaking.
Hopefully, I'm wrong, and this us not another "white savior," making them selves the center of a cause that is still causing much suffering.
elisabeth_julia's review against another edition
5.0
“The Morning they came for us” is an excellent collection of personal accounts from the war in Syria. Janine Di Giovanni’s speaks to individuals from all sides. Her interviewees range from rape victims to Assad supporters and Syrian army soldiers. These individual stories from different perspectives make the war more comprehensible to the outsider (or less, depending on how far your understanding for humans who brutally torture, rape and slaughter other humans goes).
This book also gives great insight into the early days of the Syrian war and how it all started – something that’s almost forgotten now in the chaos and mess the country has turned into.
Events are depicted in chronological order which also helps to form a clearer view of the bigger picture, which is more useful compared to day to day news that fail to put things into a larger context.
The Morning they came for us is a book with the most horrific content. Nevertheless, someone has to witness and write these events down so they won’t be forgotten and all these individual experiences not lost forever. Most of the interviews in the book happened years ago. How many of the people the author spoke to at the time are dead by now?
I admire Janine Di Giovanni for being so dedicated to give war victims a voice and making sure that people all over the world get a chance to understand and memorise.
One of the most impactful books I have ever read.
This book also gives great insight into the early days of the Syrian war and how it all started – something that’s almost forgotten now in the chaos and mess the country has turned into.
Events are depicted in chronological order which also helps to form a clearer view of the bigger picture, which is more useful compared to day to day news that fail to put things into a larger context.
The Morning they came for us is a book with the most horrific content. Nevertheless, someone has to witness and write these events down so they won’t be forgotten and all these individual experiences not lost forever. Most of the interviews in the book happened years ago. How many of the people the author spoke to at the time are dead by now?
I admire Janine Di Giovanni for being so dedicated to give war victims a voice and making sure that people all over the world get a chance to understand and memorise.
One of the most impactful books I have ever read.
liolucia's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.25
To me this was a good entry point for the conflict in Syria, but it fell flat in some departments. I felt like Giovanni had a very narrow minded few of the rebels. She justified their action by government brutality, but does not really dive into the differences within the rebels. I had to do a lot of additional reading to understand the diversity in the protests and who "the rebels", as she often simplifies, actually are.
She mentioned jihadists, but did not, with the same force that she condems government forces, criticise the actions of these extremits. While she always makes the accounts of government brutality seems verified, she always seems to questions accounts of rebel brutality.
Also her accounts of the war are very anecdotical. A lot of singular stories sure help paint a picture of what life in war is like, but do not suffice to give me the picture. Overall, I felt the book be a bit lacking in content.
She mentioned jihadists, but did not, with the same force that she condems government forces, criticise the actions of these extremits. While she always makes the accounts of government brutality seems verified, she always seems to questions accounts of rebel brutality.
Also her accounts of the war are very anecdotical. A lot of singular stories sure help paint a picture of what life in war is like, but do not suffice to give me the picture. Overall, I felt the book be a bit lacking in content.
lexilovesreadingggg's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, it's a very very heavy read, because all of the events reported, happened and are probably still happening in some way due to the war in Syria not being over. Still to this day, I admire the way Janine Di Giovanni used language as a tool to give a voice to those, whose stories should be told and shouldn't be forgotten.
aubreystapp's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good, I was hoping it would help clear up my confusion about Syria, and it helped a little... Too much of the author and her opinion in it though, I wanted a more objective account.