Reviews

The Drone Eats with Me: A Gaza Diary by Atef Abu Saif

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saintswitchblade's review against another edition

5.0

This story of survival has touched me like no other. I always knew I didn't agree with war, but this book illustrated all the reasons I could never quite articulate and it did it in an elegant and engaging way. It's so beautifully written that it makes the horror of war that much more sickening. I found myself shaking with rage. As a white American, I will never truly know the fear that these families felt and continue to feel, but even just reading about it set me on edge like nothing before. This book is genuinely a gem, a glimpse into Gazan devastation and Israel's overwhelming and undeserved military power. I suggest it to anyone and everyone. The physical beauty of Gaza can be destroyed, but it seems that the beauty of the Gazan people and their hope can never be tarnished.

titalindaslibrary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

A sobering look at the daily life of a Gazan civilian just trying to survive Israeli attacks. This particular timeframe documents the 51 days of terror in 2014, when Israel launched "Operation Protective Edge" on July 8. Atef writes a passage each day, sharing the mundane routines he tries his best to stick to, the thoughts and worries that grow with each day of bombing, and trying to maintain hope for his children.

Thinking of what to do tomorrow is better than dwelling on the pain of yesterday. It was hard. It was terrible. But it was not us who created that hell. The only thing we can create is tomorrow.

spopovic's review against another edition

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emotional informative

4.5

jiujensu's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

As the recently assassinated (by Israel) poet Rafaat Alareer wrote, let it be a tale.

If you're someone who values human life and has read volumes of human stories of the holocaust to bear witness, please extend your humanity to another and read this book about a genocide we can still stop.

I will add to this, but the final editor's note in 2015 mentions the oil and gas reserve found off Gaza's coast as being reason to fear further US supported Israeli aggression. And look what happened in 2018, 2021 and 2023. The US and Israel won't stop. We have to stop it. Everyone who has read Anne Frank or any other war diary and thought never again- we have that responsibility to other humans.

deereadstoo's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Disclaimer: In this review, I'm using the word "war" very loosely as we all know what is occurring in Gaza--a genocide. Thank you.

"Such words and protest don't help much, but they do give you a sense that someone out there is thinking of you, that someone, though helpless, cares about the killing and believes you have a right to live in peace."

What would you do if war was a part of your everyday life? What it just made itself comfortable in your daily routine? First, you wake up and make yourself a cup of coffee. The aroma of freshly roasted beans surely does awaken your senses, doesn't it? Next, you sit and listen for any drone strikes. You can kind of get an idea of where it's going to hit based on the way the drone is facing so you're hoping it doesn't hit near you. You wake your family and try to establish some normalcy--mundane routine--to dull the ache and uncertainty of war. As you all sit with each other in harrowing silence while eating what constitutes a breakfast, you listen to the news radio as it tallies up the death toll from yesterday. It's going to be an interesting day.

You finally take a step outside and suck in a deep breath. It smells like bodies decaying and burning buildings. Lots of ash and soot. You shouldn't be breathing this in but that isn't your fault. You go around and inspect the damage while keeping an eye out. You always have to keep an eye out. It's second nature. All five of your senses have made room for war. For years, you've become accustomed to what it tastes and smells like. You've certainly seen it and heard it. You'll always feel it. It has seeped into your skin and drilled its way into your bones--right down to the marrow. Obviously, this is all hypothetical. You haven't witnessed any of this. Your senses haven't acquired this specific taste, smell, and feel. You've never heard a drone strike your home, your business, your livelihood. You've never seen the bodies of babies, elderly, men, and women trapped under tons of rubble waiting hours, even days, to be saved...hopefully. I'm only trying to paint a picture for you. However, the picture I paint will always be incomplete. I, too, have never experienced war. I have no idea what war looks or feels like. I've never tasted the stale air of rubble, ash, and dead bodies. I've never heard a building collapse to the ground in one second or the cries of a person whose entire family was wiped from existence so easily. I wake up in the morning and I'm greeted with silence. What a privilege that is. I wish Palestinians had that privilege. I'm sure as Atef was writing his diary, he wished that too.

The Drone Eats with Me by Atef Abu Saif is a diary. Atef ended his days writing in his journal in 2014 while Israel was bombarding Gaza. His diary paints the picture completely. His diary pushes us to think, "What if this was us?" Every entry held pain, despair, hope, joy, death, fear, and love. Atef crafted this work so beautifully and poetically that you kind of forget it's real. You forget that this is a diary. His diary. Every entry brought us into Gaza. They brought us into his routine. What does Atef do to feel safe? Normal? There are so many moments in this diary that will be stamped on my heart forever and every page turn I held out hope that Atef and his family would survive another day. I'm sure as he was walking the streets of Gaza, he was hoping the same.

The least I can do now is carry your story through this life if you can't. Amplify your voice when others try to silence it. Be your anger when you feel you have none left. Be your hope in a world that feels like nothing but despair.

Content Warnings