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whatjuliareads's review
2.0
This is between a one and a two star, and I'm really sad about that. I picked this up because I thought that the story of Syrian Kurdish women soldiers fighting Daesh sounded really interesting and I was excited to start this.
Unfortunately, it read more like a love story to American involvement in the fight against terror. While there are some really fabulous books about that, I was disappointed to see a book purporting to be about Kurdish women be more accurately "Here's Another Story About America At War: Featuring Kurdish Women Where It Suits Us." Is it important to have some of the American background? Absolutely - it's important to know where funds, supplies, and air support come from. The background just took over the story of the women a lot.
As I'm writing this, I can just feel this becoming terribly negative, so I'll pivot into some positives. I thought the book was nicely written, it was engaging, interesting, and the transitions between narrative segments and information drops were enviably executed. I wish I could nail something like this.
Unfortunately, the narrative felt very propagandistic. The few women featured were very similar in demographic - young, unmarried, held strong American-style feminist beliefs before the war and rose up through the war, had their life plans scuppered by either the men in their lives or the war. A really interesting and valid demographic, but it folded in so tidily with the story that it felt very cherry picked. There was a dearth of stories about mothers, wives, or widows, of women fighting the war in ways other than picking up a gun. There is definite oppression, and a legal system that does not provide equal rights, protections, and obligations to all people needs change. That these women fought in this specific way in their specific demographic is incredible and it is astonishing what they accomplished - I do not (would not, could not) contest that, I just felt like the way that it was portrayed cheapened things.
I also felt like the strong sense of independence and "I know better than my commander" in the narratives counteracted any attempts to portray the YPG as competent - it also just sounded like a bad American war movie ("The Good Soldier overrides orders because they know better, and it is a resounding success!"). Messages of support and competency felt contradicted by the stories told.
As a general rule, I prefer when people quote the people they interview instead of describing in their own words a situation that they didn't showcase. My educational background is probably to blame for this, and while this book did a nice job with telling narratives, I just felt like more direct quotes would have moved the emphasis back to the women in question. Instead, this book really felt like it was using a subset of Syrian Kurdish women soldiers to tell a story about America.
My last comment is just going to be really petty... go read the acknowledgements. They are four pages long, and it is at the bottom of page three where she thanks the women she interviewed. After almost everyone else. Something about that did not sit well with me, and it lined up unfortunately well with how I felt about this.
In general, if you want a well written, immersive book about American involvement in the fight against ISIS as it related to Syrian Kurdish women soldiers, this could be interesting, if read with many grains of salt. If you came into this to see a history that puts Syrian Kurdish women at the centre, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Unfortunately, it read more like a love story to American involvement in the fight against terror. While there are some really fabulous books about that, I was disappointed to see a book purporting to be about Kurdish women be more accurately "Here's Another Story About America At War: Featuring Kurdish Women Where It Suits Us." Is it important to have some of the American background? Absolutely - it's important to know where funds, supplies, and air support come from. The background just took over the story of the women a lot.
As I'm writing this, I can just feel this becoming terribly negative, so I'll pivot into some positives. I thought the book was nicely written, it was engaging, interesting, and the transitions between narrative segments and information drops were enviably executed. I wish I could nail something like this.
Unfortunately, the narrative felt very propagandistic. The few women featured were very similar in demographic - young, unmarried, held strong American-style feminist beliefs before the war and rose up through the war, had their life plans scuppered by either the men in their lives or the war. A really interesting and valid demographic, but it folded in so tidily with the story that it felt very cherry picked. There was a dearth of stories about mothers, wives, or widows, of women fighting the war in ways other than picking up a gun. There is definite oppression, and a legal system that does not provide equal rights, protections, and obligations to all people needs change. That these women fought in this specific way in their specific demographic is incredible and it is astonishing what they accomplished - I do not (would not, could not) contest that, I just felt like the way that it was portrayed cheapened things.
I also felt like the strong sense of independence and "I know better than my commander" in the narratives counteracted any attempts to portray the YPG as competent - it also just sounded like a bad American war movie ("The Good Soldier overrides orders because they know better, and it is a resounding success!"). Messages of support and competency felt contradicted by the stories told.
As a general rule, I prefer when people quote the people they interview instead of describing in their own words a situation that they didn't showcase. My educational background is probably to blame for this, and while this book did a nice job with telling narratives, I just felt like more direct quotes would have moved the emphasis back to the women in question. Instead, this book really felt like it was using a subset of Syrian Kurdish women soldiers to tell a story about America.
My last comment is just going to be really petty... go read the acknowledgements. They are four pages long, and it is at the bottom of page three where she thanks the women she interviewed. After almost everyone else. Something about that did not sit well with me, and it lined up unfortunately well with how I felt about this.
In general, if you want a well written, immersive book about American involvement in the fight against ISIS as it related to Syrian Kurdish women soldiers, this could be interesting, if read with many grains of salt. If you came into this to see a history that puts Syrian Kurdish women at the centre, you'll be sorely disappointed.
lilyreads01's review
4.0
The Daughters of Kobani by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is an extraordinary and insightful book about the women who fought the Islamic State and won. Based on interviews and first hand reporting the story explores the beginning of a women’s revolution which became a fighting force not only against ISIS but for equality, opportunity and power too. In 2014, Kobani, in northeastern Syria was a town held by ISIS. At this point they had already claimed vast parts of the country spreading persecution, fear and terror. But from this town emerged a force that would battle ISIS. The women presented here are incredible- brave, resilient, strong and determined - who not only looked to win on the battlefield but to change the lives of women. The book explores the broader narrative of the Syrian Civil War, the ideology and growth of the Islamic State and the complex role of international relations and support. An uncertain future exists, the war is still being fought but the story shows us what women can achieve, the change they can create and inspire.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.
andyreadsfantasy's review
4.0
I listened to the audiobook.
An extraordinary story bogged down by historical information, facts, and international politics. Written more for informative purposes, like a newspaper article. For that reason, it didn’t keep my interest.
An extraordinary story bogged down by historical information, facts, and international politics. Written more for informative purposes, like a newspaper article. For that reason, it didn’t keep my interest.
mdeluca's review
1.0
It was hard to finish this book. For true stories, I prefer writing styles more like
"The Devil in the White City (Reprint) (Paperback) by Erik Larson"
"The Devil in the White City (Reprint) (Paperback) by Erik Larson"
captaincocanutty's review
3.0
While it was really inspiring to read about women who decided to take up arms against ISIS, I felt like a lot of elements were glossed over. The US withdrawal and its aftermath being a huge one, as well as more information about the Kurds themselves.