Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
About halfway through, I thought about quitting this book. Then about 3/4 of the way through, I figured out the connection on why the author seemed to write in circles. The refugee journey is not linear. Two people going through the same thing have different experiences. The author did a beautiful job with her words and pictures of this family.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An emotional look at how trauma can affect experience and perspective as told through the eyes of a refugee man.
Beautifully written book captivating from start to finish. The writing style is engaging but doesn't lose the reader you can easily follow and navigate the multifaceted situations the characters are put in time and again.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was beautiful literature to read that managed to portray the sensation of PTSD’s disorientation and confusion. This was a good book and well written. It is tragic though and I know I will need a week to recover and process this book and then it will be on my mind for a while after and then I will read more reviews and discussion to deepen my depth of understanding of everything.
Very powerful and emotive regarding the traumatic experiences of refugees and war in Syria. However, it feels very surface level, as though it's barely scratching the surface of the pain of war and forced migration. However, I question the extent to which this can be truly explored in what is, fundamentally, a work of fiction and by someone who hasn't experienced things first-hand. That isn't to say an author can't write about things they haven't experienced intimately but I just think any such writing will be limited in how deeply it can demonstrate an understanding of such life events. In this sense, Lefteri isn't doing a bad job, she is merely constrained by the limits of the genre.
Fleeing war is a topic close to Lefteri's heart since she is the daughter of Cypriot refugees. I appreciated the notes at the end of the book that gave insight to why she chose to write a book particularly about Syrian refugees. As someone who had volunteered at refugee centres and heard horrific tales, I appreciate Lefteri giving these stories a collective voice. I think she did it with tact and not once did it venture into the territory of "trauma-porn" which it easily could have done. For that I was glad because I think it shows respect to the humans who have experienced these horrendous circumstances.
It is a shame to end this review on something trivial but it was such a big bug bear that I must. I absolutely hated the decision to end each part with the word that the next part began with. I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't made so glaringly obvious by this word being used as the title page for each part. Absolutely drove me mad. It felt so cheap which was especially jarring because the subject matter is not cheap.
Fleeing war is a topic close to Lefteri's heart since she is the daughter of Cypriot refugees. I appreciated the notes at the end of the book that gave insight to why she chose to write a book particularly about Syrian refugees. As someone who had volunteered at refugee centres and heard horrific tales, I appreciate Lefteri giving these stories a collective voice. I think she did it with tact and not once did it venture into the territory of "trauma-porn" which it easily could have done. For that I was glad because I think it shows respect to the humans who have experienced these horrendous circumstances.
It is a shame to end this review on something trivial but it was such a big bug bear that I must. I absolutely hated the decision to end each part with the word that the next part began with. I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't made so glaringly obvious by this word being used as the title page for each part. Absolutely drove me mad. It felt so cheap which was especially jarring because the subject matter is not cheap.