Reviews

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria by Wendy Pearlman

bekahtay19's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense

4.75

radikaliseradgroda's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a really difficult and emotionally wrecking thing to read, but very necessary.

ladylizardxvii's review against another edition

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5.0

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!

jiujensu's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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. 

jennadinkel's review against another edition

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5.0

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.

aliireads's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative tense medium-paced

4.0

A good book on the civil war in Syria. Tells the story of many people who lived in Syria or escaped. It is sad to read, but there is a lot of hope and wisdom in each story. I would recommend this one. It can be a bit choppy to read, but in general i liked it

lizjbren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

5.0

Collection of first-hand accounts of those affected by the Syrian civil war.  The way that Pearlman compiled and organized the accounts thematically rather than by individual interviewed really made the book more interesting.

coffeebooksrepeat's review against another edition

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5.0

“…it was the revolution that allowed me to see people for who they really are. It showed me that every Syrian has a hundred stories in his heart. Every Syrian is himself a story.”

We Crossed A Bridge and It Trembled is a collection of wartime stories and testimonies from Syrians who have lived through the years of conflict — Syrians who lost their homes, their friends, their families, their dreams, themselves.

There is despair and/or anger in every line, yet there is also hope. This book sadly screams what the refugees have been screaming all these years— new home, a new start.

While it does feel a bit odd to rate people’s struggles, this book deserves ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ or even more!

A MUST READ.

lilbeeemma's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

mayareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0