georgiazinzan 's review for:

Death Is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, خالد خليفة

4.0

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Somewhat of a slow read but so much rich and biting reality - not just contextually but globally. The performance of revolutionaries who are forced to be parents, siblings, children. I loved the structure of it and the seamless blending of past and present. Truly distributing and distressing imagery throughout the entirety of the novel that made me sick to my stomach at times. Family is complicated, but trying to maintain a sense of self and family during a violent and endlessly complicated civil war is almost impossible. We only get few moments of relief and valiance in this life - and it will almost never be enough to make us feel fully whole. Reading this a few months after the toppling of the Al-Assad regime was wild.