A review by indahmarwan
Planet of Clay by Samar Yazbek

5.0

PLANET OF CLAY
by Samar Yazbek


Have you ever imagine living a life through a war?

A young girl named Rima hardly speaks. Her mother thinks that she has some mental health issues and she is tied in her room. In her mind she longs for walking in freedom wandering the world she wants to explore beyond her one room home. She reads and fills her imagination through The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland, crayon drawing and Qur`an recitation.

Her innocence might fool people around her but she understands that the city she lives in starts collapsing in the civil war. She sees her mother gets murdered in front of her eyes, gets taken to a military hospital before her brother save her and take her to an area that later is bombarded by Assad forces.

She begins to narrate her life through letters with a pen and whatever she can write on. Her hopefulness is deteriorating since she sees people are killed and bombed. Her stream of consciousness is fading from the chemical bomb. She begins to accept the fear she has and the fantasy world once she had just can no longer become a refuge for her.

The horror of war in the eyes of disabled girl is portrayed physically and mentally throughout the book. The experience of reading it is haunting and exceptional giving a trembling effect once it is finished. Samar Yazbek successfully depicts the tragedy of Syrian civil war sensibly in the unusual perspective.

This one is a memorable reading experience I’ve never had before.

Thank you to Netgalley and World Editions for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

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