A review by natalie_and_company
Ever Since I Did Not Die by Ramy Al-Asheq

5.0

This book starts with the most beautiful preface I have ever read. The emotion held within these words makes me wish I knew Arabic so I could read them in their native language. This is some of the most stunning writing I have ever encountered. It reminds me of Rilke but more violent, which makes sense when considering Ramy Al-Asheq's life. I understand why he had a hard time calling this poetry. I have a difficult time calling it essays just as he did. It is a piece of writing that does not fit within the set boundaries of the writing we encounter in our everyday lives. It is its own entity born of the most intense emotions that exist within a single human. 

This is the bearing of a human soul. To witness these words is to see to the core of another human and they stare back. I feel different that I did before reading this. I am not able to fully portray the change in words here but I will go forward in my life altered now.