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Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria
Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria | Samar Yazbek
9 posts | 6 read | 16 to read
Powerful insight into the effects of civil war on the Syrian people, by the award-winning Syrian journalist. Samar Yazbek was well known in her native Syria as a writer and a journalist but, in 2011, she fell foul of the Assad regime and was forced to flee. Since then, determined to bear witness to the suffering of her people, she bravely revisited her homeland by squeezing through a hole in the fence on the Turkish border. In The Crossing, she testifies to the appalling reality that is Syria today. From the first innocent demonstrations for democracy, through the beginnings of the Free Syrian Army, to the arrival of ISIS, she offers remarkable snapshots of soldiers, children, ordinary men and women simply trying to stay alive... Some of these stories are of hardship and brutality that is hard to bear, but she also gives testimony to touches of humanity along the way: how people live under the gaze of a sniper... how principled young men try to resist orders from their military superiors... how children cope in the bunkers. Yazbek's portraits of life in Syria are very real, her prose is luminous. The Crossing is undoubtedly both an important historical document and a work of literature.
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Yahui07
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Pickpick

This book is between good and soso. There is no much history about Syria. Rather, it is about what the author saw when she crossed border to Syria which the rest of the world doesn‘t know about. I wish that there can have some pictures but I guess there is some safety concern.

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literarymermaid
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The news today reminded me of this book. Anyone else got a book that can give insight on what's going on in Syria?

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literarymermaid
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Pickpick

#WITMonth!!!!!
I've been enjoying WIT Month for a few years now but my luck with women's memoir throughout it has been rather hit or miss. Nevertheless, I persist and here are the books I've read and those I intend to read this year. Just the #witmemoir, there's more fiction to come as well.
What are you reading for WITMonth this year?

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vivjm
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Eye opening & heart breaking. I can only read in small doses. #womenintranslation

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bookish_mamma
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Im only 50 pages in but this book is already breaking my heart 💔 really looking forward to getting into this more!

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rockpools
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From exile in Paris, Samar Yazbek crosses back to Syria 3 times to tell the stories of the people who remain. She works with women trying to survive, feed and educate their children, travels with rebel fighters, and interviews emirs and fighters who believe her people to be infidels who have no place in Syria. All the while, they're negotiating air strikes and bombardments. It's angry, chaotic, harrowing, & emotionally-draining, as she tries 👇

rockpools ... to counter the 'nauseous familiarity' of what we see on global mass media, and remind us of the humanity behind the headlines, and the stories of the individuals involved. #syria #readaroundtheworld 6y
TrishB Great review 👍 6y
CatLass007 Yes, great review! Thoughtful and insightful. 6y
See All 11 Comments
Izai.Amorim Great review 👏👏 6y
Cinfhen Great review 🙌🏻 6y
Sue Sounds like a must read! 6y
Simona Great review. I‘m going to finish it today... 6y
rockpools @Simona Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing your review - it was a tough read! I'm lining up some shiney happy light reading for November, now! 6y
rockpools @Izai.Amorim @Cinfhen @sue @suet @jas16 Thanks. If you're planning on reading it, I should probably mention that it's unsurprisingly graphic in its depiction of life in a warzone 😞 6y
Jas16 Thank you for the warning and the review. I definitely want to read this 6y
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rockpools
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rockpools
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This is Yazbek's third crossing into Syria. Arriving in Turkey, she's taken aback by the number of fighters she's travelling with. She's met by the family she stayed with during her first crossing, who are now in exile themselves. Aala is an eight-year-old storyteller, who goes on to describe their journey to Turkey.

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rockpools
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This is a tough read - I've almost bailed a couple of times already, and may or may not finish.

In 2012-13, Yazbek crossed back into #Syria several times to tell the stories of her country and the people living through the war. She tells what she sees, and the stories she's told in a tumble of urgency, & travels around rebel-controlled Syria, telling of life in a warzone.

rockpools I wondered how otherpeople were doing with #readaroundtheworld this month? Think I'd also like to read something of Syria in earlier more peaceful times. @jenp @currey (edited) 6y
batsy This sounds like a tough read. I'm still waiting for my book to arrive from Book Depository 😕 6y
rockpools @batsy What'll you be reading? 6y
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batsy This one. Set in an earlier time, but I think it'll be a bit of a difficult read in terms of subject 6y
rockpools @batsy Sounds interesing though. Hope it arrives soon. 6y
Currey @RachelO Yes, I am half way through A Woman in the Crossfire and it is difficult going. As it is diaries, one is reading scattered thoughts of terror, anxiety and depression mixed in with translations of interviews from revolutionaries. There is a huge amount of violence depicted. The book captures the chaos excellently but is very tough going. 6y
rockpools @Currey Thank you. I think this one may be a little more 'daily life', and a little less of her own thoughts/experiences. She's travelling with activists, but particularly seeking out women to hear & tell their stories. And she definitely depicts the chaos and violence in the same way. 6y
33 likes2 stack adds7 comments