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Recent Reviews
Kapka Kassabova
Positive The Christian Science Monitor Kassabova is a poet and therefore Border is a touching meditation on the people living near and affected by the border ... Border is a very well researched book. Kassabova tries her best to give voice to all sides of the story – those who live by the border, those who cross it, and those who protect it ... Kassabova is local enough to dig out the details, and at the same time detached enough to see things without judging them. She observes, listens, and narrates without distorting the story with her opinion. She’s a messenger. A very fair one. In the current state of the world’s refugee crisis, Border is a reminder that those who cross the borders are not just numbers. They are people, and bearers of stories that deserve to be heard.
Hala Alyan
Mixed The Christian Science Monitor \"The story revolves around eight main characters and each chapter focuses on one of them. Alyan tries to develop each and every character as the story goes by, but her attempt is not successful. Characters seem unripe and even though they are involved in interesting actual events, it’s difficult to feel connected to them as they remain fictional. However, Alyan is a skilled storyteller which makes her debut a pleasant read. She is able to string along the reader through the book and keep the reader interested.\
Riad Sattouf
Positive The Christian Science Monitor Sattouf has a smooth and easy style that invites the reader to move through his narration of life in Syria without being judgmental. Of course, reading the first volume in advance would add to the pleasure of reading the second volume; however, The Arab of the Future 2 is a complete book on its own. Using the magic of his visual storytelling, Sattouf becomes a darkly humorous, poignant, and vivid guide into the mind of Syrians, if not Middle Easterners, of the recent past.
Janine di Giovanni
Rave The Christian Science Monitor Having covered many armed conflicts – from Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to Sierra Leone and Liberia – di Giovanni knows where to look for stories and how to present them. In The Morning They Came for Us, she lets those who are directly affected by the war tell us what they are going through ... a must read filled with bitter realities. It is a call to the outside world not to forget what is happening in Syria.
Elaine Sciolino
Positive The Christian Science Monitor All in all, the book is a pleasant read with something interesting for everyone: If you like food, architecture, history, art or simply human stories, you will not be disappointed.