The New Odyssey

September 19, 2016
Guardian migration correspondent Kingsley (How to Be Danish) has written a moving and timely book that presents the crisis of the subtitle in both microcosm and macrocosm. He opens with an episode from Syrian refugee Hashem al-Souki’s harrowing trek from his embattled home country in search of a safe haven for his family in Europe. Kingsley then pulls back to put al-Souki’s situation in context, convincingly arguing that while there is a refugee crisis, “it’s one caused largely by our response to the refugees, rather than by the refugees themselves.” He points out that the number of refugees leaving Turkish shores in 2015 for the stability of Northern Europe represents just 0.2% of the E.U.’s total population, an influx that “the world’s richest continent can feasibly absorb.” Kingsley also notes that the failure to create an “organized system of mass resettlement” contributed to the situation. Alternating sections tracing al-Souki’s odyssey help keep the reader grounded in the horrify-
ing realities of the tragedy, while carefully chosen details, such as smugglers setting up Facebook pages to attract business, demonstrate how even responses to crisis can become prosaic. Illus.

Starred review from October 15, 2016
Bravely following the refugee crisis from the Middle East to the European Union as it gains volume and urgency.The former Egypt correspondent for theGuardian and fortuitously named "the inaugural migration correspondent" at the paper just last year, Kingsley (How to be Danish: A Journey to the Cultural Heart of Denmark, 2014) takes both a personal and altruistic approach to the massive migration of peoples fleeing Syria and other global hot spots. In the past few years, there has been a huge spike in the numbers of civilians fleeing conflicts in the Middle East--indeed, an unprecedented number not equaled since the end of World War II. Since 2014, more than 1.4 million people crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach ports in Turkey, Greece, or Italy, and from there to more benevolent havens in northern Europe such as Sweden and (now) Germany. Kingsley diligently pursues the fates of several specific refugees (though he prefers the more neutral word "migrant" over the politically heavy "refugee"). For example, Hashem, a Damascus civil servant with a wife and three sons, was rounded up in 2012 by the Syrian dictator's police force, senselessly imprisoned and tortured, before the innocent man realized he and his family had to flee to survive. So he headed out on a long, expensive, and very dangerous journey, by boat, rail, and foot, from Egypt to Sweden, where he hoped to find permanent residence and eventually bring his family with him. Elsewhere, the author examines the life of the smuggler, who, in many cases, was once a migrant himself but is now taking advantage of the vulnerable refugees and getting rich; and people like Eric Kempson, a volunteer on the Turkish island of Lesvos, who actually helps the migrants with sorely needed food, water, and transportation when they literally wash ashore. The numbers will keep growing, notes the author, and denying the problem or closing the borders will only make it worse. A powerful firsthand account of a crisis that will continue to receive even more attention in the years to come.

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November 1, 2016
As the first migration correspondent for the Guardian, Kingsley intimately covers the issues, struggles, and stories of migrant refugees. Here, in his first book, Kingsley closely follows and documents the direct experiences in 2015 of refugees from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Nigeria as they navigate the complex political systems of leaving one country for another, seeking safety, security, and opportunity. Kingsley captures the lives of several individuals and their backgrounds, triumphs, and tragedies, and he maps out a compelling narrative of this ongoing refugee crisis facing many European countries today. As Kingsley writes, he painstakingly analyzes foreign governments' public policies and procedures that are enforcedbut sometimes failfor refugees. The book moves quickly as Kingsley shares his and the migrants' perspectives through this arduous process, from boat traveling to human smuggling. Readers interested in global politics, migration and immigration studies, and current affairs will find this book to be deeply engaging, eye-opening, and insightful to the ongoing challenges that refugees face in navigating through these multilayered political and social systems.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2016

The Guardian's inaugural migration correspondent, Kingsley was named foreign affairs journalist of the year at the 2015 British Journalism Awards for "The Journey," on which this book is partly based. The author, who has traveled through 17 countries and met hundreds of refugees, here clarifies both what refugees are escaping and how they do it. In particular, he follows the fate of one Syrian refugee making his way westward not once but twice, with Kingsley not just reporter but participant.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.