We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled

Starred review from March 27, 2017
Pearlman (Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement), a Northwestern University professor of political science specializing in the Middle East, collects powerful firsthand accounts from Syrians displaced by the ongoing civil war. In the introduction, Pearlman remarks that she and others initially doubted the Arab Spring would ever reach Syria, a sentiment repeated throughout. The book cannot cover the perspective of all Syrians, Pearlman acknowledges, but it does accomplish the goal of humanizing those interviewed, showing them simply as people rather than either victims or security threats. The book is divided into eight sections, with the first, “Authoritarianism,” dealing with Syria before the protests. After part four, “Crackdown,” the stories start to feel relentless in their despair—at one point, an interviewee says, “It had been so long since I heard someone died from natural causes”—but one would be hard pressed to call this a fault. It’s unsurprising to see the anger not just toward Syrian president Bashar al-Assad but also toward the international community, with its many “red lines” for Assad crossed and ignored. Nonetheless, the book is filled with hope, informed by an understanding of the unity possible in spite of the discord sowed by Assad. Agent: Ayesha Pande, Ayesha Pande Literary.

April 15, 2017
Testimonials from Syrians about life before, during, and after the 2011 rebellion.Between 2012 and 2016, Pearlman (Comparative Politics/Northwestern Univ.; Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement, 2011, etc.) had the unique opportunity to interview hundreds of Syrian refugees. The men and women with whom she spoke included "housewives and rebel fighters, hair-gelled teenagers and businessmen in well-pressed shirts, die-hard activists and ordinary families caught in the crossfire." In this book, she gathers together the stories and organizes them into eight separate sections that reflect "the major phases of the Syrian revolutionary experience." "Authoritarianism" and "Hope Disappointed" highlight the experiences of her interviewees during the pre-rebellion regime. Many speak of the uneasiness they experienced speaking ill of the government, even outside of their country: "even outside Syria you feel that someone is listening, someone is recording." Others openly critique the regime, saying that at its best, Syria was "a country of closed communities held together by force" that only became more corrupt and internally divided over time. In "Revolution," interviewees express the "sadness and happiness and fear and courage" they saw around them as men and women from all the different Syrian communities--Christian, Muslim, and others--protested against tyranny. In "Crackdown," "Militarization," and "Living War," interviewees describe the regime's efforts at "put[ting] sects against each other and turn[ing] everything into a toxic environment," while one speaks frankly of how all the government-sanctioned killing transformed even the most peaceful Muslim citizens into "what we call jihadists and you [Americans] call terrorists." In "Flight," people talk about leaving loved ones behind in seeking asylum in the West. Some tell stories that end in success, others of lives lived "without dignity." Pearlman's book is not only important because it puts names to suffering, but also because it reminds readers--especially in the final segment, "Reflections"--that in the Syrian conflict, "there is no right or wrong," only problematic "shades of gray." A poignant and humane collection.

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Starred review from May 15, 2017
Between 2012 and 2016, Northwestern University professor Pearlman (Occupied Voices: Stories of Loss and Longing from the Second Intifada, 2003) spoke with hundreds of displaced Syrians. In her introduction to this collection of her interviewees' personal stories, told in their own words, Pearlman gives a valuable overview of recent Syrian history and explains the book's organization. She writes that Syrians are commonly viewed as victims of a catastrophic civil war, refugees to harbor, or radicals to fear, while they are for certain a population that meets with too few opportunities to represent itself. This book is just such an opportunity, and its gathered testimonies, most concise, are immediately gripping, varied, and echoing. We read of a man imprisoned for fleeing his job as a municipal driver after he was forced to bury a young, still-living girl; a revolutionary whose contact list, now that he's changed the names of friends who've been killed, reads Martyr, Martyr, Martyr; and strangers sharing both harrowing journeys and moments of peace. Common among the spare and haunting testimonies of these mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters are the loss and reappearance of hope, humanity, and dreams of new freedom. This powerfully edifying work of witness is essential reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2017

Northwestern professor Pearlman, who speaks fluent Arabic and has spent more than 20 years studying and living in the Arab world, interviewed hundreds of displaced Syrians over four years so that she could tell their terrible stories. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2017

Pearlman (Occupied Voices) aims to tell the personal stories of Syrian refugees who are often treated as a monolith in mainstream media. To achieve this goal, she interviewed 85 Syrians who fled the country during the civil war, which began in 2011. The narrative opens with helpful historical context about the conflict and covers broad themes such as the authoritarian rules of former president Hafez al-Assad and his son, current president Bashar al-Assad. Pearlman also provides perspective on the militarization of the conflict, the regime's repression of protestors, life as a refugee, and participants' overall thoughts on the ongoing clashes. Those interviewed do not support the Syrian regime, a necessary limitation as Pearlman could not safely travel to Syria to interview Assad's supporters. Stories range from hopeful during the protests to devastating as the war goes on. Families are separated, killed, and forced out of their homeland. The raw voices of refugees resonate as they describe the terror of living in a war zone. VERDICT A heartbreaking, human, and necessary book. Recommended for anyone who wishes to better understand the Syrian conflict.--Rebekah Kati, Durham, NC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.