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bobbo49's review against another edition
4.0
An intensely personal, powerful rendering of the Syrian civil war and its terrible impact on a young man from Raqqa, both daily and over the course of his life. Together with the graphic illustrations by Molly Crabapple, Hisham's portrait of the toll of the religious and political catastrophe that has resulted in the emigration of his family - and millions of others - is a timely vision of the Syrian reality that everyone in the world should know, as we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over.
dethros's review against another edition
5.0
A powerful memoir of a person who lived under the rule of Bashar al Assad, ISIS and Liberation forces.
emeelee's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a while now since I read this, and I never got around to reviewing. All I can really remember is that Marwan Hisham's personal, intimate viewpoint of the Syrian War felt so vital, I'm so glad that I read it. I did wish that the memoir had been more linear, but otherwise I had few complaints. 3.5 stars.
People were too cautious, and I don’t blame them for that. They were selfish too. One guy asked me why he should care, as long as his business was bringing in money. I despised him until my own doubts began. If I were living a satisfying life—if I were on the road to fulfilling my dreams—would I have participated [in the protests] so quickly? I might have blamed those reckless protesters. “Zealous undisciplined youths,” I might have said. (74)
No metaphor captures that sound a plane makes when it dives, the moment before releasing its load. It is its own—a pure creator of horror. (81)
Always, the West comes here, posturing about the protection of minorities, freedom, democracy, fair play. Always, they carve up our countries, steal our resources, bomb our cities—and then wonder why the sweet words they muttered while doing so don’t sound the same in our ears. (95)
We knew that somehow, if the rebels were not able to put down these jihadis, then, when their danger expanded beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria, the world would lash out with wrath. But, alas, the world had no interest in putting an end to ISIS as long as people like us were the only victims. […]We also knew that we would eventually be misjudged—presumed to be not ISIS’s victims but, perversely, its base of support. (146)
Was ISIS really different from the empires of the past? Was it absurd to believe they might build—or might have built—an empire and not merely a tortured parody of a state? Weren’t all civilizations built—are still built—on bloodshed? Was this not a global cycle of violence, glorification of violence, oppression, and defeat at the hands of equally violent, oppressive liberators? Regardless of the answers, the ISIS strategy obviously depended on—contrary to modern norms—the proud exhibition, rather than concealment, of its brutality. (196)
The U.S.-led coalition—which included European countries whose citizens were flying from European airports to play out their jihad fantasies in Syria—was bombing Raqqa, while those jihadi organizations were still active in European cities, sending more and more jihadis to us. […]How were European laws unable to indict homemade jihadi organizations and members, while their governments were so certain that my people in Raqqa collectively deserved doom? Our charge was terrorism, but the only undeniable truth was that governments brought charges against their own jihadis only when they arrived in Syria[.] (285)
elliotthefrog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
casualhermit's review against another edition
5.0
Brother of the Gun is an account of Syrian life under the rule of ISIS in their stronghold of Raqqa. In Western media, muslims are often grouped together as incompatible and unreasonable religious extremists who are the precursor to terrorists. The individual stories of those that Marwan encountered throughout his time in Raqqa helped humanized and highlight who are the true victims of Islamic extremism; their fellow muslims. Various illustrations by Molly Crabapple do a fantastic job of setting the gritty atmosphere of the various scenes that take place. I was able to confirm various events that occurred in the stories to what has been reported in documentaries and other first-hand accounts.
The causes of unrest in the Middle East are inexplicably complicated and deeply rooted in events that occurred over a hundred years ago. Most Westerners do not understand or care to understand why things are the way they are, and many of us taking the selfish and self-serving stance of alienating the muslim community. Stories like these play a powerful role in raising awareness of the plight of the ordinary moderate muslim. Even turning one away from the next alt-right rally condemning muslims is a step forward towards a more inclusive global community.
The causes of unrest in the Middle East are inexplicably complicated and deeply rooted in events that occurred over a hundred years ago. Most Westerners do not understand or care to understand why things are the way they are, and many of us taking the selfish and self-serving stance of alienating the muslim community. Stories like these play a powerful role in raising awareness of the plight of the ordinary moderate muslim. Even turning one away from the next alt-right rally condemning muslims is a step forward towards a more inclusive global community.
durrenmatt's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Daily life under ISIS - surreal and dangerous, but at the same time more normal than one would expect based on Western news media accounts.
It is the memoir of a regular guy in Raqqa, capital of the caliphate that we tend to equate with a nest of radical islam but that before the invasion of international ISIS-fighters was apparently a provincial Syrian town that young people with ambitions would love to exchange for Aleppo or Damascus.
Reading the book you learn a lot about ow normal people experienced the extremely complex Syrian war and how daily life under ISIS was, but - even though the book does not make wide excursions into history or religion - somehow I was not fully involved. Individual anecdotes were strong, but the overall narrative contained some gaps and left me wondering why the main character was doing what he did.
Daily life under ISIS - surreal and dangerous, but at the same time more normal than one would expect based on Western news media accounts.
It is the memoir of a regular guy in Raqqa, capital of the caliphate that we tend to equate with a nest of radical islam but that before the invasion of international ISIS-fighters was apparently a provincial Syrian town that young people with ambitions would love to exchange for Aleppo or Damascus.
Reading the book you learn a lot about ow normal people experienced the extremely complex Syrian war and how daily life under ISIS was, but - even though the book does not make wide excursions into history or religion - somehow I was not fully involved. Individual anecdotes were strong, but the overall narrative contained some gaps and left me wondering why the main character was doing what he did.
sophronisba's review against another edition
4.0
Was reminded of The Handmaid's Tale and the graphic novel series DMZ. Except that this is non-fiction.
8little_paws's review against another edition
5.0
This book is intense. A memoir of a young man living in Syria in the early- mid 2010s and the unrest that's occurred in that time. I hope Americans read this and see how many parallels we have with the crisis there. The illustrations were really well done and blended in with the story well. I really want to reread this someday. It's a lot to take in.