Dunya Mikhail

I LOVED this. When I read a collection of poetry I write down the title and page number of any poem that particularly moves me, to make it easier to find when writing a review later, or just to return to to reread. I took note of seven of the poems in this small collection, with a long string of hearts written after the last poem in this book, "Larsa," which is a beautiful love poem to the author's child.

These poems deal with love, and longing, but mostly war, and absence. They begin in Iraq, which remains the collection's heart, but eventually span the world.

If you are looking for a collection of poetry for Women in Translation month, I recommend this one highly.… (mere)

I have mixed feelings about this book.

It essentially is a series of transcribed interviews with a wonderful person who rescues (mostly Yazidi) women kidnapped by Daesh. The man is a true hero, and I love that his story is being told. He risks a lot to save women who have undergone the most horrific atrocities. The book also relates the stories of these women, and all I could think of was how much it reminded me of the Holocaust. Honestly, these first person accounts truly raise awareness of the plights of people in the face of pure evil. From that standpoint, this book should be read.

But there was something about how it was written that just left me cold. The stories weren't written into a narrative that really gave us much insight into the man doing the rescuing. Meanwhile, the author did have points where she talked about herself and her return to Iraq, but those elements didn't really add anything to the book. The atrocities were so many and so similar that it began to feel like the same awful tale over and over; yet somehow the victims didn't come to life for me and neither did any other elements (history, religion, politics - - the drivers behind the evil).

All in all, I feel it is important to bear witness to the atrocities and to let the world know about them. This book does so, and the first few stories brought tears to my eyes. For that alone, I would recommend it.… (mere)