The book collectors of Daraya by Delphine Minoui, translated by Lara Vergnaud

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PanMacmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781529012323.
(Age: Adult) Highly recommended. How do you even begin to describe this book? For most people, Syria is a far-off place in the midst of a war that not many could say what it is about. We just know that cities are being destroyed and its people are fleeing as refugees. President Bashar al-Assad has painted the rebels as militant Islamic terrorists led by Daesh or ISIS. However journalist Delphine Minoui stumbles on an online photograph of the secret library of Daraya, the Damascus suburb under siege by Assad's forces. It shows young men browsing before neatly arranged shelves of books. It is an underground library of books rescued from the rubble of bombs, each book with the previous owner's name meticulously recorded on the first page, in the hope that one day the book will be reunited with its owner. In the meantime, the library is the haven of the young rebel fighters, not terrorists, but idealistic young men who want freedom and democracy for their country. They collect the books and share them; the titles range from the love poems of Nizar Qabbani to Shakespeare, to Saint-Exupery's Little Prince, to American self-help books, to J.M Coetzee and Paulo Coelho. The library becomes a safe meeting place for ideological discussions and English language classes.
Outside the library the inhabitants of Daraya faced the ongoing barrage of barrel bombs, sarin gas attacks and napalm. Minoui tells us the story through snatched moments on WhatsApp, FaceTime and Skype, text messages and shared photographs and videos. We get to know each of the young men who protect the library, their passion for books, photography, art, and poetry, and their dreams for a better future for their country.
Daraya falls in the end, the besieged inhabitants beaten by malnutrition and starvation. But Minoui's book remains a testament to the courage of the young men who fought back against a cruel dictator and aspired for a better world.
Themes: Books, Libraries, War, Resistance, Freedom, Syria.
Helen Eddy

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