Best Syrian Books- Memoirs  Experiences and Testimonies

Best Syria Books: Memoirs, Experiences and Testimonies

Updated April 10, 2023

 

Since 2011 there have been tons of books about Syria written – some brilliant, others so so, and even more that are terrible.

To help you sift through it all, i’m compiling a series of reading lists consisting of my best books on Syria - this one is focused on Personal experiences, testimonies and memoirs, and includes 15 titles. 

Check it out and share any suggestions you have!

Also, check out these two lists of Top Syria Books:

 

Top 15 Syria Books: Personal experiences, testimonies and memoirs 

Note: My recommendations are based solely on my own reads, preferences and perspectives. Any purchases you make through our links may earn Syrian Memories a small commission which goes towards sustaining this initiative. 

We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria by Wendy Pearlman

A powerful collection of first-person testimonies, synthesized from interviewing hundreds of Syrians that illustrates life living under dictatorship, the euphoria of rebellion, fear and trauma of flight and reflections of dreams delayed. 

 

We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria by Wendy Pearlman

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No Turning Back: Life, Loss and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid
This work follows the lives of four Syrians over the course of six years while weaving their journeys throughout the events and moments of the nation’s downward spiral. An important read that shatters any illusion of clean narratives and absolutes in a nation destroyed.

 

No Turning Back: Life, Loss and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid
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The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria by Alia Malek
A beautifully written memoir that skillfully weaves family history with that of Syrias. She captures the individual schizms and contradictions so many were facing while illustrating how the regime dominates all aspects of life.
The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria by Alia Malek
Brothers of the Gun, A Memoir of the Syrian War by Hisham Marwan, Molly Crabapple
A pointed and sharp recount of life in a disintegrating nation, within and around Raqqa. The memoir covers the absurdity of it all – from rebel and opposition incompetence to living life in a Daesh (ISIS) cafe.
Brothers of the Gun, A Memoir of the Syrian War by Hisham Marwan, Molly Crabapple
My Country: A Syria Memoir by Kassem Eid
This memoir provides us with a searing view into the realities of life in Syria under the Assad’s pre-revolution – the exploitation, nepotism, corruption and thinly veiled sectarianism that marked daily life. His testament to struggle in Ghouta post-revolution is raw and honest and covers his evolution: first as an activist then pushed after chemical attacks as a fighter and then as an activist on hunger strike.
 My Country: A Syria Memoir by Kassem Eid
The Pianist from Syria: A Memoir by Aeham Ahmad
Set in Yarmouk, this autobiography captures the heart-wrenching decisions the author makes to find hope and survive the utter absurdity of daily life under siege, and ultimately the choice to escape to Europe.
The Pianist from Syria: A Memoir by Aeham Ahmad
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Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege by Mike Thomson
This work serves as a reminder to the revolutionary spirit and hopeful example set by the people in Daraya. Under siege and constant barrage this account of Syrians resisting through mind, body and soul illustrates how dreams of a new, transformed nation can be delayed, not crushed.
Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege by Mike Thomson

The Book Collectors of Daraya: A Band of Syrian Rebels, Their Underground Library, and the Stories that Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui

Another powerful exploration into life in Daraya under siege. Centered around the hidden library and the stories of the young men who built it in the face of unspeakable brutality. A reminder of how much everyday Syrians have struggled and persevered in spite of everything thrown at them. 

The Book Collectors of Daraya: A Band of Syrian Rebels, Their Underground Library, and the Stories that Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui

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The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria by Samar Yazbek 
We are taken on three journeys into ‘liberated’ Idlib (“on the ground but betrayed by the sky”) to bear witness the evolving trauma, devastation and perseverance of a resisting population. A tough but necessary read, that takes us down the path of a Syria that “has been hung, drawn and quartered.” Powerful work.
The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria by Samar Yazbek

 

Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline, edited by by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen, Nawara Mahfoud

A collection of works from 2011-2013 of over 50 Syrian artists and writers, this book is snapshot of creative resistance that exploded after 2011, but yet sadly represents a time superseded by the trauma of a fractured and decimated nation. Includes works from Samar Yazbek, Hassan Abbass, Robin Yassin-Kassab, Ali Ferzat, and many more brilliant Syrians.

 

Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline, edited by by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen, Nawara Mahfoud

Buy on amazon
buy on bookshop

My House in Damascus- An Inside View of the Syrian Crisis by Diana Darke

Part memoir, part real estate restoration odyssey, this work does a wonderful job of catapulting you into the intricacies (and often ludicrous realities) of living, purchasing and restoring a Damascene home in the old city, all against the backdrop of a nation falling apart.

 

My House in Damascus- An Inside View of the Syrian Crisis by Diane Darke

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Death is Hard Work: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa 
A story of familial obligation against the backdrop of a nation’s demise and fragmentation – while a work of fiction, the specificity of the character’s experiences transports you into today’s Syria, wracked by regime and militia warlordism, corruption and the absurdities of a broken nation.
Death is Hard Work: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa

 

No Knives in the Kitchens of This City: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa 

This novel follows characters from a Halabi family and how they evolve under authoritarianism over the course of a few decades, weaving in key themes of shame, rage, grief and the search for meaning within lives filled with oppressed desires.

 

No Knives in the Kitchens of This City: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa

 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo: A Novel by Christy Lefteri 

This powerful novel so vividly captures the raw reality of being a refugee, overcoming grief and the extraordinary challenges to get to safety and reconnect with loved ones. Utterly haunting and hits close to home on multiple levels.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo: A Novel by Christy Lefteri  

 

City of Jasmine by Olga Grjasnowa

A heartbreaking novel that follows the story of three Syrians – a doctor, an actor and director – who have to uproot their lives and find a way to survive by escaping to Europe. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by the author's depth and well-researched details representing experiences too many have been facing.

 

City of Jasmine by Olga Grjasnowa

 

 

On the reading list - 6 Books on Syria i'm excited to dig into! 👇🏼

 

The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo by Alaa Aljaleel and Diana Darke

 

The Last Sanctuary of Aleppo

 

I Was Born Twice: Stories of Syria's Tears by Hasan Almossa

 

I Was Born Twice: Stories of Syria's Tears

 

  

Freedom Hospital: A Syrian Story by Hamid Sulaiman

 

Freedom Hospital: A Syrian Story

My Damascus by Suad Amiry 

 

My damascus
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by  Atia Abawi

 

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi 

 

 

Breaking Knees: Sixty-three Very Short Stories from Syria by Zakaria Tamer

 

Breaking Knees Sixty-three Very Short Stories from Syria

 

Did I miss anything? Share any great reads with me! 

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Have comments, questions, suggestions or corrections please contact me or leave a comment below! 👇🏼

 

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2 comments

Great suggestion Amalia – haven’t read it yet, but i’ll add it to the my wishlist!

Abu Adib - Syrian Memories

Please add The Last Sanctuary of Aleppo – Mohammad Alaa Al’Jaleel on your list.
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Sanctuary-Aleppo-remarkable-survival/dp/1472260589
And if you want to help and know more (and help) about what he his still doing with his sanctuary and shelter for animals in NW Syria you can visit his FB page “Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel”

Amalia

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