Being that I have never really read a non-fiction book before, I wasn't too sure what to expect, other than a true story. I was surprised to find, though, that with some tweaking the book could easily appear as a creative narrative. This was because the book was about Ayed's experiences as a journalist in the Middle East, which, to put it simply, was pretty intense.
The thing that gave it away as non-fiction was the balance between narrative and historical facts. Ayed would give a small amount of narrative, and then pages and pages of historical background. Although this was somewhat necessary to the story - as it is the history that has built up over time in the Middle East that has made it what it is now - it was a little overwhelming at times. Forty years of history is a lot for one 339 page book, and I found it rather hard to absorb.
Despite this, I did actually find the history of the book very helpful to my reading experience. This is because I know very little about the events in the Middle East, as I was very young when a lot of what most people know about happened. Even around 9/11, I was only just starting second grade. I do remember seeing news about Iraq on from time to time, enough to know that there was a war going on. But I wasn't even 10-years-old yet, so it wasn't long before I flipped on through the channels to find the cartoons. I've always been weirdly unaware of a lot of the world's history. My elementary school hardly taught us any recent, significant history, so when I went on to junior high I admittedly felt rather stupid because I knew so much less than others. Honestly, I didn't know what the KKK was until I embarrassedly asked someone last year. So, being that I was young and oblivious to the world during the events of this book, it was rather nice to have it finally explained to me - and in much greater depth than I probably would have gotten from the news anyway.
Since I usually read fiction books, though, I greatly enjoyed Ayed's narratives. She made them very compelling and interesting, and her experiences were scarily unbelievable sometimes. This was most prominent in the chapter "Ghosts", where Ayed is attacked after a bombing, as the surrounding citizens thought she was the initiator of the bombing. People were beating her mercilessly, until a man managed to pull her away. What probably shocked me most here, though, was the fact that no one really stopped the man. They could have stabbed him, yanked Ayed back into the fight, but they did not. In my mind, it sort of shows the compassion they still had, even though they were enraged. I found this scene to be rather frightening, actually. You have to be dedicated to still want to work in a place that you know you could likely die in at any time, whether by bombs or resulting attacks like this. You could be jumped, or accidentally shot. Anything could happen, and you just have to hope that it won't, or if it does, that you'll survive. Maybe a random stranger will save your life. But you don't know for sure. And that's scary.
One thing I found could have been added to the book was the prospectives of other journalists and crew. It was obvious that Ayed made contact with various other journalists during her time in the Middle East, as not only did she have her own crew, but she mentioned that she sometimes stayed in the hotels that most journalists were staying in. I like being given the opportunity to see other people's views, so I feel like it would have been more enjoyable to me if I could see her conversation with one of the other journalists, and how they've been dealing with their experiences.
Overall, I found the book to be quite interesting and informative. I think it really showed how important a journalist's role is in the world - how their job truly is to tell the stories that need to be known. But it's also about lines - ones that you have to cross, and ones to learn to stay away from - like when Ayed chose not to interview the grieving woman on the hill above the mass grave. I learned a lot from this book, and I feel comforted by the fact that some holes in my knowledge of history have been filled.
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