“War is destructive. It transforms men, kills emotions and fears. When you’re at war, you see the world differently. Reading is a diversion, it keeps us alive. Reading reminds us that we’re human.”

If there is one book I could get every librarian in my life to read right now, it would be this one. The story of the little - but mighty - library of Daraya is everything a community library can be: a place of learning, of relaxation, of humanity and of respite. Daraya's story is a terrible one, and it is clear that Minoui wanted to be writing a different book. But it doesn't change the significance of the library for the time it is needed.
The style intersperses Minoui's world - living in relative safety, deeply invested in these men she cannot visit IRL - with the story of the library and the democracy fighters who center their efforts on it. Minoui never pushes too far into the narrative, instead allowing her own journey to bring the reader along. The book is scant on covering the background of the Syrian conflict, and may be confusing to those with little background, but nothing a quick Google wouldn't fix.
It isn't an intellectual deconstruction of the war by any means, but it is a book about people who fight, and how libraries support liberation - of cities and of souls.
“These are the images of Daraya that I don’t want to forget,” he insisted. “Images of a united, bonded group. Of a common desire to build the future. To defend new ideas in development. We were one and the same. The same feeling of solidarity, of camaraderie. A unique experience that could have served as a model for other towns. Daraya isn’t just a place, it’s a philosophy of life.”