The Shell: Memoirs of a Hidden Observer Paperback – November 15, 2016

This is an extremely well-written book, which is quite a compliment, given that it was written in Arabic and I read it in English. The author and translator both deserve high praise.The story itself is heartbreaking. It's hard to imagine what people in power will do to those without power.Read this to get an idea of what is going on behind the scenes in Syria today. The story is about the father's regime, but it applies equally to the son.

I'm not sure if it's more upsetting or comforting that this story is based on both the author's own experience and one of his associates. Very hard to stop reading, and harder to imagine what things are like now. Worth reading the author's more recent essays on the situation on Syria more recently if you like his voice.

I finished reading this book in a single night. A Syrian refugee recommended I read this book and in turn I would like to recommend it to everybody as well. It's brutal and disturbingly violent at times, but gives a true insight into what the Syrian regime is capable of.

I don't know whether in reality to call this slender novel fiction or non fiction because it so closely mirrors the documentaries of Syrian's jail prisoners. Definitely not for the fainthearted as my heart was rung dry. When a Syrian Christian returns after studying in France, he is detained at the airport by Syrian's intelligence force. What follows is 14 years of prison in which he is subjected to the most depraved, inhumane and barbarous treatment. Told in a diary form, each page was more ominous than the other. It was hard to grasp each time when another torment was doled out as punishment for something as simple as opening one's eyes when the officers told them to keep them closed. Persecuted physically and emotionally he and the rest of the prisoners endured level of anguish and agony that it was beyond my dreams. Eventually he is set free, but is he in reality?

A Syrian catholic is arrested, mistaken for a Muslim Brother and sent to a desert prison. He is tortured and verbally abused by the guards. He is also isolated by the other inmates and does not speak a word for years. “The Shell” is the hardest book I have ever read. In comparison, “If This Is a Man” pales. It is very graphic in its description of torture, execution, disease and every-day humiliation. Your stomach wrenches as you read about humanity and dignity being trampled, day after day, in the big and small things. “The Shell” provides background to the current tragedy: you understand why Syrians rebelled against the regime. It is also a book about evil in general: it shows what depths human beings can sink into. This is a book for the ages. Highly recommended if you can stomach it.

This book probes depths of the suffering one person can impose on another, and the strength of will required to survive it. The protagonist is a Syrian political prisoner arrested in error and the tortures to which he is subjected over the next 13 years. Written in the first-person, it makes the events feel more alive and more personal. Although it is said to be a novel, the descriptions, both of external events as well as internal psychological suffering, feel too real to be fictional.

A mesmerizing account of the extremely brutal and savage terror, horror and torture inside the Tadmur prison.

This is the most powerful novel you will ever read about Syria under the Assad regime.

Das Buch zeigt wie das Regime in Syrien seit den 70ern Gegner und gebildete Eliten systematisch foltert, mordet und das Land in den Ruin treibt. Für uns im Westen schwer vorstellbar.Ich war schockiert, es ist aber wirklich wichtig es zu lesen, auch um mehr Verständnis zu entwickeln, das Flüchlinge nichts mehr erwarten sondern einfach nur flüchten!

To understand what is going on in Syria and the Wider Middle East, this is essential reading. Brutality of the Assad regime and the Security Apparatus which terrifies the Populous in these countries (With overt Western Support for their Proxy Regimes).The reader quickly comes to the realism the real War on Terror has become victim to Post truth dating as far back as Orientalism. The Islamists are the Heroes and must succeed in their Struggle, the alternative Plan envisioned for the region is the True Evil.

To whom who could be interested to understand the Syrian situation, this novel should be a must. Regardless its plot and characters, it shows important hidden part of the psychological and emotional struggle of everyday life can't be seen on TV news (when you are against the regime).Without understanding the author (main character) motives and situation, it isn't possible to get the correct impression why Syrian went out to streets.It's a real story of atheist from Christian bourgeois family, who has been in prison for 13 years

Wenn man Syrien kennenlernen will ,ist dieses Buch zu empfehlen.