We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

After hundreds of interviews with Syrians ranging over almost a decade, Wendy Pearlman compiled all of her conversations into a narrative about the Syrian crisis called We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled. Taking delicate care to explain the past and current socio-political situation in Syria in her intro, she clears space for the Syrian voices to shine through, as the majority of the book is a parsed down and categorized version of her interviews. While the book deals with the heavy stories of the lives of Syrian citizens before, during, and after the revolution, the book never feels like it attempts to tug at heart strings or play falsely to the emotions of the reader. Due to the factual nature of the interviews, the speakers always sound authentic, and because of this fact the stories are compelling, striking, and display the actual struggle of this nation. I found the novel to be dense yet readable, and I would read another one of Pearlman’s books again. Capturing the genuine voice of these people from this period will surely be valuable in the ensuing years.