A reporter for the BBC, the author is familiar with the war in Syria. In the course of his reporting, he learns of a secret library in the besieged rebel town of Daraya. Unable to believe what he has heard and also unable to travel to Syria to investigate in person, he manages to establish contact with residents of the city. Using phones, texts, WhatsApp and almost any means of (often unreliable) communication you can think of, the author slowly tells the story of the secret library of Daraya.Over the course of months, a group of young men "rescued" books from houses that had been bombed and were now deserted. At considerable risk to themselves, they moved the books to a basement under a bombed building. Carefully concealing the entrance, they moved in or built bookshelves and furniture in order to create a space for residents to come. Because discovery was never very far away, its location (and even the fact that it existed) was kept secret. In order to use it, you had to know someone.
Why did these young men go to such lengths to create this library? Because they believed that food for the soul was just as important as food for the body. Although as the siege went on and food became even more scarce, people became less certain of that. But even then, this secret library became a source of hope for the future - that the books it contained would help keep citizens informed and educated in a town where schools were almost non-existent.
I was awed at the courage it took, not just to create the library but to live in the conditions they all lived in. And with Syria still in the news, the book gave me some insight into what life is like in that country and under that dictator.
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