Written more like a travelogue/journal, Littell admits upfront in the Introduction that he has reproduced the notebooks as a collection of his observations, thoughts and feelings from January 16 to February 2, 2012. Thankfully, the Verso edition I read includes and epilogue where Littell admits that as bad as he thought things were in Homs while there, it was after Littell was safely evacuated to Lebanon and back in Paris that "things in Homes really went haywire. I thought that what I had seen was violent enough, and I thought I knew what violent means. But I was wrong." If you have been living under a rock for the past few years and have no idea of the Syrian conflict, Littell does a great job encapsulating the various factions involved, the manipulations of the Bashar al-Assad government, and the countless senseless atrocities. The notebooks were used as a basis for the Le Monde articles Littell wrote - Littell went into Syria to record events for the newspaper - but I think the very raw, disjointed nature of Littell's notes do a better job of communicating the chaos and the horrors.

Recommended. ( )

Please read my review at the New York Journal of Books:

http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/syrian-notebooks ( )

Che tristezza pensare che gli eventi narrati nel taccuino siano poi ulteriormente peggiorati!