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CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

Critical Book Review of Diaries


Nickolas M Martinez
Portland State University

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

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Bibliographic Information

The first edition of Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution: Voices from Tunis to


Damascus was edited by Layla Al-Zubaidi and Matthew Cassel, which were later
published by Penguin Books in 2013. This edition contains 208 pages and holds a market
value of $10.83.
Introduction
In Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution, the flawed government system played a
distinct role in creating political and economic corruption among the anecdotes presented
through these first hand accounts. The trends among these corrupt government systems
are brought on by a lack of civil rights, minority mistreatment, and poverty that are
plaguing the inhabitants of these countries. Without democracy and a system of checks
and balances to reciprocate responsibility toward the assertion of power being appointed
by law, its difficult for a government system to maintain equilibrium between the
expectations of the populous and the political representatives.
Content
Layla Al-Zubaidi and Matthew Cassels Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution
outlines the lives of the individuals living amongst the crisis that are going on in these
eastern countries. These first-hand accounts pay tribute to the oppressive lifestyle that
these civilians are being forced to live under on a daily basis. In most cases, these
individuals dont have the ability to protest and combat the forces of these oppressive
government systems due to the repression enforced by their political executives.
Throughout these accounts, each individual explains the situation and
circumstances that these oppressive governments are enacting upon their people and how

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

these individuals are working to start a revolution within these systems. With the help of
those in their local community, these people encourage political and economic reform in
their communities. By being activists with the prosperity of their communities in mind,
the people are promoting change and equality between the government and the people
through their movements toward democracy.
To put their ideas into action, the revolutionaries used many forms of activism to
communicate their ideas to the political leaders in the form of campaigning, protesting,
social media, and resistance to the military suppression. As these revolutions progressed,
they had a dramatic effect on the countries that were surrounding them. For example,
after the revolution of Tunisia it encouraged many of the surrounding countries dealing
with government oppression the courage to start uprisings of their own.
Themes
There are many prominent themes in Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution that
convey different forms of suffering and emotions brought on by a lack of civil rights,
minority mistreatment, and poverty. These resounding themes of government oppression
are brought on by the absence of democracy and equality between the political leaders
and the civilians that inhabit these countries, resulting in a trend of persistently corrupt
government systems.
One of the common themes that lead to government corruption is a lack of civil
rights for the entire community regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Civil rights are
the rights granted to the people by law to express freedom without infringement from the
government. These rights allow individuals to express their religion, gender, race,
ethnicity, and opinion without repression or obstruction from the government or private

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

entities. When these individuals werent given the right to express these rights, it makes it
difficult for the government to have a positive impact on the people its attempting to
govern. I find this to be a resonating problem in these countries due to its impact that it
can have on a society and its outlook on the work being done by the government to
correct these persistent issues.
Minority mistreatment is another issue eminent amongst the societies presented in
these personal anecdotes given by these revolutionary activists. If a population cannot
trust a government to take their opinions or their beliefs into account with equality in
mind when promoting change or reform, why should they have any trust in them at all? I
found this question to be a key source of systematic corruption in these countries.
Although these people groups are not in the majority, they should still be given equal
representation in these government systems.
In my opinion, the greatest example of minority mistreatment could be found
amongst the women in these countries. Safa Al Ahmad of Saudi Arabia says, What do
we want? Women to drive. What do we get? Prison and lashes, followed by patriarchal
pardons. Then with a stroke of the royal pen, Saudi women were (maybe) to be given to
run and vote (Al-Zubaidi & Cassel, 158). This rendition is a perfect example of what its
like to experience minority mistreatment and how it instills those facing its oppression
with feelings of fear, regret, and hopelessness.
Authors Intention
The intention of the authors anecdotes in Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution is
to give a first-hand account of what it feels like to live a life under an oppressive
government that is unwilling to enforce change for the good of its people. It also fulfills

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

the intention of portraying what it takes to avoid creating a corrupt government system.
After having read these personal accounts, I feel like I can relate and understand the
problems that are going on within these eastern societies to the point where I feel that I
need to be getting more involved in our countrys affairs. They have also encouraged me
to be an activist within the communities that I am involved in so that we can ensure that
our country does not fall into these same issues that theirs did.
Organization and Writing Style
The authors approach to writing and the way they presented their ideas was an
unorthodox experience that I have never had the opportunity to witness prior to reading
Diaries. Although many of these writers had little to no experience prior to writing these
accounts; I believe they were successful in communicating the distress and concern that
they were feeling about their government system. I also admired the way these
fragmented accounts were able to relate to each other so well despite having taken place
in a completely different country. Regardless of how these ideas and experiences were
compiled, I thought that the concerns exemplified in the text were written and presented
in a clear and concise manner.
Conclusion
Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution pays a strong testament to the oppression
existent in these individuals lives and it has the ability to make us aware of what is going
on in our world. Although we may not be oppressed by these oppressive and corrupt
government systems, we can reach out to those who are and give them an equal
opportunity to have democracy and a voice. As Americans who are blessed with these

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW


privileges, we should acknowledge those who arent granted the chance to express these
civil rights, so that we can give them a hope and a purpose.

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

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References

Al-Zubaidi, L., & Cassel, M. (2013). Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution: Voices from
Tunis to Damascus (1st ed.). New York: Penguin Group.

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