Samar Yazbek’s book just came out in English, at Haus publishing. The book’s translation was supported by the Sharjah Book Fair.
Below are excerpts of the review by Francis Beckett for The Guardian, June 22, 2012.

“Mostly, I have shared in some people’s pain. Is there some point to secretly, in my own home, sharing in people’s pain? I don’t know. But once you’ve started, and you’ve found that you care about these people — these characters, these people — it’s also difficult to stop”

The rumor this afternoon, May 26th, was that Khaled Khalifa was arrested in the morning while attending the funeral of a friend in Damascus. He was released with a broken arm and contusions to the head. On the phone, Khaled Khalifa said he was now alright. The LA Times gives the following details.

Le Monde reviews Samar Yazbek’s book, In the crossfire, that recently won the Pen award. “The chronicle of the Syrian carnage is weighing you down? Decoding the stakes of this multifaceted crisis discourages you? Read Samar Yazbek.

As Syria slides into a civil war that dares not speak its name, and to which the Kofi Annan plan is unlikely to bring an end, it is good to dive into ‘In the crossfire’, the diary kept by this Syrian novelist in the early months of the uprising, from March to July 2011, before going into exile in France.”

http://videos.www4.arte.tv/de/videos/samar_yazbek_schrei_nach_freiheit-6561098.html
(In German)

“Yazbek’s language is at times poetic, but mostly straightforward, with the factual sound of someone familiar with the various
places of Syria”