Ellis Bagoly’s Reviews > Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution > Status Update
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 206 of 592
I’ve been wondering why Gopal focuses on Manbij—from what I understand, it is not usually said to be a focal point of the Syrian revolution. What I now see is that Gopal is interested in the emergence of democracy in Syria, and Manbij is highly significant to this topic. In the U.S., we often take democracy and certain freedoms for granted, so it is interesting to see people create a democracy in the 21st century
— Aug 17, 2026 05:17PM
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Ellis’s Previous Updates
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 271 of 592
The description of the arts festival is deeply compelling to me, especially the theatrical performance. I think the way Gopal glosses this with theories of narrative and storytelling is highly provocative.
— Aug 19, 2026 06:36PM
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 238 of 592
The descriptions of airstrikes in this are devastating. Gopal makes the peculiarities of the emerging new government in Manbij in 2012 and 2013 relatively easy to understanding and pretty engaging—he makes political theory and democracy exciting to read about.
— Aug 18, 2026 05:54PM
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 189 of 592
Lt. Maymati is very interesting. Gopal very skillfully writes about what it means for an individual to be part of a movement, and the social forces that bolster and attenuate revolutionary movements.
— Aug 16, 2026 07:29PM
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 142 of 592
I was very happy to read the chapter focused on Mina, as the book seems to mostly feature male subjects. I think this makes sense given women’s place in the culture depicted here, but I was very interested in how women’s lives were affected by the burgeoning revolution.
— Aug 15, 2026 06:52PM
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 72 of 592
The first part of this book is heartbreaking. Here we find three men who are just coming to grips with their place in the world and making the most of it, and then being plunged into unthinkably dire circumstances by drastic social, political, and economic changes beyond anyone’s control. Gopal’s arrangement of these three stories and the way he uses them to narrate Syria’s history is absolute genius.
— Aug 14, 2026 07:36PM
Ellis Bagoly
is on page 23 of 592
I think this is going to be something special. The first chapter contains as much narrative as a novel. The structure through which Gopal narrates the events is so skillful and genius. I’ve heard of communities being flooded by the creation of dams and man-made lakes, but I never imagined the slow-motion apocalypse that is found here. This opening chapter is a masterclass of narrative nonfiction.
— Aug 13, 2026 06:53PM