In her novel "Camera Obscura," Gwenaëlle Lenoir pays a poignant tribute to Cesar, a Syrian photographer who documented the massacres by Bashar al-Assad's regime. Inspired by the Syrian revolution of 2011, Lenoir tells the story of an ordinary man who becomes a daring witness to the atrocities committed. Cesar, a military photographer, took photos of tortured bodies in the morgue where he worked, confronting moral dilemmas and his fears.
The book explores life under al-Assad's regime, where inhabitants are forced into expressions of forced loyalty and live in constant fear of the intelligence services. Lenoir describes, with short and impactful sentences, the life of a muzzled and desperate society. Cesar, despite his fear, chooses to document the horrors, thus becoming a symbol of courage and resistance.
Lenoir, who followed the Syrian revolution with enthusiasm and horror, incorporates her own fears into the novel and pays homage to the courage and tenacity of those fighting for freedom. "Camera Obscura" is a powerful narrative that highlights the brutality of the Syrian regime and the resilience of the human spirit.