I absolutely loved this book!! It had me feeling all the emotions of love, pain, heartache, horror! All of it!
It helped me become more aware of the plight of the Syrian people and how so many suffered so many hardships. It seems unfathomable.
I absolutely recommend this book!

Instagram: @need_more.books_more.jesus

This past summer, the very pleasant Dan Mayland reached out to me about his novel The Doctor of Aleppo. This is a gripping and vividly told story, at times heart-breaking, at times edge-of-your-seat, of a Syrian doctor who crosses paths during wartime with a young couple.

Here’s the overview:

Description
Dan Mayland, author of the bestselling Mark Sava spy novel series, pairs a thriller writer’s sensibilities with a gripping story of hope and redemption against the backdrop of war.

While working in the ancient Silk Road city of Aleppo, American Hannah Johnson and her Swedish lover Oskar are drawn into the mounting turbulence of the impending Syrian civil war.

After Oskar is wounded at a street protest one evening, he and Hannah cross paths with Dr. Samir Hasan, a renowned surgeon. As the protests swell into all-out war, Dr. Hasan tends not only to Oskar, but also risks his life, his practice, and his family to tend to a nephew the government has branded an insurgent.

Dr. Hasan’s humanitarian activities come to the attention of a vengeful, Javert-like secret police officer whose son’s death on Dr. Hasan’s watch triggers a series of events that will drag Hannah and Oskar deeper into the war and put Hannah and Dr. Hasan in the officer’s crosshairs.

Both intimate and sweeping in scope, The Doctor of Aleppo lends insight into how the most brutal, devastating war of the twenty-first century is mirrored on the personal scale, leaving scars that can never be healed.

I have to say – this was a incredibly well-written book, as I have vivid memories of scenes from it (and I read it in Aug/Sept). I haven’t read many novels taking place in Syria, to be honest, but this one really stayed with me. At the end, I had mixed feelings (where’s my tidy bow to tie up everything??) but the author has offered to send an epilogue and recipe (!!) from a reader to those who are interested, so look up Mr. Mayland at danmayland.com if you are interested!

I love stories of redemption and courage and, as Mr. Mayland reminded me I once wrote on my blog “ordinary people doing extraordinary things”, so I loved this book. You will, too. It’s definitely on my holiday list for gifting!

Thanks for sending me your novel (via Net Galley), Mr. Mayland!

Hannah works for an NGO in Alleppo with her partner Oskar a Swede. An American who also holds a Syrian passport on account of her father being Syrian, Hannah is right now in a vulnerable position as everyone is trying to get out of Syria as tensions and conflicts mount.

Caught up in an accident and ending in hospital Oskar is now immobile and in the hands of Dr. Sami a surgeon who is desperately trying to help the average man on the street and one of the few not affiliated to any side. He is walking a tightrope because he knows several members of his family are working against the regime and his one fear is that he and his family will get embroiled in the circuitous revenge which is paramount in Syria.

The story of Dr. Sami inextricably linked with Hannah who does not not know what should be filtered in conversation or not, speaking out what she considers the truth, sets off a chain of events which lead to murder and mayhem and which sadly at the end amount to nothing because it was the wrong end of the stick. The reader is saddened at the un necessary loss of life, the constant pursuit of a so called murderer, the pursuit of revenge, a life for a life which hounds Dr. Sami despite all his intentions to do good to all who seek his help.


The personal against the general war is pictured very well in this story for

it atrocities are very well known. The various factions and intra wars between groups may get confusing but the general idea of mayhem, absolute destruction and no value for human life is very apparent.

It’s so easy to turn it off. To ignore the news. To read a heart-wrenching headline, feel a pang of sadness, and then return to thoughts of whether you’re more in the mood for pizza or pasta for dinner. It’s difficult to fully comprehend the effects of a particular crisis when your own life has not been changed drastically as a result.

I’ve always felt fairly ignorant with regards to the political situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria. I know the basics of what has happened over the years, but that’s about it. And for that, I consider myself lucky. I have the privilege of reading about war-torn countries from afar without the terror of experiencing them first-hand.

Dan Mayland’s The Doctor of Aleppo reminded me of that privilege. Of every tiny aspect of life that I take for granted on a daily basis. The simple fact of knowing every morning when I wake up, and every night when I go to sleep, that I am safe. That my house, barring some unimaginable twist of fate (and I am knocking on all kinds of metaphorical wood here), will not be reduced to a pile of rubble while I’m gone. That if my family members or friends don’t answer their phone, it’s likely because they’re busy, not because they’re in danger. That I’m free to travel between the two countries I consider home without fear.

The Doctor of Aleppo is a phenomenal story about several individuals trying to do the right thing. To live their lives and do their jobs as best they can in a time of war and destruction and betrayal. There are so many sides to take, so many battles to fight, it seems impossible for anyone to remember how it all started in the first place.

It is a beautiful tale of hope and love, fear and rage, missed opportunities and misunderstandings. But, most of all, it is a reminder that no matter where we live or whose side we’re on, we are all—at our very core—human. And I think now, more than ever, it’s vital that we hold on to that.

Thanks so much to TLC Book Tours and Blackstone Publishing for a copy of this incredible book in exchange for an honest review. It was a deeply moving story, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Dan Mayland’s The Doctor of Aleppo is a valuable reminder that despite modern global connectedness, large-scale human tragedies can, and still do, go relatively unchecked. The media news cycle designed to sate short attention spans can harden even the kindest of souls, but thankfully fiction still has the power to cut through and raise lasting awareness. The Doctor of Aleppo by Dan Mayland offers readers a compelling action thriller and confronting modern-history lesson. Read our full review at the Booklover Book Reviews website: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2020/08/the-doctor-of-aleppo-by-dan-mayland-review-confronting-thriller.html

The Doctor of Aleppo is a fictional account of the atrocities that took place in Syria under the Assad regime. As a reader, I put myself in the place of the average Syrian citizen whose day-to-day life was consumed with trying to find enough food to put on the table, enough medical supplies to tend to their sick, and the need to find safety and shelter from the shootings, beatings, and bombings taking place all around them. The characters created by Mayland were charismatic, cruel, believable, and relatable. I felt I was on the journey with them, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. The fear and the human suffering was palpable. The desire to flee, and the treacherous roads to safety, bring to light the plight of refugees. This was an enormously sad book but it also highlighted the human capacity to love even in the most difficult of circumstances. It was incredibly well written. I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

While reading this moving work of historical fiction, I couldn’t help but think of Americans sequestering because of COVID-19 and enraged because they wanted the “freedom” to get manicures and haircuts and go to brunch. Imagine then if they lived in a non-Western country, such as in Syria in 2012, where and when this story begins. Just getting food and water was (and still is) a challenge, not to mention facing the constant risk of losing your livelihood, your home, your family, or being imprisoned, tortured, or bombed.

A civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 between forces loyal to the dictator Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule. Other domestic factions, such as jihadist militants, joined the fray, as well as a number of countries which either became directly involved or provided support to one or another faction, including Iran, Russia, Turkey, and until recently, the United States. (You may recall the recent horror felt both at home and around the world when President Trump decided to abandon Kurdish fighters who had fought and died to help America destroy the Islamic State in Syria.) As for the devastation in Syria, statistics are hard to come by, but a 2016 study put the death toll at 470,000, with another 1.9 million wounded. A 2018 study cited at least 14,000 confirmed deaths from torture.

This novel begins in Aleppo, Syria, where we meet the main characters: Samir Hasan, called Dr. Sami, one of the few, very overworked doctors in the city; American Hanna Johnson and her Swedish boyfriend Oskar Lång, in Aleppo representing a Brussels-based development organization; and Rahim Suleiman, an officer in the Mukhabarat - Assad’s intelligence agency. The children of Hasan and Suleiman also feature in the story, because it is the fate of their children, in large part, which drives the behavior of both men.

In fact I think the children are the best characters, even though they play subsidiary roles. As bombs fall down around them, as people they love are lost or die, they remain children: resilient though fearful, loving, playful, and faithful to what they know and to those who remain in their lives.

The adults have more complicated existences. Suleiman, with the power of the Syrian regime behind him, is intent on punishing both Sami and Hannah, for reasons that unfold during the story. Oskar, shallow and flighty, yet manages to step up to the bar when he is needed.

I disliked each of the male characters, but they were so well drawn I had radically different reasons for my antipathy toward each of them. As for Hannah, I felt so bad for her - she was looking for love in all the wrong places, both figuratively and literally. When she finally was able to feel loved and needed in the way she desperately wanted, it was from an entirely unexpected place.

But while the stories of the protagonists and their efforts to survive and protect (or eliminate) each other are quite affecting, I believe it is the horrific fate of the city of Aleppo and its people that will impact readers the most. Much of what Americans hear about the war in Syria consists of dry recitations of history and explications of complex political alliances. This neutralizes what is happening and sterilizes it. Fiction, on the other hand, allows the reader, through the characters, to gain an intimate understanding of the unbearable dread, fear, and despair of living in a war-torn country in which their fates are determined by far-off actors with agendas that have no bearing on their day-to-day lives. Just as the political becomes personal, each loss becomes personal as well. The author helps readers travel the distance from sterile language to the imagination of what it really must be like for the people behind the numbers.

In the case of Syria, the fact of widespread torture is a constant threat, and also plays a part in this story. It is almost unbearable to read about, but it is a fact of life in this country. But so too are bravery and sacrifice, and thankfully, we read about these qualities in the novel as well.

Evaluation: This book tells a story that is hard to forget. As Dr. Sami mused:

“The Aleppo he had known had been a city of manners and civility, of hammams and hidden caravansaries, of universities and soccer stadiums. A city in which Sunni, Shia, and Alawite Muslims, along with Christians, Jews, Druze, nonbelievers, and everyone in between had lived together in at least relative peace. To walk through the souk was to hear languages from all corners of the world. But that city was dead…”

What happened to divide it into lethal factions marked by hatred and tribalism? Finding an answer matters; it seems as if the whole world is devolving into the same armed camps lacking compassion, a sense of commonality, and an interest in pursuing goals for the good of all groups. Why is it so easy to embrace hatred?

Mayland doesn’t tackle these “meta” issues but he certainly brings such questions to the foreground. This poignant story and its greater meaning suggest it is an excellent choice for book clubs.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book and I couldn’t help but wonder if we needed a book about the war in Syria from a white American. Shouldn’t we be listening to these stories from Syrians themselves? Of course we should but sometimes it is not safe or possible for them to do so. (I was reminded of the book Death is Hard Work by Syrian author Khaled Khalifa, which I read last year. Khalifa is a Syrian author who lives in Syria and his works are banned by the government there.) Instead, it felt like Dan Mayland used his own position of privilege to amplify the voices of those who cannot speak out as easily as he can. The book is fiction but heavily researched and the acknowledgements at the end give an idea of the many real people whose stories he listened to.

The story here is nuanced, passionate, and immensely readable. It begins in 2012 with Hannah, a Syrian-American working in Aleppo along with her boyfriend, Oskar, a Swede. When they get caught up in a protest against the regime and Oskar is seriously injured, Hannah ends up in a situation she never expected.

At the same time, we meet the doctor himself. Samir, or Sami, is hardworking and dedicated if a little gruff. He and Hannah meet when he treats Oskar and then are thrown together again together when Hannah unexpectedly returns to Aleppo. The city is falling deeper into the chaos and violent of war and Hannah’s position as a carrier of both Syrian and American passports become more precarious as their freedoms are more and more restricted.

While Hanna and Sami are the main characters we also get to see the perspectives of Rahim, a Mukhabarat officer for the regime, Oskar after he and Hanna are separated, and Samir’s young son, Adam.

Rahim’s sections offer a perspective on the ordinary people behind a terrifying and evil regime while Adam’s show the way that war tears down children, while also demonstrating the normal lives that people like Samir lived before the war.

This was something I really appreciated about The Doctor of Aleppo. At the height of the Syrian Refugee Crisis a few years ago, when there was a lot of footage of refugees entering Canada and other countries, some people criticized them for what they carried. How can they have cell phones if they’re refugees? people asked. Mayland subtly highlights how familiar the life of the average Syrian looks to our own. Sami reminisces about meals with family, trips he took with his wife. It’s an important reminder that refugees lived lives like ours and it is circumstances beyond their control that have forced them to leave behind everything they know.

I also really appreciated that most of the action, redemption, and solutions come from within Syria and the characters there. There is no American hero, no foreign power swooping in. While Oskar ends up as a helpful outsider toward the end, it is Hannah and Samir who are the driving force of their own salvation. They make their own decisions; sometimes brave, something foolish, sometimes forced by the circumstances around them, but their own.

Parts of the book are very hard to read. It’s gut-wrenching to remember what recent and ongoing history this is. Wikipedia tells me that the actual civilian death toll between 2012 and 2016 (the timeline of this book) is still unknown but estimated to be in the thousands. Mayland does assume his reader has some knowledge of the war in Syria but he also does a fine job at establishing the basics and many chapters begin with an orientation of year and place, letting the reader know whether the action takes place in an area of the city held by the regime or by the rebel forces. The book covers a fair amount of time for these characters and at times it felt like it was moving too quickly without offering enough detail but it didn’t take long for me to appreciate how Mayland always kept the plot moving. As I neared the end and the climax of the novel I could hardly put it down, desperate to find out what happened to Hannah and Sami. The conclusion was both devastating and hopeful and felt like the natural, right culmination of what the story had been building to.

This book shines a light on an area of the world that has been highlighted in the recent past for its violence. However, this book brought a more personal feeling to an area we're used to seeing on the news, and I gobbled up the story. Its hard to understand the troubles in that area of the world but the Doctor of Aleppo really made me think. I'm glad I read this book, as it will keep me thinking for quite a while.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book for review.

Dan Mayland, famous for his Mark Sava novels, tries in Doctor of Aleppo to paint the human picture that war inflicts, tragically, on its population. It's a compelling story of people coming together by virtue of circumstance, much the same way that flotsam coalesces upon the sea. Hannah the palindromic petty protestor starts a chain reaction which causes her lover to become the patient of the Doctor and in so doing flaps her butterfly wings to cause a huricane later in the novel. It's a compelling read and doesn't pull any punches and I for one will never view the ravaged cities of Syria on newsreels without thinking of Hannah, the two children, Noora and Adam and Sami, The Doctor of Aleppo.