The Doctor of Aleppo

July 1, 2020
Aleppo, Syria, circa 2012-16, a city swept by war, its occupants confined to purgatory. Normal life is now a memory as chaos reigns in a hellish wasteland with "craters left by barrel bombs, uprooted trees" and "decomposing bodies that stank." Rebels of the Free Syrian Army battle soldiers of Assad's regime. ISIS, Russian, and Iranian forces join the fray. Innocent individuals are beaten, tortured, and shot. Samir Hasan, MD ("Sami"), is a well-regarded orthopedic surgeon whose comfortable life is shattered. Hannah Johnson, a young American woman with a Syrian father, works in Aleppo. The paths of these two good people intersect in a dangerous way. Sami starts working with the rebels to treat injured civilians. Hannah ferries needed medical supplies into Syria and later cares for Sami's two children. They attempt to escape war-torn Aleppo and cross into Turkey. Peculiar alliances and deals occur during wartime. Acts of kindness and altruism struggle to counteract hatred and extreme brutality. Mayland (The Colonel's Mistake, 2012) presents a heroic and heartbreaking novel that concentrates on concepts of homeland, family, loss, and, above all, survival.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)