Syria is an ongoing tragedy and for many Syrians living abroad, their homeland is nothing but a memory. The country they knew no longer exists.
Alia Malek, an award-winning journalist and civil rights lawyer who was born in Baltimore to Syrian immigrant parents, has released a new book titled: “The Home That Was Our Country.” In the book, Malek tells the story of Syria through her grandmother’s apartment building and the Damascene neighborhood that surrounds it. Malek decided not to write about the bombing, the war zone and the political factions, but to focus on the lives of ordinary people. “It’s so utterly human and relatable and accessible. I think a lot of the humanity of Syria (is) lost when we only focus on what is happening at a military level or at a political level. You know, Syrians themselves are entertaining, are intelligent. They’re the best people to tell their own story. That’s why, you know, I kind of invited the reader to come experience this as if they were a member of the building, or a member of the household or a member of the neighborhood. That’s the only way that I was going to be able to break through the sort of stone-facedness with which I think a lot of us are looking at Syria these days,” Malek said in an interview with media personality Lourdes Garcia-Navarro.
The story begins with her great-grandfather, who was born under Ottoman rule. Malek acknowledges that “Origins” was the most challenging chapter to write. She follows her family under the repressive regime of former Syrian leader Hafez Assad and his son Bashar. “It was a fascinating activity. You have to wade through… what is legend and lore about a family and sort of start trying to piece together what is actually real,” Malek said.
Her research for the book began when Malek moved to Damascus in 2011. She had arrived in Syria to finish restoring her grandmother’s house at a time when the entire region was experiencing the winds of change and she wanted to write a book about her grandmother, Salma, which she had been planning to do for a long time. During the two years she spent researching her family, she became increasingly worried about her safety and theirs.
The book begins with Malek declaring that a number of her family members wanted her to leave Syria. “By the time I left Syria in May 2013, many in my family were happy to see me go. For them, the day hadn’t come soon enough.”
When authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were overthrown during the Arab Spring, all eyes turned to Syria as if it would be next in line. However, the regime that had ruled Syria for more than 40 years remained firmly in control.
“I wanted to be there at a moment when the entire region was in the throes of change. For an optimist, Syria was on the precipice of something better. For the pessimist, it teetered dangerously on the abyss,” Malek wrote.
Malek’s presence in Syria was causing suspicion and tension among those who knew her. Some believed she was a spy while others feared for their safety. Malek spends a lot of time in the book talking about how the state rules with fear, saying: “One of the ways the Assad regime has been able to control the population is that if they’re going to punish you for your dissent or your behavior, they don’t just punish you, they can punish those around you. Let’s say they detain me, maybe I’d get out eventually. But many people would still be left behind.”
There is much that has remained unspoken and it has taken a toll on society. Malek believes that these unspoken traumas are relevant to understanding Syrian society and what is going to emerge when the dust settles.
“And now, how many Syrians are outside of Syria? They are able to have unchaperoned interactions with each other that aren’t moderated by the state. I am hopeful about those interactions. They might be a way for Syrians to get to know each other in a way that they weren’t able to before and to represent, for themselves, what they think and may believe. It’s the only way to go forward into the future, I think,” Malek wrote.
This memoir reads like a novel. It alternates between reflective moods and lively dialogues. Malek blends the story of her family with the history of Syria in what has turned out to be an engaging and interesting book.
At the end of her memoir, Malek reveals her hope that “Syrian society could maybe one day be pieced together along new lines that we hadn’t previously imagined. Friendships and relationships were being built among folks who would never have met each other before because their lives would not have taken them beyond their own villages. It was also bringing them into contact with Syrians from the diaspora of different classes. The status quo in Syria had depended so much on keeping people afraid of each other, of telling each other that the other would devour him or her if given the opportunity.”
She does, however, share a tragic observation and writes: “It’s more than a conflict. It’s a calamity. It’s a catastrophe.”
Book Review: A memoir of life in Syria
Book Review: A memoir of life in Syria
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Planetary Climates’ by Andrew Ingersoll
This concise, sophisticated introduction to planetary climates explains the global physical and chemical processes that determine climate on any planet or major planetary satellite— from Mercury to Neptune and even large moons such as Saturn’s Titan.
Although the climates of other worlds are extremely diverse, the chemical and physical processes that shape their dynamics are the same.
As this book makes clear, the better we can understand how various planetary climates formed and evolved, the better we can understand Earth’s climate history and future.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’
- “Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects
Author: ED LAM
Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern. This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.
The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.
“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.
What We Are Reading Today: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is an intricate, mesmerizing novel that weaves together the ordinary and the surreal, creating a tapestry of existential questions, hidden truths and unexpected journeys.
First published in 1994, the novel is often regarded as one of Murakami’s masterpieces, encapsulating his signature blend of magical realism, psychological depth, and cultural introspection.
At its heart is Toru Okada, an unassuming and somewhat disaffected man whose mundane life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when his wife, Kumiko, disappears. What begins as a straightforward search evolves into a labyrinthine journey, leading Toru to confront not only the mystery of Kumiko’s absence but also the darker forces of history, memory, and his own psyche.
Along the way, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own enigmatic role to play in the unfolding story.
Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal. The novel’s structure mirrors this duality, as Toru navigates his increasingly strange reality while descending into dreamlike underworlds, mysterious wells, and symbolic landscapes.
These moments are imbued with Murakami’s distinctive sense of unease, where the boundaries of the tangible and intangible blur, leaving the reader questioning the nature of reality itself.
One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to juxtapose the deeply personal with the historically and culturally significant.
While Toru’s story is intimate and introspective, it is interwoven with threads of Japanese history, particularly the atrocities of the Second World War. These historical narratives, told through the recollections of various characters, deepen the novel’s scope, turning it into a meditation on the lingering wounds of the past and their impact on the present.
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” also delves into themes of connection and alienation, power and vulnerability, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels inexplicable. Toru’s journey is not just a physical quest but a spiritual and emotional odyssey, forcing him to confront the unseen forces that shape his life and the lives of those around him.
Murakami’s use of symbolism and recurring motifs — cats, wells, and the titular wind-up bird — adds layers of mystery and interpretive richness to the novel. These elements, coupled with the novel’s nonlinear structure and surreal interludes, create a reading experience that is both immersive and disorienting, drawing readers into a world that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.
For longtime fans of Murakami, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is quintessential, showcasing the author’s ability to blend the banal with the extraordinary. For new readers, it offers an expansive introduction to his universe, though its complexity may require patience and reflection.
Ultimately, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is a profound exploration of the human condition — its mysteries, its contradictions, and its quiet beauty. It is a novel that refuses to offer easy answers, instead inviting readers to embrace its ambiguities and immerse themselves in its layered, dreamlike world. Murakami has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is enlightening, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to journey into its depths.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Galápagos’
Authors: John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin
Galápagos is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated natural history of this spectacular archipelago.
Offering much more information than identification guides, the book provides detailed accounts and more than 650 color photographs of the islands’ habitats, marine life, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, making the book a virtual nature tour of Galápagos.
Galápagos experts John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin have thoroughly revised the original text, bringing all the taxonomy up to date and adding a wealth of new information.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘A Well-Ordered Thing’ by Michael D. Gordon
Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements.
Generally, little else has been known about him. “A Well-Ordered Thing” is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time.
As Michael Gordin reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure.
