The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War

Fiction. Young Adult. Middle Eastern Studies. Adapted into a BBC Radio 4 play, this powerful and deeply moving novel chronicles the Syrian War through the eyes of 14 year old Adam who has Asperger's Syndrome. A gifted artist, Adam expresses the intimate sufferings of his family as they struggle through the Syrian conflict by painting with whatever materials he can find. Having been dependent on his family all his life, he must now cope with separation and loss including the fates of his devoted sister and brothers who are caught up in the acceleration of events and forced to live out the consequences both of their own choices and those made for them. The frightening and unpredictable changes, not only for Adam's family, but also for a once beautiful city and a whole nation, are unfolded with compassion, wit and imaginative force through a spectrum of shifting colours, moods and atmospheres. The novel blends political events, emotional drive and Arabian tradition through a unique perspective, whilst reminding the reader that what human beings really need is dignity, security and love.