Aeham Ahmad Book order

January 1, 1988

Aeham Ahmad, born in Damascus, belongs to the Palestinian minority in Syria and lived with his family until 2015 in the Yarmouk refugee camp. His musical talent was supported from an early age, and by his early twenties, he had graduated from the conservatory in Damascus and Homs. Despite an injury to his right hand that closed the door on a career as a classical concert pianist, Ahmad has emerged as a powerful symbol of hope and resilience. His music, often performed amidst the devastation of the camp, conveys a message of peace and humanity in the face of war's horrors.

2019
The pianist from Syria
288 pages
11 hours of reading
4.3(466)Add rating
An astonishing but true account of a pianist’s escape from war-torn Syria to Germany offers a deeply personal perspective on the most devastating refugee crisis of this century. Aeham Ahmad was born a second-generation refugee—the son of a blind violinist and carpenter who recognized Aeham's talent and taught him how to play piano and love music from an early age. When his grandparents and father were forced to flee Israel and seek refuge from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ravaging their home, Aeham’s family built a life in Yarmouk, an unofficial camp to more than 160,000 Palestinian refugees in Damascus. They raised a new generation in Syria while waiting for the conflict to be resolved so they could return to their homeland. Instead, another fight overtook their asylum. Their only haven was in music and in each other. Forced to leave his family behind, Aeham sought out a safe place for them to call home and build a better life, taking solace in the indestructible bond between fathers and sons to keep moving forward. Heart-wrenching yet ultimately full of hope, and told in a raw and poignant voice, The Pianist from Syria is a gripping portrait of one man’s search for a peaceful life for his family and of a country being torn apart as the world watches in horror.
2019
The pianist of Yarmouk
4.3(660)Add rating
One morning on the outskirts of Damascus, two starving friends are walking through their desolate city and come across a familiar street that has been turned to rubble, concrete bridges towering above them like tombs and houses turned inside out. Aeham turns to the only comfort he has left and sits at his piano to play a song of hope to his fellow Syrians. It is a song that will reach far beyond the streets of his home and carry consequences he could never have dreamed of. This tender and poetic account of Aeham's experiences, from losing his city, friends and family to leaving his country and finding safety, will move readers with raw and candid emotion. This is a gripping portrait of a man's search for solace and of a country that has been fiercely torn apart.

The pianist from Syria

The pianist of Yarmouk