TASC TV Interview

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"With the Balkans and ethnic tensions once again back in international headlines, alongside the reliable newsmakers that are Russia and Turkey and their influence in the contemporary Middle East, there’s hardly a more appropriate time to brush up on the events and actors responsible for shaping the region as we know it. In his newly released novel, To Save an Empire, Allan R. Gall does just that. Gall narrates an impressively researched tale of the waning Ottoman Empire set in the late 19th century. Following the fateful tale of the last truly ensconced Ottoman sultan, Abdülhamit II, the novel weaves through stories of palace intrigue, great power struggles and romance. As the reformist Ottoman statesman, Mithat Pasha, sets his eyes on remaking the empire into something more in the image of a European parliament and re-orienting the loyalties of the ruled, Sultan Abdülhamit sees in him an existential threat to his authority. All the while, Abdülhamit’s domain threatens to sink in a sea of external challenges. Already crippled by debt, the Russian Empire and European powers are at the ready to encroach upon territories of the teetering “sick man of Europe.” The eventual outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 results in an influx of thousands upon thousands of Muslim refugees into Ottoman lands.

The dramatized narrative provides a window also into the marriage of Sultan Abdülhamit to his Belgian wife, Flora. Of Christian heritage, her story is intertwined with that of the many war-displaced Muslims whom she commits to assisting, while at the same time providing a glimpse into the complex interplay of various religious and ethnic groupings in late Ottoman Anatolia.

A story of struggle, love, jealousy, fear and loss, Gall’s grasp of the era’s zeitgeist combined with his masterful narrative style makes for a historical retelling as enlightening as it is enthralling."

- Amin Gharad

"[Gall]... artfully brings to life the political intrigues of an empire sliding into irrelevance.  The Ottoman Empire emerges as a kind of protagonist all its own, eager to become strengthened by its embrace of modernity and the West, but also anxious about surrendering its cultural and religious identity.  A subplot that follows Adulhamit's wife, Flora, a Belgian-born Christian who... converts to the Muslim faith... poignantly illustrates the complexity of the empire's religious fissures.  A magnificently researched tale of a troubled empire that's also dramatically captivating." - Kirkus reviews

"Fiction as only history can tell it, all the more moving because we know it's not fiction.  A war, international intrigue among empires, and the personal tragedies and triumphs of the mighty and the meek.  Some readers will be reminded of the history they know, as I was, and others will find a world they never knew.  Both will find a compelling story." - Bulent Atalay, physicist and author of Math and the Mona Lisa and Leonardo's Universe

"The author has written a compelling story beginning with Mithat’s takeover and desire to make a democracy out of the Empire. It structures the plot to follow the events of the time, beautifully incorporating the lives of the characters. He shows how the prevalence of religion runs through the core behaviors, thoughts, actions, and beliefs of those in power as well as the commoners. It’s fascinating and sad. The language, prose, and character development is strong. The subplot about Flora’s life from her girlhood to her marriage to Abdulhamit and beyond gives the reader a genuine sense of what it was to be a young girl growing into a woman at a time and place when women were considered property. Her strength and confidence leading her to a place of respect within the community is very unusual. The descriptions of the massacres and refugees are difficult to read because of the vividness. The brutality is heartbreaking. And later, the compassion that Flora shows for the refugees is tender as is her kindness toward them.

A book that will garner the interest of those who enjoy historical fiction. And this one is an excellent choice because it’s truly a modern story." - 28th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards Judge's Commentary