Author: Christy Lefteri
Published: August 27th 2019 by Ballantine Books
Format: Hardcover, 317 pages
Genre: Fiction
The depth and direction Christy Lefteri takes with ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ has the reader both hoping to get to the end quickly, to know how it works out and to slowly immerse themselves with the atmosphere, trauma, and personalities which bring this book together.
The reader is plunged into the middle of the Syrian war through the eyes of Nuri, a beekeeper, and Afra his wife, an artist. Seemingly overnight, their world is destroyed by a bomb that has taken everything they loved. Now childless and Afra without her eyesight, Nuri must navigate their way to a new life in the UK. As they travel through Turkey and Greece, they are confronted by the good and the bad the world has to offer.
Yet, as the story unwinds strengths change. The reader begins to see the cracks and wonders about the who, why, and how that has gotten them where they are. How the flashbacks and visions are either building for a future or tearing down a past. Why Nuri has put all his hopes into his cousin, and mostly whose strength is carrying this couple forward. Along with Nuri, the reader begins to question and in doing so, the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place and with Afra and Nuri, you will see the dawn of new possibilities.
This book will resonate with the reader. It will cause tears and clenched throats, but that is what excellent literary fiction is supposed to do - transport you to a different time and place. A place you will want to revisit from time to time to make sure that Nuri and Afra are alright and that finally, the world is treating them well.
The reader is plunged into the middle of the Syrian war through the eyes of Nuri, a beekeeper, and Afra his wife, an artist. Seemingly overnight, their world is destroyed by a bomb that has taken everything they loved. Now childless and Afra without her eyesight, Nuri must navigate their way to a new life in the UK. As they travel through Turkey and Greece, they are confronted by the good and the bad the world has to offer.
Yet, as the story unwinds strengths change. The reader begins to see the cracks and wonders about the who, why, and how that has gotten them where they are. How the flashbacks and visions are either building for a future or tearing down a past. Why Nuri has put all his hopes into his cousin, and mostly whose strength is carrying this couple forward. Along with Nuri, the reader begins to question and in doing so, the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place and with Afra and Nuri, you will see the dawn of new possibilities.
This book will resonate with the reader. It will cause tears and clenched throats, but that is what excellent literary fiction is supposed to do - transport you to a different time and place. A place you will want to revisit from time to time to make sure that Nuri and Afra are alright and that finally, the world is treating them well.
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