Christy Lefteri

A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB CHOICE 2020 A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB CHOICE 2019 WINNER OF THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD THE READING AGENCY'S PICK FOR NATIONAL READING GROUP DAY 'This is a novel of international significance. Courageous, provocative, haunting, it will open our eyes' Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz In the midst of war, he found love In the midst of darkness, he found courage In the midst of tragedy, he found hope What will you find from his story? Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all - and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face - they must journey to find each other again. Moving, powerful, compassionate and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling. Look out for Christy Lefteri's next novel, Songbirds, out summer 2021. ___ 'This book dips below the deafening headlines, and tells a true story with subtlety and power' Esther Freud 'A beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful; and relevant. I'm recommending this book to everyone I care about. So I'm recommending this book to you' Benjamin Zephaniah 'Powerful, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted' Choice Magazine

The Sunday Times Bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

This unforgettable novel puts human faces on the Syrian war with the immigrant story of a beekeeper, his wife, and the triumph of spirit when the world becomes unrecognizable. "Courageous and provocative...a beautifully crafted novel of international significance that has the capacity to have us open our eyes and see."--Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.z.

vyn 

Afra loved, she hated, and she inhaled the world like it was a rose. 

Beatrix

When she laughed, she laughed so hard the house would shake. But when she was sad my world was dark. I didn't have a choice about this. She was more powerful than I. She cried like a child, laughed like bells ringing, and her smile was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. 

…the tips of her fingers with the tiny cuts, where the ridges and valley patterns once were stained with blue or yellow or red paint. Her laughter was gold once, you would have seen as well as heard it Look at her. because I think she is disappearing.

since nuri couldn't answer, i'll answer this question...the sea in syria feels like home. It's not perfect by any means, people throw trash in the water, you have to be careful when you walk barefoot on the beach because it's full of shatters of glass. But it smells like home, it's warm and feels safe. It's where I ate delicious street food, it's where mom cooked us the most delicious soup ever, it's where I could spend a good time with my family. The sea in syria is very prominent in my memories.

blue

I've always thought that the title of the song sounds like a joke lol

‘What’s the national anthem of your country?’ ‘Is this a joke?’ ‘Is that your answer?’ ‘No! It’s called “Guardians of the Homeland”.’

someone's suffering isn't for privileged people to share over tea as entertaining stories

‘What happened to her?’ he said to me, and there was an unmistakable note of curiosity in his voice. I could suddenly imagine him collecting horror stories – real-life tales of loss and destruction. His glasses were fixed on me now. ‘A bomb,’ I said. 

this makes me really sad...this will always be the reminder that yes, a war happened because the president couldn't give the people their rights nor allow them freedom and yes, it's not Assad or isis who lost, it's the innocent souls that lost :/

What was lost would be lost forever. The Crusader castles, mosques and churches, Roman mosaics, ancient markets, houses, homes, hearts, husbands, wives, daughters, sons. Sons. I remembered Sami’s eyes, the moment the light fell away and they turned to glass

this is why I dislike it when people say they prefer Syria before the war...I hate what the war did and is still doing to Syria but Syrians wouldn't have protested if life was good back then...

Afra was talking about Aleppo like it was a magical land out of a story. It was like she’d forgotten everything else, the years leading up to the war, the riots, the dust storms, the droughts, the way we had struggled even then, even before the bombs, to stay alive.

people are always like community this, community that...as beautiful as communities can be, even your own people can harm you...this is disgustingly cruel

‘It wasn’t a clean shot and he didn’t die right away. His mother was inside the house on the same street and she was screaming. She wanted to go to him, but the men kept firing into the street, shouting. They were shouting, “You can’t get to your child. You can’t get to your child.”

he's talking about a bee but the fact that we can apply this to humans stings. the moment they realize you're a bit different than the others, you're not accepted in the community anymore

I’ll take her back outside. She won’t live very long like this – she’s been banished from her colony because she has no wings.

i got shivers, what a sad world we live in

He opened the black book and wrote: Name – My beautiful boy. Cause of death – This broken world. And that was the last time Mustafa recorded the names of the dead.

i wonder if in a different universe, I'd be one of those waiting too, with the outcome being death or a so-called better life. I wonder if I'd have to make difficult decisions like killing someone or leaving someone behind. I wonder if I'd have to grieve my loved ones, not because their time came but because their life was cruelly taken from them leaving but pain behind...and would it feel better to leave? would death be better than the experience of an awful life in wartime? would the reminiscing be too harsh? would living feel unbearable?

There are about ten of us in this rundown B&B by the sea, all of us from different places, all of us waiting. They might keep us, they might send us away, but there is not much to decide anymore. Which road to take, whom to trust, whether to raise the bat again and kill a man. These things are in the past. They will evaporate soon, like the river. 

I searched the river online...I'm tearing up and it's only chapter 1

There is one painting of the Queiq I wish I could see again. She made the river look like a storm-water drain running through the city park. Afra had this way of seeing truth in landscapes. The painting, and its measly river, reminds me of struggling to stay alive

Heartbreaking and beautifully written 🥹

Ziyue

inomniaparatus

Really sad, but moving, it really made me cry!

heartbreaking and hearwarming book, it opened my eyes to the problem of war refugees 

Nikola

Colleen

3 Stars

*A potentially moving story overshadowed by the overly stylized writing*


The Beekeeper of Aleppo sounded like an amazing, poignant story. I had such high hopes for this book; maybe that was part of the problem. Hype is such a tough thing to deal with. 

Something about the story, particularly the writing style, reminded me of Warlight. That floating narrative that was sometimes poetic and other times crude. The unreliable narrator and non-chronological storyline. Although the content of those stories are nothing alike, nevertheless it felt like there were echoes in the writing.


  “Sometimes I think that if I keep walking, I will find some light, but I know that I can walk to the other side of the world and there will still be darkness. It's not like the darkness of the night, which also has white light from the stars, from the moon. This darkness is inside me and has nothing to do with the outside world.”

While I did initially like the writing of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, the non-chronological timeline removed all suspense from the plot. The twists were obvious from the very beginning. This would have been a much more impactful story if it had been told chronologically.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo had a highly stylized writing style. The chapters didn't all begin or end with full sentences. The ended mid-sentence. It was as if you are turning a radio on and off mid song. Or like that old Assumptions song we used to sing as kids. And while I understand what the author was going for symbolically and trying to portray psychologically, it was frustrating to read and cringe-worthy from a grammatical standpoint. It often felt like the concept overshadowed the rest of the book - particularly the character development. 

I was expecting something like The Kite Runner, so I was disappointed by how little emotion I felt with this story. Although the author's experience as the child of refugees and her own work in a refugee camp lent that aspect of the story credence, the Syrian culture aspects of the story felt too surface level. I was expecting something much more poignant and heart-wrenching. Unfortunately, the story just didn't make it to that point. The lack of cultural emersion combined with the fragmented storyline and overly-stylized writing combined into a tolerable but mostly disappointing story.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

An eye-opening and moving tale about the experience of Syrian refugees trying to reach a place of safety. It had a slow start but it picked up quite quickly, and I enjoyed how the chapters transitioned between the past and present. It explores themes such as love, loss and hope but most importantly, addresses the impact of trauma on individuals. The book raises awareness of the issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers, and leaves you wanting to do more to help.

One of my favourite books. Insight to a reality that seems like a story. Finding light in darkness is one of the beauties of this book 

ramen

Ben Jenkins

Super interesting story with some beautiful passages, but the weird time jumps and confusing, dream-like writing in some sections forces me to remove a star. Feels like a book that requires multiple readings but even then I'm not sure I'd know what's real.

Ana Paula

The time jumps took a little to get used to because sometimes I forgot where they were in their journey (but that might have been my fault because i started the first 50 pages back in april and only just seriously picked it up). 

I loved the symbolism Christy added on the book, the really smalls details that ended up making a lot of sense later in the book and how EVERYTHING had a purpose. I really don´t think there was ever an extra item / description that felt out of place

The International Number One Bestseller, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Kite Runner.

Pien van Nunen

the book that got me into reading. wonderful, heartbreaking, human flaws, a book that everyone should read.

Esslam Ben Ramadan

A deep and profound story that depicts the resilience of humans when they face their darkest hour. Although I have never been in such saddening situations each word hit a note that resonated with me deeply. It has opened my eyes to a world that I'm sheltered from and a world that I would have otherwise not been aware of. I'm thankful for I have a new understanding of the world I live in.

Abi Hills

This was written in a beautifully unique way and I found it engaging and thought-provoking. I think it's an important book for anyone to read so if you were considering picking it up - do it, I highly recommend it! It does come with a trigger warning though considering the themes of war and death are in place so please read with caution.

What will you find from his story? Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain. On the way, Nuri is sustained by the knowledge that waiting for them is Mustafa, his cousin and business partner, who has started an apiary and is teaching fellow refugees in Yorkshire to keep bees. As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all - and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face - they must journey to find each other again. Moving, powerful, compassionate and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling.

Sehr schön und sehr traurig gleichzeitig.. must read

Ann-Kathrin 

I loved this book a lot!! I appreciate Christy taking the time to show the mental impact of having come from a war zone and having gone through the fleeing experience as the trauma refugees go through is often overlooked. I also liked the artistic style, she ended a scene and started the next using the same verb in a different tense. Furthermore, I loved that it showed their sorrows but also their hopes and will to live because refugees are very strong people!  It was a wonderful and emotional read.

Rhiannon Jerrom

I loved this book. It was tragic and heartbreaking but also had such a lovely message of hope in the face of pure devastation. I can’t really go into all of my thoughts on the story without giving spoilers but this is an exceptionally good book, and Christy Lefteri tells this story so well. My initial rating is a four star but I will definitely be rereading this as a physical copy as I feel like it might be rated higher reading the story rather than listening to it.

Alice Miller

Really lovely book, throughly enjoyed from start to finish! Following Nuri and Afra’s devastating journey really opened my eyes to how people have lived and how many people have taken on similar journeys. Really well written. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Melany

Very emotional and important book. Everyone should read this for the importance of telling these stories

Lauren Brown

Honestly this is my favorite book so far. It was amazing and I loved reading it!! 

Charmaine

What a story. Nuri and Afra's journey was so harrowing and moving. I was interesting to read from Nuri's POV, where there's two linear plots on different timelines. His life has been so full of loss. But at the end of the book, Nuri finds his way back to love and hope and home.

Juliette C

Eye opener - could not put this book down, cried a few times.

surtified™

Órla 

It only took me about 5 hours to read this, it’s so heartbreaking yet hopeful and I could not put it down.

kanchan singh

“The Beekeeper of Aleppo”
-Christy Lefteri

The beekeeper of Aleppo – “A story of Resilience and Hope.”

“They are forced to leave their homes; they are traumatized in every sense, they lost their loved ones, they face their dark sides, yet they hold the hope and courage to get over from the hell of the earth and stay alive.”

We read stories about the struggles and pain of refugees here and there in some articles or newspapers. Through this book, Leftri gives us an intimate look at the refugee’s struggles to escape from their homeland to save their lives, their painful journey to a new country, and find a place to stay in a foreign land. 

The book follows the story of Nuri and Afra, a refugee couple waiting to get asylum in England. Nuri narrates the whole story in two timelines. He will take the readers deep into his beautiful early life as a beekeeper with his artist wife Afra and son in Aleppo until a conflict escalated into a horrifying and tragic war. The couple lost his son in one bomb explosion, and with that, Afra lost her eyesight. He shares his terrifying experiences of war; a chill ran down on my spine when Nuri shared the execution of young children by the river. After witnessing cruelty, Nuri decided to leave his homeland and share his journey to a foreign land for safety.

“You are lost in the darkness,” Afra to Nuri. The blindness that symbol explains Afra’s void in her heart after losing his son and Nuri’s emotional shutdown after witnessing a lot with open eyes. 

Christy symbolizes bees to hope and life throughout the book, and I like this symbolism. When Nuri memorized his Aleppo beekeeping life, he said, “The bees were an ideal society, a small paradise among the chaos.” I realize that these magical little creatures calm him down and give him hope against all the odds every time he thinks about them. Other than this, I feel that the wingless bee at B&B resembles more with Nuri’s character. Broken, yet striving for life in new environment adaptations. The member of B&B came together to save the little wingless bee; the message sent clear by the author that as a community, we all should come forward to help each other, and everyone deserves a second chance.

Coming to the characters, I find Afra’s character emotionally strong. She experienced a lot of traumas from losing his son, her blindness, and rape, yet she endured all the horrific experiences and helped Nuri find his peace. 

Nuri is indeed a strong-willed person who witnessed a lot of atrocities yet keeps moving forward each day for the safety of him and Afra. I love how he brings the small gifts for Afra to make her happy in between the chaos. To reach safely in England, Nuri must pay the high cost of his emotional shutdown that messed up with his mental state, and he started hallucinations.

The beekeeper of Aleppo is a vividly haunting, exceptionally well-written book that tells the story of hope and resilience and inspires empathy towards all.

Rose Stanley

** spoiler alert **
           OK first off I do highly recommend checking out the organisations listed at the end of this book, which are as follows:
www.openculturalcenter.org
www.faros.org.gr
www.salusburyworld.org.uk
https://canalrivertrustwaterfront.org...

And now...on to the review!

So the issues most people who have given this book one or two stars seem to have had were 
1. the back-and-forth narrative is confusing and 
2. the writing itself isn't great

Well, not to be all I'm-not-like-other-girls but those weren't an issue for me at all...in fact I honestly appreciated the effort that must have gone into crafting chapters where the last sentence of the section in the present and the first sentence of the section in the past are linked by a single word, and I didn't have any trouble keeping track of what was happening when and to whom. 

The descriptions of Aleppo in particular (pre-and post-conflict) were also, IMO, beautifully done.

No, the issue I had with this book was you have 8 chapters in which it's already been made pretty clear that war is hell and being a refugee/asylum seeker is a desperate situation, the journey from unsafe country of origin to unwelcoming host country being equal parts danger and frustration.

Then the author decides heyyyyyy that's not awful enough, you know what we need? 
So people really get just how terrible being a refugee/asylum seeker is?
Children getting raped. 
First of all, just hint at it, but then lose that subtlety chapter by chapter.
Me: Why? What does this add exactly?
Author: (whispers) Character Development (but only for the narrator)

Anyway, so the author gives you a chapter to attempt to recover from that.

Then they go heyyyyyyyy what if his wife gets raped too, like, let's just chuck that in there, might as well, right?

Me: Um...O...K...will we ever really deal with her reaction to that?
Author: Heck no!
Me: Then why -
Author: (whispers) Character Development (but only for the narrator)

By this point there were only two chapters left (one and a bit really; Chapter 14 is super-short) so I read those for the sake of completeness, but yeah will not be reading this again...

The Beekeeper of Aleppo The Sunday Times Bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

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