The Beekeeper of Aleppo: The heartbreaking tale that everyone's talking about

Description

In the midst of war, he found love In the midst of darkness, he found courage In the midst of tragedy, he found hope The Beekeeper of Aleppo 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. 'This is a novel of international significance. Courageous, provocative, haunting, it will open our eyes.' Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Brought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a Unicef supported refugee centre in Athens.

A redemptive tale of hope in the midst of shocking adversity * Irish Independent * A book of darkness and light, of horrors and hope, and of the true power of the human spirit * Culturefly * Christy Lefteri has crafted 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 * Heartbreaking at times, this story of fear, loss and survival gives an emotionally charged insight into what life is like for refugees facing the depravity of predators and needing the compassion of strangers * Candis Magazine * she has created a convincing and harrowing novel about the will to survive- and the enduring power of love * Sunday Mirror * In The Beekeeper she has created an utterly convincing and harrowing novel about the will to survive and the enduring power of love * Sunday People * This book is haunting, heart breaking, eye opening, thought provoking and brilliant * Lipsquid Book Blog * I have not read anything this haunting and moving since The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini. This book will stay with me for a long time * Brown Flopsy Blogspot * This is a beautiful story of hope, an important tale of devastation, and a cry for compassion and action * Rebecca's Rave Reviews * Honestly, The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri is stunning because it has everything I wanted and more in it * Romantics, Rebels and Reviews * This was an eye opening read, emotionally, in terms of the refugee crisis. The way Lefteri writes Nuri's story struck my heart and I really felt pain for these people. A beautiful literary masterpiece * Books and Nuggets * For me its greatest strength is that I understood from reading it the full horrors of the journey that so many undertook in a way that the news footage could never explain * Tripfiction * The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a relevant, timely book, but impresses most as a compassionate and truthful character study. It's a remarkable account of the dislocation endured by displaced persons across the world, an important and necessary novel that humanises the dispossessed who are all too often demonised * Herald Scotland * If you like sweeping, well-told story of social value that pushes some obvious emotional buttons then this is for you * Metro * The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a story of loss, love, resilience and hope. In the same school as the Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Kite Runner, it's impossible not to be moved by Lefteri's plea for humanity and perhaps inspired too * The Observer * A hugely important novel for our times, this is a beautifully written and poignant tale of the best and worst of humanity * The Sun * Many of the headlines we encounter daily add to the dehumanisation of Syrian refugees, it is fiction like The Beekeeper of Aleppo that can counter this, our empathy returns, and we are reminded that they are people, not statistics, not a 'swarm' * Sheerluxe * Christy Lefteri shows the refugee crisis through the eyes of the men, women and children who struggle to reach our shores . . . parts of this book will break your heart but amid the hardship, there's laughter, love and hope * Sunday Express * Powerful, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted . . . unforgettable * Choice magazine * A haunting and resonant story of Syrian war refugees undertaking a treacherous journey to possible safety . . . Lefteri perceptively and powerfully documents the horrors of the Syrian civil war and the suffering of innocent civilians. Readers will find this deeply affecting for both its psychological intensity and emotional acuity * Publisher's Weekly * This is a haunting book that shines a spotlight on a subject that seems to have faded from public and political consciousness * Big Issue North * Lefteri has also cleverly and credibly evoked how the power of the mind can alter a person's perception of reality to allow them to cope with unthinkable and unspeakable events. She has skilfully balanced the ugliness of war with exquisite inspiration: the ailing infant who suddenly breastfeeds in a drug-riven Athens refugee camp, the wingless bee nurtured by Nuri and fellow refugees in the south-of-England B&B as they wait for their immigration interviews * Sunday Irish Independent * Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling * SheerLuxe *