Book Review of the Beekeeper of Aleppo

Title: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Author: Christy Lefteri
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date of Publication: August 2019
Buy Link: https://amzn.to/33RDv8I

Book Blurb: “I wish my mom was here,” Mohammed said, and I placed a hand on his shoulder and watched him as his eyes flickered, following the fish in the sea.” Location 1499

I liked this novel very much. It took me much longer to review than I thought but it was because I stopped often. It is a story of lost family, tragedy, hardship, travel, and war. It is a story about family, hope, and rebirth. It is about psychological warfare waged on others by people who have more. At least that is my analysis.
Here is my summary:
Afra, and her husband, Nuri, lost their son when the bombing started where they lived in Aleppo. Running away to travel to a safer place to await the end of the war, reunite with his brother, and raise bees. The story itself is how he became himself after realizing he wanted to be a beekeeper. How his wife made him a happy man with his son. On their journey, they met several people and encountered different families. Each one was sad as the next. They met a mother whose child was stolen, a mother whose milk the baby finally drank, two young men, twins who were terrified but needed the help of an unscrupulous man whom Nuri helped kill. But there was one he met a young man named Mohamed. The two took him under their wing and started their journey with him. At one of the stops he disappeared. Both Afra and Nuri had hoped he would find them but as the journey continued the hope dwindled. The two finally reached their destination and had to change Afra’s appearance. Her hair was dyed blond.
One more thing that I forgot to mention in my analysis: I felt that this novel just like the others I read about the war in Syria and surrounding war-torn areas of that part of the world makes me sad. I feel that no child or parent should watch the other die. I cry when I read news from areas of people I used to talk with. I cry when I read the parts of the stories that correspond with war stories in the novel. I have not lived in their part of the world but I realize in talking to them it is just a way of life. The kids in the novels learned to become and act like children again. Families learned to hope again and rebuild again. It is a waste. I know it is a futile hope, but I wish that the war would end and not restart again. Will it ever be over?

What beautiful insight into the Syrian Refugee experience. I was moved by the story Lefteri wove and how she intertwined the past and the present. This book will stick with me for awhile.

Nuri and AfrI have to escape the war overtaking Syria. Miri is a beekeeper and Afri is an artist that loses her sight due to the horrors along the Syrian Refugee Trail. They are wanting to reach the UK where Nuri’s uncle has gone to start the new bee colony. Miri and Afri not only lose their country but they lose themselves and this is a tale of their journey to find their way back and to gain both a new country and a beautiful relationship.
#netgalley #TheBeekeperofAleppo

This is a beautifully written story. The descriptions of the scenery and people are so vivid, they seemed to be in the room with me. That made the heartbreak even more real.

Great read! The author draws you in with detail that makes you want to read on. I love when books make you feel like you are part of the story.

I really liked the structure of this book and how the stories of the past and present intertwine and unravel over the course of the book. I thought it was well-written and, though fictional, provided insight into the Syrian refugee experience.

Loved this novel, a great sense of place and character, especially relating to current events. This novel presents the refugee experience as relatable and gives a soul to the struggle that many American's can't even fathom. Recommended for book groups and discussions.

This book is beautiful. Nuri and Afra have made it to the UK, from Syria, and are seeking refuge. This is the story about how they got there and what happened along the way. The book is also about seeing. The things that they saw or didn't see, things they thought they saw that may not have been there at all, and really what their minds showed them.

Can you imagine deciding to leave your home and go to another country in order to do something so basic as to stay alive? Most people can't. This book tries to capture the desperation and the despair involved.

Very few books have made me cry. This is one of them. I can't emphasize what a beautiful story this is and how many emotions it will evoke in readers.

Great book: well-written and gripping. The relationships were richly portrayed and nuanced. I recommend this title.

**I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Lefteri writes a soft yet somber look at Syrian refugees in this moving fictional tale. Nuri and Afra’s journey from Syria is chronicled through the eyes of Nuri, as he reflects on his present situation in England and on the journey from Syria, triggered by thoughts and the viewing of objects and scenes. Lefteri’s word choice brings vivid descriptions of colors and sights. I truly wish I could see Afra’s paintings and drawings she creates throughout the novel!

Lefteri uses her experience as a volunteer working with refugees to give an overall impression of life as a refugee, the uncertainty and the constant fear. The tone of the novel pairs well with Steven Galloway’s “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” another novel set in a war-torn country that brings beauty and hope to a scene of destruction and sorrow.

A beautiful novel.

Man this book really tugs at my heart knowing that all of these things are real and has probably happened to the Syrians who are still going through so much. But yet they hold out hope and continue to move forward towards a better life and brighter future. Even though they have to leave their home and possessions behind. But they find a new skill beekeeping that was also a pastime in their native country. I just love this book.

This is a heart wrenching book telling the story of a couple fleeing Syria and the life they left behind. They left behind a successful beekeeping business shared with a family that fled to England. The story tells all of their journey to meet up with this family, and it is horrific.

Oh wow... heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, poignant... an important read during these crazy times. This was not an easy read but I loved it and highly recommend it.

This book is one of those that gives you chills and makes you feel something. There is a tension between the main character and the atrocities him and his wife are running away from. I can see this as a book that would divide book clubs in certain ways but also bring people together! The book is insanely well written and the imagery can be very beautiful and very moving! This book makes you feel and makes you want to keep reading!

This book had been on my to-read list for quite awhile as I like to read books about other cultures and parts of the world. The book is about a couple who are leaving Syria, Nuri and Afra. Nuri is a beekeeper and this comes up all through the book. As a couple they lost a son and how this affects both of them is very different and for awhile you might not understand how this affects both of them. Afra was a puzzling character as she was blind and you don't understand how that happened until well into the book. Afra was an artist and is still able to create art by following her drawings with her finger. I found myself wanting to understand how this was possible. They go from Syria to Turkey and finally to England where they join Mustafa, Nuri's partner in beekeeping. The journey is long and arduous and while they are with others, you never get to know most of them. The author, Christy Lefteri, has a wonderful inspiration for this story and when I read that after finishing the book, it made me love the book even more.

What does it mean to see? Nuri and his wife, Afra, flee Syria hoping to immigrate to England. Their son, Sami, was killed in a bombing. Afra lost her sight in the same bombing. As they make their treacherous way to England, the reader discovers how Nuri was impacted by PTSD. Written by a woman who has worked with refugees, Lefteri has used these experiences to create a story that will be both heartbreaking and hopeful, just like the female wingless bee Nuri and a Moroccan refugee, help survive by building her a garden in which she doesn’t have to fly. Lots to discuss if you are in a book club. And at the end, as Afra confronts the trauma and Nuri continues to fight his emotions, she says to Nuri “You think it’s me who can’t see.” Now there’s a discussion starter.

It is not often that a novel is able to portray the breadth of human suffering and resilience, in such a way that will bring readers to tears, like The Beekeeper of Aleppo. Lefteri’s stunning depiction of Syrian refugees escaping their war-torn country to build a safer life in a foreign land left me breathless and stunned of the atrocities that many refugees must face in order to protect their families. While a work of fiction, the story of Nuri and Afra is far too relatable for many poor refugees who have been forced from their homes due to war and unspeakable cruelties. This was in part to Lefteri’s experience as a volunteer for UNICEF, as well as her own family’s history of leaving Cypress and her father’s struggle with PTSD.

Lefteri’s personal connection to the story is evident in her beautiful writing and the careful storytelling of an often painful, yet triumphant, journey. The story seamlessly switches from the present time in the U.K. to the past as Nuri and Afra begin their long journey from Aleppo. The smooth transitions gave me a view into what the characters were like before tragedy had struck and the struggles that they had to overcome even after they had made it to the U.K. Lefteri’s vivid depiction of scenes and events really brought this story to life, pulling me in on a deeper, emotional level than other works of fiction that I have read in the past. I truly applaud Lefteri’s brilliant writing in this novel.

In a time when many countries have taken harsher stances on accepting refugees, this is a critical book of our time and I would recommend that everyone read it. For many of us, these stories are difficult to imagine and often seem further away from the safer lives that we live every day. However, that often shields us from understanding the pain and heartbreak that many families experience, and continue to experience, as they try to find a safer life in other countries that are not their homes. Like the characters Nuri and Afra, many would like nothing more than to return to their homelands to live in peace. Lefteri’s novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, should be a reminder to us all that for many families who have escaped from war or genocide their journeys are often long and arduous, and often continue years after they have left their countries.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this stunning novel.

Very moving. I was disappointed when it ended.. I could have been convinced it was non-fiction.I'm looking forward to more from Christy Lefteri.

"The Beekeeper of Aleppo" by Christy Lefteri. This is the story of the journey undertaken by Nuri, a beekeeper from Aleppo, Syria, and his wife, Afra, who has been blinded by an explosion, to find safety and asylum in England. Syria has undergone civil war, and Nuri’s business has been wiped out. Afra is an artist who, although she can no longer see, still strives to create art with colored pencils and the feel of the colors with her fingertips. The difficulties they encounter on this journey are many, and both Nuri and Afra are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after the violent disruption of their lives in Syria. While the story was sometimes hard to follow, as it flashes back to their lives before the disruption of war and forward to their arrival in England, it is an interesting and poignant look at the traumatic and dangerous circumstances undertaken by refugees who leave their homelands to seek asylum in other countries.