Moving, this story is one that will stick with you for a while. The Book of Fire is about a fire that rages through a village and how it changes everyone in its path. I loved how the author approached the problem and showed all sides of the issue. After reading this book you might look at things differently. These are the types of books I appreciate the type that stretch your thinking and force you to look at things a little differently. I think this is a book everyone should pick up and read.

This was beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. I couldn’t put it down and I couldn’t stop crying either.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

Reminding me of the recent fire in Hawaii, this book tells the story of a fire in Greece. At times, I had to remind myself it was current day (but I would get reminders of that with technology and such), but for some reason, maybe just culture differences, it did feel different to me (the vet and others coming to their home, etc).

This is a story about a family who escapes during a fire. The mother and daughter end up in the ocean and they are missing the father and grandfather. The mother finds the man who caused the fire and has trouble reconciling her thoughts about him as a person and what he did.

The first lines of the book:
“This morning, I met the man who started the fire.
He did something terrible, but then, so did I.
I left him.
I left him, and now he may be dead.”

The story rotates between a current day timeline of the family moving on and “the story of the fire” in which they are described as the mother, the wife, etc.

“Maybe I can write it down. Maybe, that way, I can allow myself to remember without burning. Remember it as if it is a story from long, long ago. A fairy tale with a happy ending, like one of those in the beautifully illustrated books on the shelf in Maria’s Kafeneon. I will call it The Book of Fire.”

The author’s note is worth reading, as always. Lefteri mentions seeing a fire when she was in the area and thinking about how fires have gotten worse due to environmental changes. She contemplates who is responsible for them.

“How many wildfires are there every summer? How many start on their own, and how many are started by morons like Michael? Why was it different this time?” Ch

The writing is beautiful. I had about 20 quotes I loved.

“There is something about stories that allows us to process the present. We listen to tales of tribulations overcome so that we might imagine we can survive ours.”

“The fire has burnt our souls, our hearts. It has turned to ashes the people we once were.”

“Isn’t it strange how memories come back to us again and again? Like fairy tales we hear a million times until something is resolved and our heart is safe.”

“The sensitive ones always have secrets in their hearts, and if they are talented, they will find the means to reveal those secrets. Because they are secrets that must be told.”

Irini, Tasso, and their daughter, Chara, are enjoying a beautiful day in their backyard, enjoying the weather, the food, and each other’s company. In the blink of an eye, that is destroyed by a roaring fire that rips through the forest in which they live. After catastrophic death and destruction, Irini is walking through what is left of the forest when she stumbles upon the man who started the fire, slowly dying on the forest floor. She knows that if she doesn’t seek help, he will not survive, but when considering everything she has lost as a result of his actions, she makes the decision to do nothing. Nothing at all. Except walk away. As Irini struggles with the aftermath of this decision, as well as what appears to be the insurmountable task of obtaining some sort of normalcy after the fire, Lefteri takes the opportunity to remind the reader that while only one man set the fire, our collective actions allowed it to burn.

I highly recommend this book. Beautiful writing, strong focus on family and home, as well as an underlying warning that we would all do well to heed.

Thanks to Christy Lefteri, Ballantine and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

3.5/5

I'm a big Christy Lefteri fan. I loved The Beekeeper of Aleppo and really liked Songbirds. So I was thrilled to get approved for a gifted eBook of her latest, The Book of Fire.

Set on a small island in Greece, this novel tells the story of a family suffering after an atrocious fire. A greedy developer purposely started the fire to clear some land, yet due to climate change it raged out of control, killing almost 20 in the community and harming countless others. Irini, a music teacher, is trying to bring her burned husband Tasso back from the brink, while also staying positive for her daughter Chara. While out for a walk, Irini encounters the developer who started the fire barely alive, leaning next to a tree. She runs away, but eventually comes back and he is dead. Did he commit suicide or did someone kill him? As the mystery plays out, Irini recounts the story of the flood and how she, her family, and the town are trying to heal.

The themes of the book and the prose were engaging, but for some reason the narrative didn't click for me. Irini is the main focus and we don't go much outside her immediate world (and thoughts). What does her husband feel? How is he suffering and what is the catalyst that will encourage him to heal? What does her daughter feel? Irini recounts the fire, which is compelling, but the rest is mostly her replaying over and over seeing the developer and him saying "the people," before he died.

I was moved by moments of this novel but the overall story didn't wow my like Lefteri's other books have. Still, she's a wonderful writer and her books are always thought-provoking, so I'm looking forward to her next one.

I finished this and 4 days later and had already forgotten what it was about. I had to read the description to refresh my memory to write a review. It just dragged on with too many pages of no dialogue, a huge pet peeve of mine. I originally decided to read this book because it takes place in Greece and I am not sure I have ever read a book set in Greece before. The concept of a village destroyed by a fire and its aftermath was timely and interesting. Was it climate change or greed or both? Unfortunately the execution just didn’t do it for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I received a free ARC ebook of <i>The Book of Fire</i> in exchange for an unbiased review.

Set in Greece this moving novel recounts the aftereffects of a fast-moving and deadly wildfire. Not all characters have specific names; rather they are called by that quality that signifies their true nature - "The Mother", "The Kind Man." For this reader, the description of running into the sea to escape the flames was eye-opening and made me think of the terror of the Hawaii fire victims.

This particular fire had been started by a greedy, selfish man who wanted more land. Many landowners had started similar fires to clear the forest but severe drought, poor forest maintenance and inadequate emergency response made this fire a deadly inferno. For the mother, her artist-husband, and their daughter the fire altered every aspect of their lives. There was life before the fire and now this semblance of existence after the fire.

The mother comes across the nearly dead man responsible for the fire while chasing her dog in the burned-out forest. Suicide? Murder? She hesitates and does not immediately call for help. Her hesitation is a heavy burden.

Lefteri exposes all of the elements of a precarious environment and humans' role in weakening that environment. She does not, however, get didactic. Rather there is a sadness about our carelessness and selfishness that might encourage individuals and governments to alter our behaviors. The perils of global warming are personalized in this touching novel.

The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri is a quiet book about a maddening fire that took out villages in Greece.
Told by the mother whose daughter's back has been severely burnt and whose husband's hands can no longer paint. It's about a missing grandfather and the toll the village takes after the fire.
It takes on global warming and the effects of it.

Links coming soon.

As someone who lives in California with its wild fires, I understand the horrors and devastation .affecting the people physically and mentally.. a beautifully written tragedy.. Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Pro:
* Rich emotional detail
* Lefteri has an amazing ability to slows time and recreates an event brilliantly
* Nuance of the “mystery”
Con:
* book within a book and back & forth timeline - I know the story within a story within a story is very trendy right now, but I very much prefer a straightforward narrative that lets us stay in the emotional attachment without all the intellectual gymnastics.
* Borders on the brink of too much philosophical commentary/moral contemplation. In places it becomes repetitive.
* The last chapter isn’t necessary.

Thank you to Christy Lefteri, Ballentine books, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that this book was fantastic. It had so many dreamlike qualities that were so vivid and very realistic. I really enjoyed it, more than I thought I would, in fact. It was. difficult to read at times, yet very rewarding,

Christy Lefteri can do no wrong. This is her best book yet and I hope that it finds a wide readership. The setting was stunning and the mystery gripping.

I was invited by the publisher to review an eARC of this novel. The premise intrigued me, and the dual timelines worked really well for me. It was beautifully written and is thought-provoking. However, there were parts of this book that dragged for me. The author's note at the end drew me in and gave me an overall positive review of this novel.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.

This cover is beautiful and I loved the idea of this book. The synopsis made me want to pick it up. However, the writing style just wasn't for me as a reader. I thought the whole storyline dragged for me as a whole. I really wanted to enjoy it, but unfortunately this one just wasn't for me.

The writing is so poetic and really evokes environmentally-conscious thought from readers. Fires are so devastating to cultures all around the world and it brings about the impact of global warming and how it can greatly affect our world. Although I found Irini's internal conflict to be a bit repetitious at times as well as her husband's complete detachment to be a bit annoying, it does reflect the effect trauma can have on the human disposition I suppose. Overall, this interests me to read more of the author's writing style in hopes another one of the plots is a bit stronger for my reading taste.

The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri

I had not read anything by Christy Lefteri before The Book of Fire, though The Beekeeper of Aleppo has been on my TBR list for a while. Now that I’ve finished The Book of Fire, I can see myself becoming a completist. This story has so many levels. First, the universal tragedy unfolding due to climate change, drought, and ensuing wildfires. Second, tragic history of people displaced from their homes because of governmental decisions, in this case Turks and Greeks sent to trade places with each other geographically. Finally, it is an intimate personal story of families in a small mountain village next to the sea and what they endure when their homes become popular escapes for city people who want to develop the land. Irini, the protagonist, her husband Tasso and their daughter Chara, all gentle, artistic souls, bear the consequences of carelessness of one such developer, an unforgiving forest fire. Not only the consequences of their physical lives, but their deep moral commitments also must be faced. It is a compelling read I found impossible to put down.
Lefteri’s prose is lyrical, and heartbreaking and her characters are unforgettable. This is not an easy happily ever after book, but literature that will serve as a caution, if not a record, of the hardest decisions of our time.

Thanks to the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this advanced review copy.

The Book of Fire is an absorbing and poignant book about a fire in Greece that turned into a raging wildfire destroying an entire forest and the lives of the surviving villagers who lived there. "The fire burnt our souls, our hearts. It has turned to ashes the people we once were."

The story of the fire, the days before, and the days after, is told by Irini, a musician, married to artist Tasso. They have a ten-year-old daughter, Chara. Their life is a very happy one until the day that changed everything forever. Through Irini, we get an intimate view of the horror of the day of the fire, and the many repercussions left in its wake.

Lefteri's writing left me breathless. Her powerful descriptions place the reader into the story so expertly that I felt the heat of the fire and the anguish of those trying to escape it; the despair of the victims and their rage when they learned the fire had been purposely set by a developer for personal gain. She captures the struggle to try to comprehend and deal with what has happened and the hardships of having to rebuild everything beautifully. I found it impossible not to relate to the inner turmoil and moral issues faced by the survivors.

This is not a book to be read quickly. There is much food for thought provided. Beautifully written and a powerful read. I'm already looking forward to the author's next book!

My thanks to Ballantine Books for providing me with a DRC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Book Review: The Book of Fire
by Christy Lefteri



Christy Lefteri, the author of The Beekeeper From Aleppo, brings us another heart wrenchingly beautiful story. Irini, a musician and teacher, lives with her husband, an artist, Tasso and their young daughter Chara. They are a tight knit family living contentedly in their home in the primeval forests of Greece. The forest is their home, shelter and insipiration. Until the calamitous day a fire ravages the forest, their community and everything in its path. A land speculator makes a decision, a father makes a decision, a daughter makes a decision, a wife makes a decision, a mother makes a decision, a village makes a decision. In a split second, the cascade of events that follow, will forever change in a flash.

Ultimately, this is a novel about the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, the ties that bind, and how things can change in the blink of an eye. The Lefteri delivers a story that will break your heart, and piece it back together again. The Book of Fire a timely tale, one not too unfamiliar to us given the numerous accounts of recent wildfires. In her author’s note, Lefteri states she was inspired by actual events and interviews with survivors of the wildfires that swept through Europe. Readers will not be able to put this book down.

My sincerest thanks to the author @LefteriChristy @RandomHouse and @NetGalley for the privilege of reading this gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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What a way to start off the new year! I absolutely loved this beautifully written book! The descriptive scenes and wholesome characters pull you right in. The story centers around a tragic forest fire in Greece but is filled with hope, love, kindness, and self-reflection. It’s definitely a “feel good” book, but not at all the sappy kind. I highly recommend it. I have a copy of her critically acclaimed “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” unread in my bookcase – based on how much I enjoyed this one, it will now be moving towards the top of my to read list so that review will be coming out this year as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy of this book. As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.