Where do I even start? Such a beautiful and captivating book with such a sad story yet very uplifting. The author has done an amazing job writing this book I felt every single emotion of the characters and read it in one sitting. I didn't want it to end and I'm now sitting with an awful book hangover. This has to be my favourite book ofnthe year so far.

Haunting, topical and Important
Before the troubles Nuri and his Wife had a wonderful life, simple but rich in the best of ways; Nuri was a bee keeper, his wife was an artist and his young son was a child who loved to play and read and make up stories. Then the bombs hit, and ISIS take over and, in fear for their lives they flee to be with his cousin and business partner in Britain.

The book is beautifully written and the plot weaves between their arrival in Britain to be processed for asylum and Nuri's flashbacks to the heartbreaking journey and struggles to get here. Given the subject this was never going to be an easy read ... is it one that has a happy ending? Can there ever be such a thing when you've witnessed your world fall to pieces?

This is a book that I will think about long after turning the last page and one that anyone with any compassion or interest in the human fall out of war will love as much as I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the opportunity to read an advanced copy - this is my honest, unbiased opinion of this book

Beautifully written with sensitivity and heartbreak. It certainly makes you think about the horrors of war and it is the civilians who suffer.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Zaffre for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

What a fantastic book. Loved every page, beautifully written. Takes you on the journey with the main characters. Highly recommend

Nuri and Afra live in Syria and have a lovely normal life until war breaks out. Nuri is a beekeeper, Afra an artist, and they live with their son Sami in the east of the city. Bombs rain down on the city and tragedy strikes as their young son is killed in one of the raids.


They have no choice but to escape the country and follow their friends and leave the country. From from war-torn Aleppo, through Turkey and Greece, they eventually make it to London where they claim asylum. This is the story of their journey across country after country with a very insightful account of life for refugees in Greece (the author apparently volunteered with refugees here)

It was an insightful and thought -provoking read. Very topical

So many people in the world have been displaced from their homes for one reason or another. We read the figures in the news, but they remain figures. We do not have the capacity to take in the enormity of the grief, fear, loss of these people.

It takes stories such as The Beekeeper of Aleppo to enable us to focus on some of the realities for refugees. The story follows the path of one family who flee from Aleppo in Syria and make their way to England. Nuri was a beekeeper and his wife, Afra, an artist. Even when Aleppo was bombed to destruction, Nuri did not want to leave his home, but when he is finally threatened to take up arms or die he realises he must flee.

This is a superb book. It is very cleverly written, with the first half of each chapter taking place in England and the second half following the journey from Syria. The reader gets sucked into one story, then thrown back into the other, which is equally enthralling.

This is a heartbreaking tale. Nuri and Afra have lost their son, their home, their country and everything that is familiar to them. The journey is fraught and terrifying and they are left no only no knowing who to trust but struggling to find each other. Even when they reach England, where they hope to be reunited with Nuri's cousin, Mustafa, the uncertainty and confusion continues as they must apply for asylum and try to negotiate a system they don't really understand.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a tale of human tragedy which sadly is playing out all around us.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Nuri and Afra are Syrian refugees. They had a beautiful life, Nuri a beekeeper, Afra an artist, with their son Sami – before the atrocities commenced. Following the death of Sami in a bomb attack, and with Afra blind, they eventually decide to follow their friends and leave the country.

This is the story of their journey, from war-torn Aleppo, through Greece, eventually making it to London where they make their claim for asylum.

A sad yet beautifully crafted story, with characters to be cared about.

I found this book emotionally draining but absolutely riveting.

It tells the story of Nuri and Afra who are forced to leave Aleppo to travel to join his cousin in England. The story shifts between their arrival in England and their perilous journey. You learn of their previous life, their heartbreak and the traumas they both suffer. This is a story which will stay with me for some time - I rarely cry at a story but this one made me well up.

Beautifully written - a must read book.

“Refugees didn’t just escape a place. They had to escape a thousand memories until they’d put enough time and distance between them and their misery, to wake to a better day.”
― Nadia Hashimi, When the Moon is Low

Nuri was a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria, his wife Afra an artist - of course this was before the war that was to tear their lives apart, and in which they suffered the most unbearable loss. In addition, this loss left Afra blind. Prior to the war, they’d lived a simple but happy life among friends and family, people who knew the meaning of the most important thing in life - love.

As things became ever more dangerous, with random killings and beheadings of innocent men, women and children, they had no choice but to leave what was left of their once beautiful city, and the only lives they had ever known. They become one of the many thousands of displaced people - asylum seekers making the dangerous journey across countries and stormy seas, whilst encountering much hatred and prejudice along the way. These people have witnessed unbelievable horrors that have left them grief stricken, broken and traumatised, and, as they begin this mammoth journey to who knows where? they have to believe that they will find a new home somewhere, but it will be a home with rooms empty of those that they loved.

Gosh, what a journey this was, not merely in geographical terms, but in the raw emotions of those involved. The subject of immigration is one that everyone has an opinion on, and The Beekeeper of Aleppo takes you behind the news headlines, giving a birds eye view of the dangers and obstacles involved. It’s a horrifying yet beautiful novel that is so relevant right now.

The author is well qualified to bring us this fictional, yet realistic story, as she spent time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF supported refugee centre in Athens.

Don’t miss this haunting , heartbreaking and thought provoking novel - even the simple description of the love and attention Nuri lavished on his beloved bees, is just so moving it’s enough to break your heart.

This is a fabulous book. It tells the story of Nuri and Afra who eventually leave Aleppo in Syria and attempt the journey to the UK to meet their cousin Mustafa. They have lost everything, their home, their work, their son and Afra has even lost her sight. Yet they don't really want to go. They want to stay in their familiar place, their home town. But when Nuri is threatened by terrorists, they no longer have a choice. They must leave.

The book mostly details their journey. It skips between past and present and gradually their full story is revealed. Along the way they encounter both the kindness of strangers and the absolute depravity of predators taking advantage of the most vulnerable of society. The descriptions of their time in Athens are made extremely convincing due to the author's experience having volunteered with refugees in this city.

When they finally arrive in the UK, the asylum process begins and life continues to be difficult.

This is a book which is topical and important. At a time when refugees are literally washing up on our shores, many people do not stop to consider their backstory. This novel helps you to understand the desperation that drives people to make such a perilous journey. It is extremely well written as the author has credibility in both the writing world and personal experience in what she has written about. I hope she writes more. It reminded me of 'In The Sea There Are Crocodiles' which is based on a true story and one where the refugee also passes through Turkey and Greece.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a book!
The heartbreak of the trek from Aleppo to London opens your eyes to the horrors that people face to free themselves from the horror of their lives.
Skipping from present to past throughout the novel, you travel each step and feel the pain that they do.
Such an eye opening and emotional read, that opens your eyes to the horrors that people must face to survive.

Heartbreaking. Who could fail to be moved by this story of families torn apart and displaced by war in their country. Traumatised, bereaved , terrified, but with a goal and a dream to sustain them, Nuri and Arfa can begin the healing process. If you ever asked why people would risk everything to reach a place where they could live in peace and rebuild , then this story will answer the question.