The Beekeeper of Aleppo follows the story of husband and wife Nuri and Afra who worked as a beekeeper and an artist in Aleppo, Syria before war forced them to leave the city and become refugees as they are smuggled into Europe.

This novel while filled with loss, despair and war is beautifully written. There are sentences throughout which from a literature point of view really stand out. The plot too is haunting and heartbreaking at times. This is a story that needs telling. Definitely a book that will stay with me. I ended up reading it in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

The beekeeper and his wife manage to escape from the bombing in Aleppo but on the way to England to meet up again with his cousin they encounter lots of setbacks. It makes one put one's own problems into perspective.

A really thought-provoking book. The style of writing was a little difficult to get into at first - odd connections between the different parts of the story made it a bit disjointed - but once gripped by the story the book was hard to put down.
The Beekeeper of the title is forced to flee Syria following threats to his life after he refuses to join the fighters. We know early on that he makes it to England as the story moves between his first days in the UK and his journey to get here. Although a reasonably wealthy man, his journey is not straightforward; vivid descriptions of the hardships along the way illustrate the plight of Syrian refugees trying to escape their war-ravaged country and reach somewhere that will welcome them - or will it?
A compelling read.

This is a beautifully written heartbreaking read. Nuri and Afra have to flee from Aleppo. Their journey to England is heartbreaking. They have suffered so much grief and loss but they find the strength to get to England. This story had me in tears. I have read about people fleeing Aleppo and other countries. This book is written with feeling and empathy. It made me think more about what it is like to leave your home in those circumstances and the devastation of war.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I am lost for my words! What an amazing style. In addition to the story of Afra and Nuri being so devastating, so thrilling, so tense, the way the book is written makes it very interesting, fast-moving and mysterious in a way. I love the book, the story, the style and I am lost in every character’s body and soul. On finishing the book, I do feel heavy hearted and grateful to such amazing authors who open our eyes to a completely different world! The real world of real people who are fighting real battles. What do we know about ‘not giving up!’

I was pretty much left in pieces at the end of this beautifully written, heart-rending and deeply moving novel featuring refugees escaping from a war-ravaged Syria. Nuri Ibrahim, a beekeeper, and his artist wife Afra, live in the city of Aleppo with their son, Sami. Nuri and his cousin Mustafa have a successful business harvesting honey from their beloved bees. When the hives are destroyed, Sami is killed in an explosion, which also causes Afra to lose her sight, and Nuri’s life is threatened, they have no choice but to leave the country. They join the long trail of refugees seeking safe passage to a new life. They didn’t want a new life, they didn’t want to become refugees but the inhumanity of their own country forced this upon them.

A substantial part of the novel covers the journey that Nuri and Afra make as they try to get to the UK. The descriptions of the boat journeys they undertake, the refugee camps in which they have to live, with the associated hardship, potential violence and predators, are incredible emotive. The stories of those they encounter on their journey are equally heart-breaking; Angeliki, a refugee from Somalia, two young brothers from Afghanistan and even the criminal Nadim.

When Nuri and Afra finally make it to the UK you see, through Nuri’s eyes, the suspicion and distrust with which they are viewed. The interview Nuri is subjected to by immigration officers is particularly unpleasant. On a more uplifting note, the way in which Nuri cares for a wingless bee he finds in the yard of the B&B in which they have been housed, is particularly poignant: a metaphor for his own helplessness in the face of bureaucracy and callousness.

Bees are an on-going theme through the book, the success they brought to Nuri and his cousin in their old lives and the lessons they learned from them, through to the comfort it brings Nuri to care for one in the UK.
Christy Lefteri pulls no punches in this novel and so she shouldn’t. She has written this novel based on first-hand experience of working in a Unicef supported refugee centre in Athens. The message that kept coming back to me was that Nuri and Afra did not want a new life but they had no choice. This isn’t the easiest read but it portrays the real people behind, the often vitriolic, coverage of refugees. It reminds the reader that we are all human beings and if we treated one another in the way that bees treat each other, we’d be living in a much better world. It deserves more than 5 stars.

Thank you very much NetGalley and Zaffre Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Daughter of Cypriot refugees, Christy Lefteri grew up in Britain but, following a personal experience of helping Syrian refugees in Athens, wrote a book covering a difficult story topical to our time. Wars, instability of countries and regimes, refugees - and an array of moral questions and decisions that go hand in hand with all that is happening sometimes just a few hours away.

It seems "The Beekeeper of Aleppo" has everything - great idea, moving narrative, heartbreaking story with a dusting of mysticism and, last but not least, an important message to all of us, occupants of one planet, who could be so careless and ignorant as to the struggles of our fellow human beings. BUT. Lefteri failed to stir me! I found the book slow-moving and lacking a beating heart. None of the characters inspired me and I found myself not caring about their long journey to safety. Something, some vital fragment was missing.

And Aleppo (and Syria generally) was just a background - and I wanted to experience the country! Feel the sun on my face, smell the spices, hear the bees. Just to compare: after reading "Americanah" it felt as if I visited Nigeria. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" I cried over. Here I was glad when the book ended.

"The Beekeeper of Aleppo" talks about a very important subject and I am sure it will find its admirers. But, sadly, it failed to inspire or uplift me.

Haunting, topical and important.

Before the troubles in Syria, 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, 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.

This is a really moving story following husband and wife, Nuri and Afra, as they make the treacherous journey form Syria to the UK in the hopes of starting a better life away from their war torn country.

The story is told from Nuri’s point of view with alternating chapters from the present, where he and Afra are currently staying in a B&B awaiting their immigration interview to seek asylum, with flash back chapters to how they came to be there and the journey they have taken. I really enjoyed how the story was told in this way as it slowly revealed everything that Nuri and Afra had to endure.

For me personally, I would have really liked to have had some deeper insight into Afra’s character, and I would have loved to have read some chapters from her point of view. She seems like such an interesting woman in her own right with her own story to tell but unfortunately we only get to see her through Nuri’s eyes.

The story is one that is very much an eye opener and is very relevant to today’s times. It really made me sit back and think what it would actually be like to not have the comfort and security that I’m so privileged to have and what it must feel like to have everything torn away.

I kind of feel like there needs to be some kind of follow up as I would be really intrigued to see what happens next for Nuri and Afra. Their journey to get to the UK only seems like part of it and what they have to go through next would definitely be something I would be interested in reading.

This is a compelling and tragic telling of the effects of war on families in Syria. It tells of displacement, love and loss for one particular family, with warmth and hope interwoven with a kind of beauty in the small things, like bees. Life must go on, even in the face of tragedy and despair. The beekeeper speaks to us of hope despite seemingly insurmountable circumstances.

This book is everything that a modern day work of literature should be. Lefteri has used a heartbreaking time in history to give us this amazing novel; today, the present. Nuri was a beekeeper in Aleppo, but the tragedy of Syria's civil war has led him and his wife Afra to flee, there is nothing but heartache in Aleppo and Syria, but their journey is long and fraught with peril and the things that today's society turns its eyes from, refugee camps and the situations of the countries that lead to those camps. Nuri and Afra's tale is tragic and times and no less than that of our actual Syrian refugees but there is more to it, and who's to say that the ending isn't something to uplift your soul? (I'd say more but I'd hate to spoil it)

If you'd like a book to reach your heart and soul and grip them tightly, I recommend reading this book which is sure to become a classic of modern literature.

I wanted this book to be so much more than it was. It was jumpy and hard to follow in parts, however an enjoyable and interesting story.

A well written story. Not a book I would normally choose but I am so pleased I read it. It gave an insight into the plight of families who have suffered so much in their own country and how they struggle to escape to a place of safety. The characters felt so real and brought tears to my eyes. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is a haunting and very different story of Nuri and Afya who are trying to escape from Syria, and go to the United Kingdom. Nuri and his friend Mustafa have kept bees near Aleppo, but they return home one day to find their hives destroyed and their property destroyed. Mustafa escapes first and after a long tortuous journey ends up in Yorkshire, and manages to start running bee hives again.
Nuri, and Afsa who is blind escape first to Turkey, then through various countries until they finally get to England. They have lost their son Sami, their home and all their property, but they are given asylum as it is too dangerous for them to return to Syria.
This book does go backwards and forwards in time, and just occasionally is difficult to follow, but the characters are very strongly drawn, and the plot is taut, and satisfactorily solved.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo brings the tragedy of Syria to life in the most haunting way. Thought provoking, without a doubt; disturbing, definitely; worth reading, oh yes.
The book tells the sad story of a family being forced out of their home in Aleppo, the loss of their son and the immense pain suffered. But in amongst this there is hope for the future and how the bees will bring some peace to life.
I strongly recommend this book.

Another story with a very important message, refugees don't want to leave their homes, families, friends and their way of life but to survive they must. What a brilliant portrayal of the struggles and fear they faced just to get to safety. This is the kind of book that should be on the reading list in all senior schools to break down the misconception surrounding refugees

This is such an important novel - if you are going to read something, make it this book! Telling the story of Nuri , the beekeeper in the title, and his wife Afra as they make the long and perilous journey from Aleppo to London, Christy Lefteri has written a novel of international importance.
She has given these refugees a face and a voice and a story and brought them into our everyday lives. The next time boat loads of refugees wash up onto our tv screens, we must think of Nuri and Afra and open our minds and hearts and arms.

I received a free copy of The Beekeeper of Aleppo in exchange for an honest review, so thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre!

This is, above all, a story about hope.

Nuri, a beekeeper in Syria, is forced to flee his home country, along with hundreds of thousands of his fellow citizens. His cousin, Mustafa, has already left, and is urging Nuri to make his way to Yorkshire to join him. His wife, Afra, is reluctant to leave their home, but when the situation gets worse, she agrees they must leave. Risking everything, and with no idea what dangers they will encounter on the way, Nuri and Afra make their way across land and water towards safety. But it’s not an easy journey, and they have many more traumas to meet along the way.

This is a story we all know. Or we all think we know it. It was splashed across newspapers and TV screens, the struggle of refugees from the Middle East and Africa, desperately trying to escape the violence, the danger, the trauma of their home countries. Risking life and limb to cross the sea for safety, children alone and lost, parents with no other ideas of how to save them.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo delves into some of the reasons why people were forced to flee. Focused in Syria, the themes are mostly relevant for wherever refugees fled from, but it highlighted the massacre of victims and the bodies found in the Queiq river, the threats everyday people faced from simply trying to live their lives.

The most striking part of The Beekeeper of Aleppo is how, mid chapter, you switch from present day to a flashback. But it’s more than just mid chapter; a sentence will break off halfway through, and the next word or couple of words will link you to the past. This is such a blunt way of doing it, but so effective, because it really gives the impression of Nuri stopping, halfway through an action or a thought, and being thrown back, unwillingly, helplessly, into a flashback. (It reminds me of that episode of Lost – The Constant – where Desmond is experiencing flashbacks, if any of you have seen that).

It also did a brilliant job at highlighting the after effects of trauma, and how PTSD can have different physical symptoms – whether it’s Afra going blind after witnessing the death of their son, or Nuri hallucinating and suffering insomnia, it shows a wide range of effects.

This is a beautiful story of hope, an important tale of devastation, and a cry for compassion and action.

4 out of 5 stars. The Beekeeper of Aleppo is out 2nd May 2019, published by Bonnier Zaffre.

Imagine losing everything and then being forced to flee your home, your life, your livelihood. Then having to flee across the world at the mercy of others. War breaks out in Syria and Nuri and Afra are forced to leave everything behind and make this harrowing journey.

This heart wrenching, heartbreaking, thought provoking story guides you through their journey. Christy Lefteri switches seamlessly between present day and their journey depicting the struggles they face. The writing gives you just enough to imagine the events in your own mind without going into every excruciating detail.

I could feel Nuri’s and Afra’s pain and anguish. Haunted by their memories of what they have lost. As the story progressed I grew to understand them. I was heartbroken by their situation. I feared for them and for the characters they met along the way. I was heartened by the kindness of strangers and angered by those who exploited the situation. In the face of adversity, there is always hope.

What a beautifully written book. One that will stay with me.

Overall: Such a powerful, and emotional read that leaves a lasting impression. For lovers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and if you want a book that is going to pull on heart strings, make you gasp and yet feel hopeful – Look no further.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is the story of Nuri, a beekeeper in Aleppo, and his wife Afra. The book takes you along their journey from happy times in their beautiful home country through to tragedy and desperation as the war breaks out, and finally, on their journey to England in search of refuge. Nuri and Afra’s story is one of strength and courage, and despite all they go through … they teach us that there is always hope. The story was just incredible! I loved how Christy was able to seamlessly take us through the past and present with some clever writing, everything tied together so beautifully. Loved this book!