
Member Reviews

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I didn’t wrongly type those dots. I’m speechless and still trying to gather the broken pieces of my heart but when i glue the crumbled pieces, my heart will consist of mismatched puzzle pieces because this book already stole a huge piece of me that could be never ever replace!
Afra and Nuri created an ordinary, happy life with their child, the jobs which fits their passions, a house, a land with bees buzzing around and making their peaceful happy dances. Nuri’s easygoing, friendly, emotional and touchy characteristics matched with the nature of bees. He was the shepherd, Godfather of them, knowing their needs which helped him to create a harmonious life with them.
Afra is a talented artist who has third eye to help her to be differentiated from her competitors. Her visionary and creation were beyond the words. Till she lost three of her eyes with a bomb cut her all lifelines.
They lost their land in he fire...
They lost their child...
They lost their beautiful ordinary life...
Worst part of it THEY LOST THEIR HOPE!
Sigh... I need a moment right now... This book is too heavy, heart wrenching read. I thought that I have high level pain tolerance but I couldn’t be so wrong! I can read so many gory, harsh, terrifying thriller books or watch bloody slasher movies but when it comes to the books which gives your stomach churning, heart ripping sensations, I stop and freeze because the fiction part was over and reality kicks in!
Afra and Nuri left their country, their old life, their loved ones, their traditions, their passions, memories, friends, childhood, home behind to run away to save their lives.
They’re literally not in Kansas anymore,they’re living in the purgatory !
Neither they can live in the past nor they can live in the present time.
The dangerous journey started from Turkey and continued to Greece and finalized in the UK was heart throbbing and struggling experience but they finally made it against all odds.
Now they were waiting for the immigration officers’ decision about their lives as two exhausted souls who were afraid of touching each other and holding their deceased son’s memories.
It was tragic, heavy, hard, struggling and one of most realistic read for me! I loved the conclusion of the story!
I’m a little angry at the author for giving me so many ugly cries and taking out of my vulnerable piece of my heart!
She changed me and gave me insightful look about the one of the most important social, political issues of our modern world by ripping my heart ...
And I ‘m so thankful to her for this one of the greatest social and political awareness/ emotional reading!
So much special thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for sending me ARC COPY like an early Christmas gift on August in exchange my honest review !

This stunning small book is filled with beauty and with loss. The Nuri and Afra Ibrahim have left Syria and everything they have ever known after the death of their son, and the destruction of their lives by war. This is the story of their migration north, and their attempts to find a way to live with what they have lost. Everyday occurrences trigger horrific memories for the couple, a camera becomes a gun; a bird becomes a bomber; a laugh becomes a scream.
As I finished this beautiful novel, I was left wondering yet again why our society has become so fearful of immigrants, particularly refugees. Perhaps we can’t see what is happening because we are so afraid to look.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Heartbreaking, powerful and so beautifully written. This book and its characters will stay with me for a long time. Such an important read and one I highly recommend.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

In The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Christy Lefteri took her transformative volunteer experience, working with Syrian refugees in Athens, Greece and turned it into a heartbreaking, inspiring, raw and, ultimately, hopeful story. Fleeing from their home in war torn Aleppo was not a choice for Nuri and Afra. It was a matter of survival, even though accessing a network of smugglers meant facing a terrifying, uncertain path in an attempt to find safety.
This was a 5 star read for me, despite my heart being torn in half each chapter. I’d be hard pressed to name a more powerful, impactful and important read in recent memory. It would be impossible to come away from this story untouched and unchanged. Nuri and Afra’s journey will stay with me for years to come.

This is such a beautiful and truthful story. As the author note in the end mentions, it's a work of fiction, but could as well be true since it is based on reality. Nuri is a beekeeper in Aleppo, but as the war expands, he knows he needs to leave all behind and escape Syria with his wife Afra. The book is about their journey from Syria to England, and the many stops and uncertainties in between. It's beautifully constructed - I like how one chapter connects to the other through one word in common. The last word in a chapter is also the first word in the next chapter, and so on. Characters are so well constructed, especially Afra. This book will definitely become a classic!

This book hit me hard from its first pages; so much so that I almost stopped reading it. I have been reading so many World War II novels lately, which all dealt with death, physical and emotional trauma, grief, and the struggle to survive, that I was uncertain that I wanted to finish another book dealing with the same subjects, albeit in a different war. I am so glad I stuck with this book, as it is so worth reading. The author, Christy Lefteri, bases her book on stories she heard firsthand from Syrian refuges during time she spent working with a relief agency in Greece. Ms. Lefteri does an outstanding job creating believable characters who you will care deeply about long before the end of the book. PTSD in soldiers is frequently recognized and sometimes written about, but not so much in civilians.. Ms Lefteri does a very credible job depicting two entirely different PTSD outcomes in her main characters, beekeeper Nuri and his artist wife Afra, who flee Aleppo, Syria. Their harrowing and difficult journey across the Mediterranean Sea, then through Turkey and Greece to England in order to be reunited with Nuri's cousin and fellow beekeeper Mustafa, is heart wrenching. At the same time, the author shows us the triumph of the will to live and the immense effort to start anew that some survivors of war are able to muster.
I highly recommend this book. I appreciate receiving a copy from NetGalley and Penguin Random House in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @ballantinebooks and @netgalley for my review copy. #partner
The Beekeeper of Aleppo is out today. After reading Exit West, I craved another refugee story. I wanted to hear more from the perspective of the characters. This is a work of fiction but reminds us that actual people are living this fear. Having to leave their beautiful country because of the hatred of others. I couldn’t imagine not having the every day luxuries that we are afforded. It reminds me not to take life for granted and the freedom we have. Author Christy Lefteri did an amazing job with this novel.
I am just about finished and have been taking my time to savor and really picture the journey Nuri and Afra are on. It is very descriptive which allows you to imagine their journey.
This gem is out today 8/27.
This review can also be found on www.instagram.com/kristinasbookishlife

Christy Lefteri wrote a beautiful book that tore up my heart and healed it too. It was sweet and sad, lovely and loving. It is a simple book, filled with emotion. I enjoyed it from the first page until the last.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo is the story of Nuri, and his wife Afra, who were living and loving in Syria before the war. Nuri was a beekeeper in Aleppo, and of his wife Afra was an artist. Like so many in Syria the war tears their lives apart, and the two of them suffer one of the worst losses a couple can face. Afra is also left blind which is devastating to her as an artist. The war and all of the atrocities that accompanied it continued to escalate and Nuri and Afra realize that they must leave their home. They become asylum seekers; people with no home.
The book follows Nuri and Afra on their journey. The physcial one that takes them across countries by foot and public transport and by sea. But it also follows them on the journey where they learn to deal with outright hatred and prejudice while trying to overcome trauma and heal from grief. The journey is equally emotional for the reader. We must encounter the ravages that people encounter and worse, those that we inflict. We must encounter grief, anger and pain, but we are also treated to the love and hope that helps us to heal. The novel is timely, hopeful and relevant.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley, the author and Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

I found the subject matter of this book difficult to read. It’s timely but also quite disturbing and upsetting. That’s not to say that it isn’t important and well-written and very moving.

How do you review a book that took your heart from page one and slowly and surely ripped it into little itty-bitty shreds and by the end had flung it to the winds? Because that is what this book did to me and my heart. And I will never be the same. And when you read the author's note at the end, your heart will further rip into shreds as you read just why and how she came to write this amazing, gorgeous, hideously sad, horrific book. That note alone made me ugly cry. I admire this author so much - to be able to go to a place like Athens, to work with and amongst the refugees and not be broken by the work and the stories and the pain and suffering; that takes a special kind of person and clearly she is that. It is no wonder that she had to write this book - it must have just poured out of her at times.
The story of Nuri and Afra will never, ever leave you and even in the most horrific parts of this story, that is not a bad thing. I pray that people who read this soften their hearts, breathe in empathy, and shower grace on those who have gone through what Nuri and Afra did. NOT every story is black and white. People leave their homes for reasons we cannot ever imagine [as we sit in our privilege] and this story just amplifies this and reminds us that we are ALL human being and there but for the grace of God, go I.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful story of a couple fleeing war torn Syria. Nuri, a beekeeper, and his wife, Afra, escape Syria after they are left with nothing and their son is killed.
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The author takes us on their harrowing journey from Syria, Turkey, Greece and finally the UK. Afra is blind after witnessing the bomb that killed her son and Nuri seems like he has it together but he is actually suffering from PTSD! By the end of the book there is hope and hope is a precious thing when there wasn’t any.
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I think it’s important to note that the author volunteered for two years in a refugee center in Greece and returned to Greece in order to learn not only Arabic but to get research for this book. This is actually a short read but quite impactful. My only thing was that it was hard at times to distinguish between flashbacks and the present.
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The summer before my senior of college I was able to volunteer at a non-profit that was helping refugees, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I heard so many inspiring stories that summer and I will never forget it. The kids were so resilient and would always run and hug me when they would see me. These people left behind everything they knew but just like in the book, they still had HOPE.
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Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for my review copy.

This is perhaps the most poignant book I have read thus far this year. Yet the book is filled with beauty and love.
Nuri is a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria. His wife Afra is an artist. Amidst the Syrian Civil War Afra was left blind when she witnessed their young son killed by a bomb. Their nephew Mustafa fled Syria earlier and is now in England. Mustafa has bought some beehives and started his own business. He begs Nuri and Afra to join him, thus they set off, joining thousands of other refugees fleeing to what they hope is a better life, a safer life. It is a long and danger-filled trek to and through Turkey and then through Greece with no guarantee they will be granted asylum if and when they reach England.
Theirs is a journey of moving through their grief and rediscovering themselves, individually and as a couple. Along the way they meet people who will take advantage of them, some who will hurt them, and some who will give them the strength to continue their journey.
The author worked as a volunteer at a refugee center in Athens, Greece. The stories she heard and the people she met led her to writing this compassionate account of their stories.
I highly recommend this book. Thank you Ballantine Books for the advance copy. Opinions are my own.

Heartbreaking story of a family who has suffered so much loss in Syria. Afra is so grief stricken she cannot grasp the notion at first that she must flee her country. Nuri is at least strong enough that he still has a will to survive. I enjoyed the emails between Nuri and his cousin Mustafa as it offered hope.
Although this was so terribly sad, I truly enjoyed it.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book tugged at my heartstrings. As millions of people throughout the world are displaced from their homes due to civil wars, political unrest, financial distress, and economic hardship, this book explores the issue of these families as they seek refugee status in other countries. The journeys are long and hard and full of terror. There’s a general sense of danger every minute of the day. The people are often helpless and at the mercy of complete strangers.
Lefteri dives into one family’s experience as they journey through from Syria to Greece to their final destination of the UK. Nuri and Afra are (understandably) badly damaged by what happened in Syria before they decided to leave. Their son was killed by a bomb and it also blinded Afra. Nuri is plagued by PTSD and has multiple flashbacks. In the author’s note at the end of the book, she mentions that she volunteered at a UNICEF-supported refugee center in Athens, Greece and that she had a tutor who was a refugee from Syria, so I’m sure elements of this book are very realistic. For that fact alone, my heart hurts. I cannot, under any circumstances, understand how awful and horrific these journeys must be. Because there are many out there like me who have no idea what is really happening outside of our safe bubbles, it’s important that books like this are written, promoted, and shared…just to increase our awareness, empathy, and sympathy a little bit more.
While I appreciate the motivation for writing the book, I found a lot of the writing to be confusing. It was hard to distinguish between reality and Nuri’s flashbacks. I found myself questioning what I’d read and if I fully grasped the story. The ending felt very rushed to me and didn’t tie up the loose ends that well. I thought the writing had potential, but I ultimately didn’t connect to the story like I’d hoped to.
3.5 stars rounded ups to 4

What a gripping story. I couldn't put it down, and I think this should be on everyone's list to read this year! It's heart wrenching, but so inspiring! This is a book that I feel like I will read again and again!
Thank you #NetGalley for an early copy of #TheBeekeeperOfAleppo for review!

Title: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Author: Christy Lefteri
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Nuri is a beekeeper in Syria. His wife, Afra, is an artist. Their life is simple, yet full of beauty and pleasure—from the early morning call to prayer to the market where Afra sells her paintings. Then war comes to Syria and destroys everything they love, including their son—and taking Afra’s sight. They must leave Syria, but the obstacles they face seem insurmountable.
They want to reach England, where Mustafa, Nuri’s lifelong friend and cousin, has an apiary, but England is the most difficult country for refugees to enter. There are dangers everywhere Nuri and Afra turn, and Nuri must navigate through his own grief and Afra’s to heal their broken marriage as they seek desperately for safety.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo started off slowly, and I almost gave up, but I’m so glad I persevered. I’m not even sure how to describe the journey Nuri and Afra experience. There is incredible loss, grief, pain but also hope in their story, and it is well-worth reading.
Christy Lefteri was born in London. The Beekeeper of Aleppo is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Ballantine Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Rating: 5 brilliantly buzzing stars
What a luminous and heartbreaking book about war and the effects on the people caught in its crosshairs. While this is often a tough read because of the circumstances that Afra and Nuri have to navigate, I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about the conditions faced by refugees from Syria as they try to flee to safer ground.
I didn’t realize all the hurdles and intermediate stops that emigrants and refugees from Syria could face as they try to make a new life for themselves far from all they’ve known. This story so warmly shares the love that the beekeeper Nuri, his artist wife Afra, and their young son, Sami have for the town of Aleppo and the life they lived there. Then war comes crashing in and everything disintegrates. The vibrant colorful city is caked in layers of gray cement dust. Nuri and his cousin Mustafa’s beloved beehives are torched one day by one side or the other in the war. It doesn’t matter who did it, the bees from 500 beehives are gone. Killings are brutal and random. Life is cheap.
Eventually Nuri convinces the now blind Afra to leave Syria and try to join Mustafa and his remaining family in England. Many harrowing legs of this journey, and the intermediate way-stations are encountered in fits and starts. The desperation to leave, and the luck-of-the-draw randomness of who eventually arrives at their destination is written in lovely prose and thoughtful descriptions. No-one arrives unscathed by the experience, but still the human will to survive and thrive pushes them forward.
The Author’s Note at the end of the book described the author’s point of view that this was a book about blindness. I’d agree. It’s about Afra’s literal blindness, Nuri’s emotional blindness, and the majority of the world’s willful blindness to the tragedies of the refugee crises going on plain site.
This should be recommended reading for everyone. The intelligence and heart with which this story is told was harrowing and uplifting at the same time.
‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books; and the author Christy Lefteri; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I suspect you already know this is sad- but it's beautifully written and will make you think and rethink what you know about refugees. Nuri is desperate to get his wife Afra from Aleppo to the UK, where his friend and mentor Mustafa has emigrated. Nuri and Mustafa were beekeepers in better days and Afra, in addition to caring for their young son Sami, was an artist. All that's gone now; the hives were burned, Afra is blind, and Sami is dead. Their journey is interspersed with their time in a bed and breakfast on the coast of England, where they have, mercifully arrived. The journey is a horror story, in so many ways, and you will ache for them and for the others they meet. Mohammed, a young boy who Nuri befriends, disappears, leaving behind a marble which Afra and Nuri cherish but there's a secret about him. Despite not being Syrian, a refugee, or, well, a man, Lefteri has given Nuri a strong and vital voice that will echo in your head. I liked the way the novel transitioned, although I admit I was confused at first, thinking I had a bad download. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. This is a must read- an excellent, if sorrowful, reminder of the world we live in. Be kind to someone today.

What a thought-provoking and emotional story! Nuri, a beekeeper, and his wife Afra, an artist, have a wonderful life in Aleppo, Syria —that is, until war tears their life completely apart and destroys the beautiful and peaceful existence that surrounded them. Although they love their country and would do anything to be able to remain there, they are forced to leave as the war steals from them all that they had, including their son, Sami, and Afra’s sight.
Thus, they leave their homeland behind and being the perilous journey from Aleppo to the UK to meet with Nuri’s cousin, Mustafa, who had been a mentor to Nuri and had taught him the art of beekeeping before he, too, was forced to leave his native Syria. Their terrifying journey from Syria through Turkey and Greece before reaching the UK is made to come alive through the author’s beautifully constructed prose and helps the reader focus on and understand some of the realities of refugees seeking asylum in a land far away from their beloved homeland. The author effectively alternates chapters between Nuri and Afra’s arrival in the UK to be processed for asylum and their struggles to get there, helping to paint vividly what these refugees sadly have to endure in their attempt to live under an umbrella of freedom.
This is a beautifully written and haunting novel that I highly recommend.

Nuri, a beekeeper from Aleppo and his wife Afra who was an artist are trying to reach England to seek asylum. Their son Sami was killed by a bomb and Afra lost her sight in the blast. But in order to get there, they have a perilous journey ahead as they have to travel across the seas, through Turkey and Greece, and have to face unimaginable obstacles to get to their final destination.
This book was very well written and is very appropriate for the times we are in today. Parts were hard to read, they were so sad or discouraging, but it was a very good book.