The Beekeeper of Aleppo

A solid 4 star story of Nuri and his wife Afra as they sort out their lives in war torn Aleppo, Syria. You will become attached to the characters in this novel very quickly.

Nuri’s cousin Mustafa has taught him all about beekeeping, and not wanting to follow in his father ‘s footsteps, Nuri takes to beekeeping immediately. The bees, beehives and all Nuri knows about his life in Aleppo get left behind. They must leave.

There are many scenes where fantasy blends with reality for Nuri as he struggles to cope and make his way to a new life with Afra. Being blind, the road to change is not a simple one for Afra either.

Hopefully, you will have a better understanding of the refugee situation going on in today’s world, with the hardships, losses and unknowns these transitory travelers suffer, as they reach out to have what we all want: love, safety, food, peace and family.

Sincere thanks to #Netgalley and #BallantineBooks/RandomHouse for an ARC of this title

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Nuri and Afra have a simple life in Aleppo, raising their son Sami. Nuri is a beekeeper with his cousin Mustafa and Afra is an artist. When war comes, Mustafa leaves Syria and urges Nuri to do the same. Nuri stays, until the situation becomes unbearable and they suffer an unthinkable loss, that leaves Afra blind. The rest of the book is about the journey to England and freedom, alternating chapters in the asylum process in England and the journey that led them there. We all hear the news about the army of refugees tracking through Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Africa. This books gives a human picture of what it takes, the people they encounter, both who try to help and those who take advantage of them. According to the author’s note at the end, she was a volunteer for a UNICEF supported refugee center in Athens and what she saw there inspired her to write this book. It’s a story that has to be told, a look behind the headlines.
Overall a great read, 4-5 stars. I took off one star, because I had a little trouble following where the events took place, especially in the beginning.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri is a moving book about the refugee experience, told in two timelines that show you how Nuri and Afra are living in a b&b for asylum seekers in England, starting with how Nuri lived as a beekeeper in Aleppo while Afra was an accomplished artist. This book gets dark, but at the very least you know that Nuri and Afra made it to England. Using words that trigger memories, leading to the timeline switch in the storytelling, we find out more about who Nuri and Afra were before the conflict in Syria pushed them to leave their home (and bees), as well as the familial connections that motivate them to not only leave, but to aim for England instead of easier asylum destinations. Their journey out of Syria is told alongside their journey of applying for asylum, parallel stories of how whether you leave something or lose something, it affects you either physically or mentally. I found myself staying up to finish this book, even though it really felt bleak at times. I know they make it to their destination, but the cost is far more than I thought it would be. I appreciate how Lefteri made sure to highlight how the refugee identity is diverse, not just with the languages spoken but what motivated them to leave their homes. It is grim, but it is still hopeful.

A beautiful refugee story of hardship, grief, loss, and determination, <i>The Beekeeper of Aleppo</i> reminds us that a little humanity can go a long way.

Born from Lefteri’s experience working at a refugee center in Athens, the story centers around the journey of Nuri and Afra Ibrahim, a married couple fleeing war and oppression in Syria in hopes of reaching the UK.

Lefteri pens a story reminiscent of Hosseini’s <i>The Kite Runner</i>, and you can’t help but be pulled into the fear and grief of the young couple. Before they can leave Syria, tragedy strikes, and Nuri and Afra are left with a grief they could never have imagined — which shapes their journey out of Aleppo in heartrending ways.

My only complaint with this story is that it centers around the first-person narration of Nuri Ibrahim, but much of the plot takes place after he’s left his blind wife (either in their boarding room, on a blanket in the middle of a park, or at their home in Aleppo) alone to fend for herself while he walks around thinking or meeting people. Afra can hardly dress herself, and Nuri’s continued indifference toward his wife’s care really bothered me. I would have loved for this story to be from her perspective, or even a few chapters sprinkled in that told us more than Nuri’s perspective.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and my heart ached for Nuri and Afra. A perfect read for fans of <i>The Kite Runner</i>.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nuri is in heaven. He has always wanted to be a beekeeper. Now in Aleppo his dream has come true. His cousin, Mustafa and he have a successful business raising bees, cultivating the honey, and discovering new ways to implement honey in everyday items. Happiness abounds, families are happy, their in paradise. Then with the flash of bombings and the war, everything is destroyed. Both families lose their sons. They are forced to immigrate to the United Kingdom.
The trials, heartbreak, trauma of mind, body and soul are enough to make anyone give up. The hope of a better life, and the soft humming of bees will give them the strength needed to survive.
A rich and powerful story. Magnetic, doesn't let you go until the final page.

Life in Syria was sweet for beekeeper Nuri and his wife, artist Afra until war broke out. Together the two make their way across a war torn country, through Turkey and Greece, hoping to find a new home in England. This is an incredible story, heartbreaking and timely and should be read by every person who has any question about why victims of political upheaval and ethnic cleansing need a safe refuge

This book left me speechless- so wonderfully written, especially in capturing such a traumatic and tragic experience and war which forced them to flee.
The story, although is fictional, was able to really captivate a realistic and daunting story of the struggles Nuri and Afra, his wife had endured, escaping their once now destroyed country that was once a place of happiness, joy, and more. Now, they are among the thousands and the mass-displacement of Syrian Refugees fleeing from the current Civil war to Greece through a treacherous and dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. Lefteri was able to really captivate their loss, their hope and the difficult extent of their long journey to safety. She was able to elicit my emotions of fear, of sadness, of anger throughout the book.

This journey personally resonated with me so deeply because I studied about Refugee health and worked with the Syrian Refugees across Sweden and the States. This is a story of immigration, of the danger and the violence that immigrants flee from to safety. People most definitely have to read this book- to really begin to understand even a bit of the hardship that each refugee and asylum seeker had to overcome to be where they are today.
Such a relevant book for the current political Climate, especially for those so oblivious to the refugee experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing / Ballentine Books for this arc.

This was a heart-achingly slow read for me, but yet a WONDERFUL read.

This is the story of Nuri and Afra, Syrian refugees / asylum seekers. Their losses were total and unimaginable. Their journey to England horrific. The physical, emotional and mental deprecations were near total. And yet, the found the determination to struggle on and complete their journey.

Just gut-wrenching and well worth the hours and hours it took me to complete the read.