Monday 8 March 2021

 The Beekeeper of Aleppo

By

Christy Lefteri



I have had this book on my bookshelf for such a long time and my son has been on at me to read it, so I bit the bullet! 


Nuri and his wife Afra are living in war torn Aleppo, Syria. Nuri is a beekeeper, but all his hives have been destroyed and he is desperate to leave Aleppo, but Afra won’t leave as she feels she will be abandoning their dead son Sami.


Not only has Nuri lost his livelihood but Afra has been blinded by the bombing and he has to care for her every need. He loves the very bones of her, but he fears for their lives by staying in Aleppo and every day he tries to get her to leave.


Eventually Nuri changes her mind and they begin the dangerous journey to find a better life. They want to make it to the UK to be with Nuri’s cousin Mustafa, who is also a beekeeper and to hopefully start over again producing honey.


The journey is full of danger and everything seems to take twice as long because of Nuri’s blindness, but also Afra is suffering from debilitating flashbacks. How far will they get and will their deteriorating health prove too much for the journey?...


This is such a fabulous read that I managed to finish in a couple of days. It was totally gripping and I really couldn’t put it down. I was so anxious to find out what happened to them that I just had to read into the small hours to finish it!


There were situations which made me uncomfortable, but it also pulled on my heartstrings and I had tears in my eyes.


I would thoroughly recommend this book and feel that everyone should read Afra and Nuri’s story. This is a book that could easily become a modern classic and read as part of the national curriculum. A story that is shouting out to be read and should be on everyone’s “to be read” list.


Bring on book two!


@christy_lefteri

@bonnierbooks_uk

@ZaffreBooks


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