This book was incredible - very different to The Beekeeper of Aleppo but a beautiful novel and one that I will be recommending to friends and family.
Nisha, a domestic worker, has disappeared. Her fellow local housemaids care, but are powerless. Her secret boyfriend cares, but is scared to make himself known for fear of her losing her position when she returns. Her employer and the young girl she looks after think she will come back initially, but as time moves on and they realise that the police won't help them, they get more and more concerned. Nisha's young daughter, who she had to leave abroad to come and work in Cyprus, also cares, but are completely powerless, dependent on the money that Nisha sends to them every month.
With Nisha's disappearance pretty much on the first page, we see the people she left behind and the impact that an 'unimportant' immigrant housemaid can have on so many lives. Also set in Lefteri's native Cyprus, the novel vividly sets out the culture, including the illegal hunting and trade of songbirds.
Nisha, a domestic worker, has disappeared. Her fellow local housemaids care, but are powerless. Her secret boyfriend cares, but is scared to make himself known for fear of her losing her position when she returns. Her employer and the young girl she looks after think she will come back initially, but as time moves on and they realise that the police won't help them, they get more and more concerned. Nisha's young daughter, who she had to leave abroad to come and work in Cyprus, also cares, but are completely powerless, dependent on the money that Nisha sends to them every month.
With Nisha's disappearance pretty much on the first page, we see the people she left behind and the impact that an 'unimportant' immigrant housemaid can have on so many lives. Also set in Lefteri's native Cyprus, the novel vividly sets out the culture, including the illegal hunting and trade of songbirds.