This was the next book on my reading list having read an excerpt in the back of The Tattooist of Auschwitz so I was very exciting to have the opportunity to read and review it.
It is written from the point of view of Nuri, a bee keeper in Aleppo (the large Northern city in Syria), other main characters are his wife Afra (a local artist), their young son, Sami, Nuri’s cousin and business partner, Mustafa and his wife, daughter and son.
This is a beautifully written book, the prose flows so well that it paints vivid images of the people and their lives, breathing life into them and their world. It is deceptively simple and subtle, immersing you in their story and making it impossible to break away (I read this in one sitting).
It’s written so directly; here are these people, their culture and experiences, then the terrible events of as war they have nothing to do with come, they go through the great loss of their homes, home land and close ones. This all comes through clearly as if you are walking beside them. These are ordinary people, living normal lives which are horribly interrupted. Their great reluctance to leave, how they each face up to the need to leave is devastating. The development of the characters in not unexpected but the realness and rawness is in turns heart-breaking, humanising and humbling.
The knowledge of the Christy Lefteri, not only of the geography and current political circumstances in Syria, but also of the refugee journey and process of trying to access the UK is great and brings you right to the heart of their experience.
Everyone should read this book. To glean some understanding of the current state of the world and what it means to be just an ordinary person caught up in terrible events.
It is written from the point of view of Nuri, a bee keeper in Aleppo (the large Northern city in Syria), other main characters are his wife Afra (a local artist), their young son, Sami, Nuri’s cousin and business partner, Mustafa and his wife, daughter and son.
This is a beautifully written book, the prose flows so well that it paints vivid images of the people and their lives, breathing life into them and their world. It is deceptively simple and subtle, immersing you in their story and making it impossible to break away (I read this in one sitting).
It’s written so directly; here are these people, their culture and experiences, then the terrible events of as war they have nothing to do with come, they go through the great loss of their homes, home land and close ones. This all comes through clearly as if you are walking beside them. These are ordinary people, living normal lives which are horribly interrupted. Their great reluctance to leave, how they each face up to the need to leave is devastating. The development of the characters in not unexpected but the realness and rawness is in turns heart-breaking, humanising and humbling.
The knowledge of the Christy Lefteri, not only of the geography and current political circumstances in Syria, but also of the refugee journey and process of trying to access the UK is great and brings you right to the heart of their experience.
Everyone should read this book. To glean some understanding of the current state of the world and what it means to be just an ordinary person caught up in terrible events.