The story begins with Afra and Nuri in Britain, we are swiftly whisked away by the author too far off lands where the journey, and all the trouble began. The book is beautifully written and is very descriptive, which painted the picture of the main characters and the places they passed through vividly.
The story is narrated through the eyes of Nuri, a beekeeper in Aleppo. The further into the book I got the more trauma I realised this person had endured; this was shown rather than told which worked brilliantly in line with the human instinct to deny that something is wrong. Comparatively, the further I got into the book the more I realised the strength of Afra’s spirit.
The story was fast paced and easy to read, not only that the plot was clearly well planned as too much information was never revealed at once, rather the details were weaved together slowly so that all the silks began to make a clear web.
My only critique is the structure of the story. The chapters jump from present day to a chronological point on the journey, and this sometimes became a little confusing. Further, in each chapter there is a word within a motif that singularly ends and begins a portion of time, this is just personal preference but I didn’t feel like it added anything to the book and if anything made it feel disjointed.
This is such a topical book for many of us who see news about Syrian refugees regularly. This book has shown me what I see on the news but from the perspective of a refugee which has been a real eyeopener. Whilst there is sadness in this story it is not without hope.
I really recommend that you read this book if you have any interest in a politically relevant, modern-day fiction. I have a feeling I will be thinking about this one for a long time.
3.5/5
The story is narrated through the eyes of Nuri, a beekeeper in Aleppo. The further into the book I got the more trauma I realised this person had endured; this was shown rather than told which worked brilliantly in line with the human instinct to deny that something is wrong. Comparatively, the further I got into the book the more I realised the strength of Afra’s spirit.
The story was fast paced and easy to read, not only that the plot was clearly well planned as too much information was never revealed at once, rather the details were weaved together slowly so that all the silks began to make a clear web.
My only critique is the structure of the story. The chapters jump from present day to a chronological point on the journey, and this sometimes became a little confusing. Further, in each chapter there is a word within a motif that singularly ends and begins a portion of time, this is just personal preference but I didn’t feel like it added anything to the book and if anything made it feel disjointed.
This is such a topical book for many of us who see news about Syrian refugees regularly. This book has shown me what I see on the news but from the perspective of a refugee which has been a real eyeopener. Whilst there is sadness in this story it is not without hope.
I really recommend that you read this book if you have any interest in a politically relevant, modern-day fiction. I have a feeling I will be thinking about this one for a long time.
3.5/5