“Refugees didn’t just escape a place. They had to escape a thousand memories until they’d put enough time and distance between them and their misery, to wake to a better day.”
― Nadia Hashimi, When the Moon is Low
Nuri was a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria, his wife Afra an artist - of course this was before the war that was to tear their lives apart, and in which they suffered the most unbearable loss. In addition, this loss left Afra blind. Prior to the war, they’d lived a simple but happy life among friends and family, people who knew the meaning of the most important thing in life - love.
As things became ever more dangerous, with random killings and beheadings of innocent men, women and children, they had no choice but to leave what was left of their once beautiful city, and the only lives they had ever known. They become one of the many thousands of displaced people - asylum seekers making the dangerous journey across countries and stormy seas, whilst encountering much hatred and prejudice along the way. These people have witnessed unbelievable horrors that have left them grief stricken, broken and traumatised, and, as they begin this mammoth journey to who knows where? they have to believe that they will find a new home somewhere, but it will be a home with rooms empty of those that they loved.
Gosh, what a journey this was, not merely in geographical terms, but in the raw emotions of those involved. The subject of immigration is one that everyone has an opinion on, and The Beekeeper of Aleppo takes you behind the news headlines, giving a birds eye view of the dangers and obstacles involved. It’s a horrifying yet beautiful novel that is so relevant right now.
The author is well qualified to bring us this fictional, yet realistic story, as she spent time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF supported refugee centre in Athens.
Don’t miss this haunting , heartbreaking and thought provoking novel - even the simple description of the love and attention Nuri lavished on his beloved bees, is just so moving it’s enough to break your heart.
― Nadia Hashimi, When the Moon is Low
Nuri was a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria, his wife Afra an artist - of course this was before the war that was to tear their lives apart, and in which they suffered the most unbearable loss. In addition, this loss left Afra blind. Prior to the war, they’d lived a simple but happy life among friends and family, people who knew the meaning of the most important thing in life - love.
As things became ever more dangerous, with random killings and beheadings of innocent men, women and children, they had no choice but to leave what was left of their once beautiful city, and the only lives they had ever known. They become one of the many thousands of displaced people - asylum seekers making the dangerous journey across countries and stormy seas, whilst encountering much hatred and prejudice along the way. These people have witnessed unbelievable horrors that have left them grief stricken, broken and traumatised, and, as they begin this mammoth journey to who knows where? they have to believe that they will find a new home somewhere, but it will be a home with rooms empty of those that they loved.
Gosh, what a journey this was, not merely in geographical terms, but in the raw emotions of those involved. The subject of immigration is one that everyone has an opinion on, and The Beekeeper of Aleppo takes you behind the news headlines, giving a birds eye view of the dangers and obstacles involved. It’s a horrifying yet beautiful novel that is so relevant right now.
The author is well qualified to bring us this fictional, yet realistic story, as she spent time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF supported refugee centre in Athens.
Don’t miss this haunting , heartbreaking and thought provoking novel - even the simple description of the love and attention Nuri lavished on his beloved bees, is just so moving it’s enough to break your heart.