Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

4 reviews

kalyaniwarrier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A fictionalised story, told in a narrative that sounds so close to reality, mentions of grave events in real life that makes one realise the horrors taking place around the world.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a brilliant piece of work that is heavily regarded in temporal distortion as the timelines shift after every chapter. But unlike other works where such skipping of timelines makes the plot difficult to visualise and piece together, Christy Lefteri has done an incredible job in the pacing and sequencing the plot, readers can be gratified by following the plot without having to give thought to the timelines despite the lack of linearity. 

Apart from the various sensitive topics discussed, what one could find most appealing about the novel is the characterisation of Nuri, the protagonist and narrator and his mental health struggles. After losing his son to war, Nuri suffers with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as he tries to distance himself from the trauma he has suffered by making illusions of various sorts to cope with the distress. 

I could not point out flaws as the plot and characterisation of the novel does a wonderful job at portraying the tragedies of violence in an apolitical manner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Child death, Torture, Confinement, and War

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Rape, and Police brutality

Minor: Xenophobia and Child abuse

leoniefnk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The last quarter of the book saves the slow/confusing beginning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, War, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Rape, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

melisayasilem's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Definitely helps you see stuff from a different perspective. I was interested in this book mainly because I wanted to be informed of the struggles of immigrants and people who are forced to flee their country for safety despite their love for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Blood, Confinement, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Self harm

katsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Where there are bees there are flowers, and wherever there are flowers there is new life and hope.”

“But in Syria there is a saying: inside the person you know, there is a person you do not know.”

“Sometimes we create such powerful illusions, so that we do not get lost in the darkness.”

“When you belong to someone and they are gone, who are you?”

This was a beautifully written novel. I really loved the format. Each chapter was split into two timelines and the transition happened literally mid-sentence. It was a super interesting way to format. The beginning of each chapter followed the main character and his wife in their current timeline as refugees seeking asylum in England and the end of every chapter recounted part of their journey from Syria. This story was so heart-breaking and intense. This is one of the few novels that made me genuinely cry. Nuri and Afra's journey was traumatic in so many ways and they way the author explored that was incredibly compelling. In her author's note, she wrote that she sought to answer the question "What does it mean to see?" While Nuri is the narrator, both he and his wife's narratives both explore that question. The novel really looks at what both Nuri and Afra "see" and how it affects their relationship. Afra is blind for most of the story and figuring out what caused her blindness is a major plot point. With Nuri, he sees things that make the reader question if they're real or not. I won't spoil anything but figuring out what Nuri is seeing (and if it is real) is also a major plot point. I found it to be a very interesting theme and I'll be thinking about it for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and War

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Minor: Drug use and Injury/Injury detail