Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

74 reviews

__adrianwalker's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

2.5

To many religious inaccuracies for a book that so heavily centers around religion as a motivator for characters—strange hyper fixation on women's hair and taking of a hijab, linguistic mistakes, misattributions to the Quran.

The story's conclusion also felt very unsatisfying at the end, the entire book built up to an ambiguous ending that was morally grey at best, with no real resolution for any of the main character's conflicts (internal or external).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Minor: Rape and Islamophobia

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

cursedkirst's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and War

Moderate: Rape and Violence

arayo's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Murder, and Violence

issy_jacob's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, War, Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Deportation, and Rape

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

the story was good, and i really appreciated the afterword that explained the backstory to the author writing it. however, the plot didn’t feel fully developed. it was definitely still good though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Child death, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Rape, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

acatmother's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautifully written book that is heart wrenching and powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Drug use and Self harm

oofsharkz73's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

there is nothing to not like about this book. it's powerful. definitely a must read. lefteri did an amazing job of invoking emotion and putting things into perspective with this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, War, Violence, Rape, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense 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

4.25

Don't read this book unless you're feeling strong enough. It is incredibly traumatic, with a lot of death, violence, children being abducted and killed. I feel that I learnt a lot from the story within and I believe that if everyone read this, those seeking asylum would be treated very differently. The story was beautifully written, but is a very hard read emotionally (& that's just reading it, never mind living it...)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Child death, and War

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

midnightcxreal's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Trafficking, War, and Grief