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A review by dejnozkova
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
This was a truly intimate novel, about not only the dangers that Syrian refugees have had to face, but also the grief that accompanies them and the hope that gets them through. I truly appreciate the close focus on the characters and being able to observe their changes in personality and how they cope with trauma. While the story is being told to us from the eyes of Nuri, we get a very vulnerable picture of his wife Afra as well.
Lefteri portrays the emotions and the mental states of her characters with much care and attention. You can feel what the characters are feeling without even being told explicitly what is happening to them. And I love how much of this novel focuses on mental illness and grief and the path to recovery. How Afra learns to manage and accept blindness, and allows herself to grieve. How Nuri compartmentalizes his pain in an attempt to remain strong, and how his PTSD alters his reality. How when both of these characters find safety they can begin to heal from the damage.
I just really love books that focus heavily on the characters and open up on a more emotionally vulnerable level, and especially with topics as dark as wars and displacement, to also see the characters triumph and heal. So for as depressing as the overarching plot may be, this book is very soft and hopeful.
Lefteri portrays the emotions and the mental states of her characters with much care and attention. You can feel what the characters are feeling without even being told explicitly what is happening to them. And I love how much of this novel focuses on mental illness and grief and the path to recovery. How Afra learns to manage and accept blindness, and allows herself to grieve. How Nuri compartmentalizes his pain in an attempt to remain strong, and how his PTSD alters his reality. How when both of these characters find safety they can begin to heal from the damage.
I just really love books that focus heavily on the characters and open up on a more emotionally vulnerable level, and especially with topics as dark as wars and displacement, to also see the characters triumph and heal. So for as depressing as the overarching plot may be, this book is very soft and hopeful.