Let's Bust a Recap : The Beekeeper of Aleppo

And so begins my personal campaign to get everyone to forget about The Kite Runner and read Christy Lefteri's The Beekeeper of Aleppo instead. 

(But first, can you spot the actual bees in my little picture over there? We have two of these lovely trees in our yard and they have been positively buzzing this past week.)

Now, back to The Beekeeper of Aleppo. Christy Lefteri's 2019 novel was born of her experience volunteering in Athens at a refugee center over two summers in 2016 and 2017. Born to parents who fled Cyprus after the Turkish invasion in 1974, Lefteri grew up in England knowing something of the devastation wrought by war and death and displacement which was what prompted her to help in Athens and, eventually, to bring The Beekeeper of Aleppo to life. 

In The Beekeeper of Aleppo, we meet Nuri Ibrahim and his wife Afra who have just made it to the UK after fleeing from Syria and are going through the process of applying for asylum. The Syrian civil war has wreaked its havoc in their lives, taking their young son from them, and they have traveled for months trying to make it to the UK to be reunited with Nuri's cousin and business partner Mustafa who has started to rebuild his family's life in England and has even started beekeeping again with the native black bees. In each chapter of the book, Lefteri uses one word to connect their present situation in the UK to the recent past in which we follow them on their journey to get out of Syria and make it all the way to England. With a deft hand, Lefteri paints a haunting picture of the ravages constantly going on throughout the Middle East but with a sensitivity and ultimate hopefulness that kept me turning the pages. The refugee crisis in Europe has been such a huge issue for so much of my adult life that it's overwhelming to even think about it, especially being somewhat removed from it over here in the US. But as TIME magazine insightfully points out in its praise for The Beekeeper of Aleppo, "Lefteri shows that in order to stretch compassion to millions of people, it helps to begin with one." 

To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive when I drew this title out of my TBR jar. I wasn't sure I was ready to be confronted with the reality of the still ongoing Syrian civil war. I wasn't sure how graphic The Beekeeper of Aleppo would be, and I was concerned this novel might throw me into some rough waters emotionally. But Lefteri handled her subject matter with such a gentle and compassionate voice, I found myself drawn into the lives of Nuri and Afra Ibrahim and rooting for their healing. I appreciated how Lefteri hinted at the horrific things they lived through rather than exhaustively detailing them, giving me as a reader the space to process the trauma without inflicting it on me. I also loved the notes and photos from the author included in my edition of this novel showing the time she spent volunteering in the refugee camps in Athens. Really, just a beautifully and exceptionally well written work. I would highly recommend The Beekeeper of Aleppo to anyone. 

Is there a book on your shelf you're hesitant to open because you know you'll be confronted with something difficult?