Brought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF-supported refugee center in Athens. She is the author of the novel A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible.
“[Christy] Lefteri sensitively charts what it’s like when war comes
home, alert to the subtle effects of trauma and grief. Nuri and
Afra are not broadly sketched as victims, but rather suffer in
different and complex ways from PTSD. . . . By creating characters
with such rich, complex inner lives, Lefteri shows that in order to
stretch compassion to millions of people, it helps to begin with
one.”—Time
“With the first sentence, we enter a world too visible for the
protagonists who can’t, nevertheless, turn away. The Beekeeper of
Aleppo demands that we contemplate the way we humans process the
horror around us, the senseless violence, the loss of what we hold
dearest.”—Esmeralda Santiago, Aspen Words Literary Prize head
judge
“Beekeeper Nuri and his wife, Afra, are devastated by the Syrian
civil war. After violence claims their child and Afra’s eyesight,
the couple is forced to flee Aleppo and make the fraught journey to
Britain—and an uncertain future.”—USA Today (5 Books Not to
Miss)
“In recounting the daily brutality as well as the glimmers of
beauty, this novel humanizes the terrifying refugee
stories we read about in the news. Lefteri explores questions
of trust and portrays what trauma and loss can do to individuals
and their relationships. . . . A beautiful rumination on
seeing what is right in front of us—both the negative and the
positive.”—The Boston Globe (Pick of the Week)
“Great for book club . . . a powerful story about the refugee
experience, hope, and love.”—Real Simple
“Nuri's story rings with authenticity, from the vast, impersonal
cruelties of war to the tiny kindnesses that help people survive
it. . . . A well-crafted structure and a troubled but engaging
narrator power this moving story of Syrian refugees.”—Kirkus
Reviews (starred review)
“A haunting and resonant story of Syrian war refugees undertaking a
treacherous journey . . . Readers will find this deeply affecting
for both its psychological intensity and emotional
acuity.”—Publishers Weekly
“In fluid, forthright language, Lefteri brings us humbly closer to
the refugee experience as beekeeper Nuri and his wife, an
artist named Afra who has gone blind form the horrors she’s
witnessed, escape Aleppo and travel dangerously to Great Britain. .
. . There’s no overloading the deck with drama; this story
tells itself, absorbingly and heartrendingly.” —Library
Journal
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