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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