Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

42 reviews

oftalone90's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

An increasingly relevant story, interestingly told. Each chapter is split into two times, joined by a single word. This book is well written and demonstrates the futility of war and the horrors of fleeing a homeland to seek asylum. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Child death, and Mental illness

amyvl93's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I definitely went into The Beekeeper of Aleppo with some unjustified snobbery, and I'm now eating some humble pie, as I found this book to be incredibly moving and an excellent portrayal of the refugee experience.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo follows the journey of Nuri and Afra as they attempt to journey from war-torn Aleppo in Syria, to join their family in relative safety in the North of England, where they have found comfort teaching beekeeping to fellow refugees. Lefteri draws a heartbreaking portrayal of Aleppo, as Afra in particular struggles to leave their home and the place they have experienced unimaginable loss - but this portrayal becomes all the more challenging as we begin to follow the couple through Turkey and into Greece. The novel shines a brutal light on the desperate refugee experience, on the constraints related to safe routes and those who benefit from the desperation of fellow humans to reach a place of safety. Lefteri also shows the reality of the asylum process for people when they arrive in England, which is far from the gold-plated, benefit-recieving experience that certain newspapers would have you believe.

Against this, it would be unsurprising if the characters within the novel became mere ciphers for Lefteri to get her points across - but this is not the case. All the people that Nuri and Afra meet are given human complexity - as do Nuri and Afra as they struggle to adapt to a life having seen and lived the things they have.

Some of the imagery and metaphor used in the novel was a little too on the nose for me, but overall I really enjoyed and appreciated The Beekeeper of Aleppo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Murder, and War

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Self harm, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

Minor: Deportation

sadiaa's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Grief, Death, War, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Self harm, Medical content, Drug use, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, Death, Violence, Mental illness, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Deportation

saramoser's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

This book is a heartbreaking tale of Syria refugees and their travels to the UK. The story shows how PTSD affects everyone differently, but tells the extremely sad but hopeful tale of Nuri and Afra and the extremely difficult and long journey they had to take to escape their war stricken, brutal and dangerous country and find safety. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, War, Rape, Mental illness, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, and Murder

sumisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A deeply moving book that'll stay on my mind for quite some time. I liked how we're able to see the events of the story unfold through Nuri, whose perspective we come to learn isn't always the most reliable. How he loses everything he loves, and is forced to try and start again with his wife who's become a shell herself. A story of broken people trying to become unbroken. That's how I'd summarise the book in a sentence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide

gear3232's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

This is one of those books that feels so real that it makes you feel all of the things the characters are feeling. It draws you in. I love the authors choice to write a bit of the present and a bit of the past in each chapter. It helps us to see so much of how these characters change. All of the terrible things that happen are written in such an open and honest way that makes them and the story even more real. This is the kind of book that you remember for a very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, War, Mental illness, Grief, Genocide, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

rebeccaldixon13's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Rape

emerahl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Violence