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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
Finished reading: July 28th 2024
"Children search in our eyes to discover the world. When they see happiness or joy or love there, then they know that these things exist."
I really enjoyed The Beekeeper Of Aleppo back when I read it in 2021, and after I saw Nicki mention Songbirds I decided to add it to my 20 Books Of Summer TBR. I loved the sound of the Cyprus setting and the disappearance of the maid had me intrigued... The resulting story didn't quite hit the mark like my first experience with her work though. Songbirds is by no means a bad read and I can see why others love it, but there were a couple things that prevented me from fully enjoying it. I did love the many descriptions of the setting; it really made the island come alive and made me wish I could visit myself. The story also briefly travels to Sri Lanka in the form of Nisha's memories, which was a bonus... I also liked how the story shines a light on the issues foreigners have to deal with, and how the story of the missing maids was based on facts. BUT. The story also had a considerably slow pace and nothing much was happening to solve Nisha's disappearance for most of the book. I felt a bit disappointed that instead there was a LOT of focus on the songbird poaching including detailed descriptions of the animal cruelty involved. The scenes at the red lake with the hare were likewise a distraction and not exactly pleasant to read... Especially since it seemingly has nothing to do with the plot. I liked the dual POV, switching between Petra and Yiannis to help learn more about Nisha. Nisha's diary likewise gave some insight... But the fact that neither makes much effort to find Nisha makes you wonder if they really cared about her after all. The ending was both rushed and lackluster, and it felt more like an afterthought rather than a satisfying conclusion to Nisha's disappearance. If you want to try one of her books, I would definitely suggest picking up The Beekeeper Of Aleppo first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
shay_talksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, and Slavery
sarah_eggleton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Beautifully and vividly written, very strong symbolism to paint an important picture
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
coltons1996's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Racism, and Xenophobia
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Songbirds is a book that really captured my attention and my heart. Inspired by real events (which Lefteri explains in her author’s note) this book is a probing examination of the plight of migrant domestic workers. Although set in Cyprus I’m pretty confident it’s themes are internationally applicable.
Nisha, a Sri Lankan national, works as a maid and nanny for Petra, looking after the house and caring for 9 year old Aliki. When she disappears the authorities refuse to investigate so Petra and Yiannis, Petra’s tenant and Nisha’s secret boyfriend, search by themselves and soon discover that Nisha isn’t the only migrant worker who has recently disappeared.
Lefteri did a wonderful job highlighting the conditions faced by migrant domestic workers. We see the derogatory way women talk about their maids, the fact they know little to nothing about those they’ve hired to raise their children, the unnecessarily restrictive labour conditions - having a boyfriend isn’t permitted, the long hours, the heavy agency fees that must be paid back. Women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and the police have little interest in their welfare.
Yiannis earns some of his income from the illegal capture of migrating songbirds, which are considered a culinary delicacy. As a keen birder I appreciated the way this book drew attention to the issue. The graphic details did make for tough reading, however. The parallels between the birds and the migrant workers was clear, the former being an apt metaphor for the latter.
Over the course of the book we built up a fairly comprehensive picture of Nisha, but it is all through the eyes of others. I really appreciated the ending, where we get to hear from Nisha herself, in the form of diary entries to her beloved daughter. Hearing from her directly was a nice counter to the system which attempted to keep migrant domestic workers quiet and anonymous, to depersonalise them.
If I was to find fault it would be the dialogue which felt a little unnatural, possibly too clunky and forced in an effort to ensure the message wasn’t missed. But this is a relatively minor quibble about an otherwise excellent book.
Nisha, a Sri Lankan national, works as a maid and nanny for Petra, looking after the house and caring for 9 year old Aliki. When she disappears the authorities refuse to investigate so Petra and Yiannis, Petra’s tenant and Nisha’s secret boyfriend, search by themselves and soon discover that Nisha isn’t the only migrant worker who has recently disappeared.
Lefteri did a wonderful job highlighting the conditions faced by migrant domestic workers. We see the derogatory way women talk about their maids, the fact they know little to nothing about those they’ve hired to raise their children, the unnecessarily restrictive labour conditions - having a boyfriend isn’t permitted, the long hours, the heavy agency fees that must be paid back. Women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and the police have little interest in their welfare.
Yiannis earns some of his income from the illegal capture of migrating songbirds, which are considered a culinary delicacy. As a keen birder I appreciated the way this book drew attention to the issue. The graphic details did make for tough reading, however. The parallels between the birds and the migrant workers was clear, the former being an apt metaphor for the latter.
Over the course of the book we built up a fairly comprehensive picture of Nisha, but it is all through the eyes of others. I really appreciated the ending, where we get to hear from Nisha herself, in the form of diary entries to her beloved daughter. Hearing from her directly was a nice counter to the system which attempted to keep migrant domestic workers quiet and anonymous, to depersonalise them.
If I was to find fault it would be the dialogue which felt a little unnatural, possibly too clunky and forced in an effort to ensure the message wasn’t missed. But this is a relatively minor quibble about an otherwise excellent book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Racism and Murder
adriennne's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault and Murder