Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

8 reviews

honestrabbit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Child death, and Genocide

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

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

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

aaminak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Blood, Child death, War, Kidnapping, Death, Deportation, Drug use, and Mental illness

helliepad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexism

samdalefox's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is an excellent book for people of Western priviledge to read (meaning: a person from a white colonialist country such as the UK, who has not felt the devestation of war within their homeland for many generations). The book was written drawing on the experiences of real-life Syrian refugees that the author was working with abroad. I think the way this book is written serves to be widely-palletable of the target audience described above. The book describes many of the horrors, humiliations, and tragedies Syrian refugees have faced (and continue to face) on their escape from their country, yet it does so in a santised way. This is both a pro, in that the important messages the author is trying to convey reaches a wider audience. But it's also a con; my major disappointment with the story is that it often felt superficial or sanitised. I could tell it wasn't written by someone with first hand experience since it lacked a rawness you hear in people who have survived life-altering trauma.

Why it is a good book for priviledged white European's to read:

• It paint refugees as humans. There is a strong human element throughout the book, describing people in detail and their connections to their family and homeland (exemplified in Mustafa and the apiary).
• Gives an accurate description of the limited choices people are faced with when fleeing war - known violence and death at home, or unknown violence and potential death as you flee.
• It gives an indication of the types of violences and indignities that refugees face (dangerious travel, traffikers, homelessness etc.)
• It gives an excellent indication of trauma related mental illnesses
  through Nuri's depression, insomnia, and PTSD, and Afra's psychosomatic blindness. I was particularly impressed with how the book dealt with Afra's condition.
• It combats a lot of the diabolical mainstream media bollocks we have in England about refugees. The book highlights just how shit a country we are at supporting and welcoming refugees, this is particularly clear through describing the inhumane asylum seekers' process. 

Overall, a story with poignant messages, but a bit too neat and tidy for me personally. I prefer to read non-fiction accounts first hand from refugees. Below is my favourite quote from the book. It emphasises how inherently nature works together for the greater good, and yet us as humans work against that feeling and each other, creating senseless misery and suffering through war.

 "People are not like bees. We do not work together, we have no real sense of a greater good". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and War

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, War, Death, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Trafficking

Humiliation and belittling experience of the UK asylum seeking process.

___puddin's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Genocide, Child death, Blood, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

toomie_12's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I won't lie had to read the opening chapters 2x to understand fully what was going on but this is definitely a book I would recommend to everyone. The way it told the main characters story and how it is a story so many refugees also share made it so saddening. Be prepared!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking