sadiaa's review against another edition
4.5
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
nick13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
This novel is truly beautiful and it harnesses that beauty, taking the reader to some of the darkest depths to suffocate them within its pages. The trail for a refugee is rough, tortuous even, and yet no matter how hard the road gets, the characters find some sort of hope to cling on to. Sure, not one of these characters has power, nor even are a hero, but they are so human, so hopeful, that it is impossible for me not to love them more than any hero.
5/5: some of the best characterization, the best portrayal of grief I've ever read, and an impactful story that will make you feel...not great.
5/5: some of the best characterization, the best portrayal of grief I've ever read, and an impactful story that will make you feel...not great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Trafficking
Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual violence
Minor: Self harm
melisayasilem's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.5
Definitely helps you see stuff from a different perspective. I was interested in this book mainly because I wanted to be informed of the struggles of immigrants and people who are forced to flee their country for safety despite their love for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Blood, Confinement, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Self harm
sshelbyyx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and War
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:
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".
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.rosy_carolynne's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape and Self harm
zoebill96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Grief, Sexual assault, War, and Injury/Injury detail
___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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Genocide, Child death, Blood, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
syafiqha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
The Beekeeper of Aleppo start with telling the grieving of Syrian people during war. In fact, almost every page forwards keep written the same thing. War really did suffering people, not only physically but emotion and left them traumatized.
My heart melts every time romantic scene between Nuri & Afra. They are such a sweet, loveable and I can say a realistic couple(?) There is a moment when they laugh and love, then dull part and grief sensations. Both of them handle the grief differently. I thought when the synopsis at the back said: 'journey to find each other back' is they literally need to find each other because when missing but actually is finding their heart back to each other. You can imagine how war affect badly to humans. Not temporary, its permanent and bound to their cells tight.
The journey of Nuri & Afra expose to the reader on how different people suffer their life with self-trauma back stories. From a mother carrying their baby as refugee, a family without a mother and the child keep asking about the mom and a solo souls who loss everything or separate from their loved one.
It is impossible not to be moved. What a heartbreaking storytelling😢. Especially, they are our brothers and sisters from Syria.
Sometimes, the things that you be looking for is not the things as it is. It is a symbolic to something else, stop denying and admit your pain even it's hurt so bad.
The writing structure of The Beekeeper of Aleppo is organised, even it keeps flashing back. By telling the present days first and then, continue with flashback of Nuri & Afra journey. This two situation divided with a border of word. You can see, when the line is hanging out without dot and the next page there have one single word with pattern surround it and continue with the flashback scene next to the page.
In addition, I also love the insertion of Islamic practices likes pray, name of Allah, Quran phrase, Adzan and many more.
My heart melts every time romantic scene between Nuri & Afra. They are such a sweet, loveable and I can say a realistic couple(?) There is a moment when they laugh and love, then dull part and grief sensations. Both of them handle the grief differently. I thought when the synopsis at the back said: 'journey to find each other back' is they literally need to find each other because when missing but actually is finding their heart back to each other. You can imagine how war affect badly to humans. Not temporary, its permanent and bound to their cells tight.
The journey of Nuri & Afra expose to the reader on how different people suffer their life with self-trauma back stories. From a mother carrying their baby as refugee, a family without a mother and the child keep asking about the mom and a solo souls who loss everything or separate from their loved one.
It is impossible not to be moved. What a heartbreaking storytelling😢. Especially, they are our brothers and sisters from Syria.
Sometimes, the things that you be looking for is not the things as it is. It is a symbolic to something else, stop denying and admit your pain even it's hurt so bad.
The writing structure of The Beekeeper of Aleppo is organised, even it keeps flashing back. By telling the present days first and then, continue with flashback of Nuri & Afra journey. This two situation divided with a border of word. You can see, when the line is hanging out without dot and the next page there have one single word with pattern surround it and continue with the flashback scene next to the page.
In addition, I also love the insertion of Islamic practices likes pray, name of Allah, Quran phrase, Adzan and many more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Child death, War, Death, Addiction, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
larns's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Grief, Child death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape