A review by fsb95
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

A gripping insight into the reality of refugees, with complex characters to fall in love with. The author brings the varied settings to life, perfectly balancing scene-setting and plot progression with the intriguing though often troubled thoughts of the unreliable narrator.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy so much was that the author opted for the flashback, flashforward style of narration, where chapters alternate between the past and the present. I’m not in love with that narrative style at the best of times; but with this book in particular I felt it got in the way of things.

The fictitious nature of Mohammed in particular would have worked much better had the story been fully chronological, because the surreal nature of Nuri’s interactions with an imaginary Mohammed in the “present” made me suspect practically from the get-go that he was never real to begin with.


Overall, though, this book is a page-turner and a must-read for anyone who loves lifelike stories about lives so radically different from our “ordinary”, fortunate lives.
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