This novel is beautifully written, and painfully sad. It vividly conveys the horrors of the Syrian Civil War, still raging now, and the plight of its refugees, and people from other war-town countries, as they seek to find asylum. The descriptions of pre-war Aleppo feel like photographs of a place we will never be able to visit, because it has been mercilessly destroyed, and all of its beauty and life is gone forever.
As I read it, and followed the saga of Nuri, a beekeeper, and his wife, Afra, a painter, I was fascinated and then ashamed of the way Syria and its citizens have been largely forgotten by so many, including our own leadership in the United States. Sadly though, the story of Syria, an ancient civilization with many centers of learning and art, is not unique. What's happening there has happened over and over again through the course of history, in the Middle East, in Africa and in Europe.
Despite all the sadness and privations of Nuri and Afra's experience, there are also moments of beauty and hopefulness that remind us that we should not give up on humanity, and that there is still goodness and kindness to encourage us to go forward, whatever our personal trials may be. Christy Lefteri's novel is compelling and lyrical reading.
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