71. The Beekeeper of Aleppo

In honour of National Reading Group Day and World Refugee Day, we discuss The Beekeeper of Aleppo, the bestselling novel by Christy Lefteri.  It’s a heartrending and important novel. The story of Nuri and Afra, a devastated couple forced to flee their home in Aleppo in the hopes of reaching safety in the UK. Harrowing and haunting, it’s a must read. But did it make for a good discussion book? Is there any hope amid the heartbreak? Listen in to find out. We sat down to discuss it with special guest and fellow podcast host Anna Baillie Karas of Books on the Go. * If you’d like to be more involved, Christy Lefteri suggests at the end of her book that you seek out the following organisations: Open Cultural Centre, an NGO and education project in northern Greece Faros (The Lighthouse), a Christian non-profit providing humanitarian care in Athens Salusbury World, a charity supporting refugees in the UK. The Buzz Project, a Yorkshire charity founded by the Syrian apiarist Professor Ryad Alsous. * Books mentioned in this episode: The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri No Friend but the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan Disoriental by Negar Djavadi I Will Never See the World Again by Ahmet Altan What Is The What by Dave Eggers Cleanness by Garth Greenwell How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang The Nickel Boys and Zone One by Colson Whitehead Simon the Fiddler and The News of the World by Paulette Jiles Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke Au Revoir, Tristesse by Viv Groskop * Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReviewPodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod, or email [email protected].  Subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode. And if you like what we do please take a moment to rate and review us. It helps other listeners find us.