A little ray of hope - 5 star

 

Nuri, his wife Afra, and their son Sami are residents in war torn Aleppo. By profession he is a beekeeper and carries out this dedicated vocation with his friend Mustafa. Running through this insightful story is a fond adoration of the daily life of the humble bee, the delicious honey they produce, and their importance in the ecological system. Life is irrevocably changed when a bomb explodes, killing Sami and blinding Afro. As the desperate situation in Syria/Aleppo disintegrates Nuri takes the decision together with his wife to make the perilous journey across Europe and obtain residency in the UK as an asylum seeker, and by so doing join his friend Mustafa who has already established a business in Yorkshire. What follow is not only the hardships of such an endeavour but a story of 2 people deeply traumatised attempting to save a relationship fractured by events in an escalating war...

….”But as the years passed, the dessert was slowly growing, the climate becoming harsh, rivers drying up, farmers struggling, only the bees were drought-resistant. Look at those little warriors Afra would say on the days when she came with Sami to visit the apiaries, a tiny bundle wrapped up in her arms. Look at them still working when everything else is dying”...”Nice to meet you he said...I wish you a day of morning light”....” How many tissues will people need to buy? Maybe this is a city of crying”....”Can you see the bees Nuri? Try to see them in your mind. Hundreds and thousands of them in the sunlight, on the flowers, the hives and the honeycomb. Can you see it?”.....”I am standing away from them by the glass doors, watching them, and I think about the little boy who never existed and how he had filled the black void that Sami had left. Sometimes we create such powerful illusions, so that we do not get lost in the darkness”.....

The beekeeper of Aleppo is a story of suffering and the remarkable ability of the human spirit to survive against a background of war, slaughter and heartache.Provocative, thought provoking prose, make this a story long remembered. Highly recommended.