Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape.

As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all - and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face - they must journey to find each other again.

Moving, powerful, compassionate and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling.

“With the first sentence, we enter a world too visible for the protagonists who can’t, nevertheless, turn away. The Beekeeper of Aleppo demands that we contemplate the way we humans process the horror around us, the senseless violence, the loss of what we hold dearest.”- Esmeralda Santiago, Aspen Words Literary Prize head judge

“Beekeeper Nuri and his wife, Afra, are devastated by the Syrian civil war. After violence claims their child and Afra’s eyesight, the couple is forced to flee Aleppo and make the fraught journey to Britain—and an uncertain future.” - USA Today (5 Books Not to Miss)

“A haunting and resonant story of Syrian war refugees undertaking a treacherous journey . . . Readers will find this deeply affecting for both its psychological intensity and emotional acuity.”- Publishers Weekly

‘A redemptive tale of hope in the midst of shocking adversit’y, Irish Independent

‘A book of darkness and light, of horrors and hope, and of the true power of the human spirit’, Culturefly

‘Christy Lefteri has crafted a beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant. I'm recommending this book to everyone I care about. So, I'm recommending this book to you’, Benjamin Zephaniah

‘Heartbreaking at times, this story of fear, loss and survival gives an emotionally charged insight into what life is like for refugees facing the depravity of predators and needing the compassion of strangers’, Candis Magazine

‘She has created a convincing and harrowing novel about the will to survive- and the enduring power of love’, Sunday Mirror

‘In The Beekeeper she has created an utterly convincing and harrowing novel about the will to survive and the enduring power of love’, Sunday People

‘This book is haunting, heart breaking, eye opening, thought provoking and brilliant’, Lipsquid Book Blog

‘I have not read anything this haunting and moving since The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini. This book will stay with me for a long time’, Brown Flopsy Blogspot

‘This is a beautiful story of hope, an important tale of devastation, and a cry for compassion and action’, Rebecca's Rave Reviews

‘Honestly, The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri is stunning because it has everything I wanted and more in it’, Romantics, Rebels and Reviews

“[Christy] Lefteri sensitively charts what it’s like when war comes home, alert to the subtle effects of trauma and grief. Nuri and Afra are not broadly sketched as victims, but rather suffer in different and complex ways from PTSD. . . . By creating characters with such rich, complex inner lives, Lefteri shows that in order to stretch compassion to millions of people, it helps to begin with one.”- Time


“In recounting the daily brutality as well as the glimmers of beauty, this novel humanizes the terrifying refugee stories we read about in the news. Lefteri explores questions of trust and portrays what trauma and loss can do to individuals and their relationships. . . . A beautiful rumination on seeing what is right in front of us—both the negative and the positive.” - The Boston Globe (Pick of the Week)

“Great for book club . . . a powerful story about the refugee experience, hope, and love.” - Real Simple

“Nuri's story rings with authenticity, from the vast, impersonal cruelties of war to the tiny kindnesses that help people survive it. . . . A well-crafted structure and a troubled but engaging narrator power this moving story of Syrian refugees.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In fluid, forthright language, Lefteri brings us humbly closer to the refugee experience as beekeeper Nuri and his wife, an artist named Afra who has gone blind form the horrors she’s witnessed, escape Aleppo and travel dangerously to Great Britain. . . . There’s no overloading the deck with drama; this story tells itself, absorbingly and heartrendingly.”  - Library Journal