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.

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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.

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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

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71. The Beekeeper of Aleppo