Tag: Book Review

Miscellaneous

Why the Beekeeper of Aleppo may be the most important book you read in 2019

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2010: President Bashar Al Assad succeeds his father as ruler. 2011: Peaceful protests and opposition groups are met with violent crackdowns by Syrian security forces. 2012: As the Syrian government commit war crimes, refugees overwhelm temporary camps at the Lebanon and Jordan border. 2013: Syrian refugees increase from 1 million to 2 million as President Assad is accused of chemical attacks. 2014: A humanitarian crisis emerges as 3 million Syrian refugees seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries and 100,000 have reached Europe. 2015: Europe retracts from humanitarian duties as demand thickens, with Hungary closing its border and the World Food Programme cuts rations to refugees with a funding shortfall; one million refugees reach Greece. 2016: Years of war takes its toll on Syria, the US and Russia negotiate a ceasefire to send aid to hard to reach populations; ten of thousands of refugees are trapped in a No Man’s Land as Jordan closes its border; civilians are caught in the crossfire as Syria retakes Aleppo from rebels. 2017: Over 5 million have fled Syria and at the G20 conference a ceasefire for south-west Syria is brokered. 2018: Nevertheless, fighting continues and more than 2.9 million cannot regularly be sent aid due to their difficult position. 2019: Syrians undergo new hardships as a bad winter batters camps at Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey; and increased conflict in northwest Syria destroys healthcare facilities and displaces a further 100,000 people.

We’re all familiar with the story. But what we are most familiar with is the fear, the anger and the public stirrings of discontent. The word ‘migrant’ has been a powerful political spark in recent Populist movements. Therefore, Christy Lefteri’s 2019 ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ comes at a time when we should be reminded of the need for humanity; compassion.

Lefteri uses her experiences as a volunteer at a UNICEF-supported refugee camp at Athens to craft this heart-wrenching story of Nuri and Afra: a normal, easy-living couple who have their family torn apart. We see them battle to keep hope, and to love again as adversity is thrown at them from all angles. Nuri’s protagonist perspective celebrates all the reasons why we should care about Syrian refugees. It dispels all the negatives tossed at us over the past five years. This book strips back the headlines and shows everyone the truthful hardships migrants are almost silently battling against. We suffer with Nuri, and we are allowed to care about him.

I listened to this book on audible, taking in the beautiful voice of Art Malik, as I was sorting through and organising Roman animal bones. Looking back through time, it really reinforced how connected we once were to the East. And now how far away it is considered today.

So if you are looking to have a story stick with you, to learn some compassion, and to see the world through another lens: I’d advise you to pick up ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’.

creative writing

Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret?

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Sophie Kinsella’s 2003 ‘stand-alone’ novel ‘Can You Keep a Secret?‘ recently caught my eye. Between the hectic storm of day to day life, in the moments where I can put my feet up, I have been absorbed in Emma’s relatable life of humorous disaster.

Emma, the protagonist, is character you can sympathise with. Even 16 years later. Between her whirlwind life of awkward moments, difficult career path and her heart-wrenchingly dysfunctional family life, Emma is a timeless character the modern young woman will recognise. She is full of good intentions that circumstance always seems to twist and turn into little white lies. So when Emma unintentionally spills out all her secrets to her top boss, her world is thrown upside down.

Jack, the romantic masculine character with a vast fortunate, perhaps too soon seems to be the answer to all of Emma’s problems. Inevitably, today’s feminist critique of literature would be very sceptical of this. However a large part of Emma is a strong and confident woman. She feels confident enough to speak up for the inequalities between them, and even her two other flatmates encourage her to recognise her rights. Instead, Jack has walked out of a Jane Austen novel and chosen to pop into 2003. He is thoughtful, well-intentioned and meaningful; His millions are almost invisible.

When life gives you lemons – lie?

Whilst somewhat predictable, with points where I screamed for Emma to speak up for herself, Kinsella’s book was funny, satisfying and a downright pleasure to read. Even though the book has aged well, imagining 2003 flip phones, crazy hair dos and 00’s clothes (pink crochet!?) was a comforting blast from the past (particularly as we approach 2020!).

Verdict? A definite recommendation for my friends. Kinsella certainly came through on the humour/’chick-flit’/contemporary romance front. Crucially, she has created something both timeless and nostalgic, before the age of Tinder and a Google search engine to pour your woes into. It raises a moral questioning of why we lie; provoking the idea that we should be brave and transform our lives for the better, like Emma, and step forth into an honest world. A strong 7/10.

creative writing

The Poison Bed: Book Review

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Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust,

Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust. –The Duchess of Malfi

Love, politics, truth and lies: E.C. Fremantle’s newly released book ‘The Poison Bed’ is ravelled around the secretive nature of the 1615 Jacobean court. Frances, from the old and prestigious Howard family, has been raised to survive the politics of power. Robert, her husband, has the influence and trust of the king. So as the story unfurls the backlash of stepping too close the flame of King James, the stakes of the couple’s lives get higher. They are accused of murder and someone will pay the price.

‘Love, Politics, Truth and Lies’

At first sceptical of a fictional historical book, my doubts were soon ridiculed as Fremantle takes you by the hand and introduces you through life under James I and VI like you have never seen it before. Following the recent troupe of opening the female narrative of Early Modern history, Fremantle gives us the spectacular character of Frances. She is strong, the victim of her great-uncle’s survival training. Echoing Philippa Gregory’s eye-opening ‘The White Queen’ series, it is refreshing to see women’s history reaching the fiction shelves. Moreover, Robert’s homosexual character and lucrative relationship with James reaffirms LGBTQ+ history. Fremantle delicately hits a lot of literary considerations, without disrupting the carefully laid out historical aspect of her book.

‘With every page I turned, I found myself becoming more and more glued’

As an English and History BA student, this is something I can really sink my teeth into. With each page I turned, I found myself become more and more glued, the stakes getting higher, and the extent of the threat Frances and Robert are under becoming more increased. It was pleasing that Fremantle nurtures historically accurate, or at least plausible, narrative and provides a satisfying scope of aristocratic life in 1615: unlike the modern twists that somewhat tainted Reign.

With desire, fear, and threat running throughout the increasing tense plot, I feel that we have a lot to learn from this book, Brexit considered. How close dare you stand to flame of power without getting burned?

creative writing

Book Review: The Evidence Against You

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Yesterday the Michael Joseph publishing department at Penguin dropped Gillian McAllister’s The Evidence Against You, a crime thriller. And I was glued from the first page…

The Murder on Hallowe’en 1999 that changed everything…

Izzy English, a restaurant owner, is thirty-six and lives on the Isle of Wight with her husband Nick, a police analyst. Her mother died seventeen years ago and her father, Gabriel, just got released from prison on parole after being convicted for her murder. Gabe immediately finds Izzy at the restaurant, Alexandra’s, which her mother used to run. She has made no attempt to hide, having repressed the murder on Hallowe’en 1999 that changed everything: getting into ballet school, her relationship, her home. She makes little attempt to resist her father getting into contact, and eventually calls and even meets up with him. He has changed almost beyond recognition.

Izzy is stuck in a kind of limbo between the life she had and the life she has settled into. Her husband, Nick, discourages the bond she has formed with her father. Part of her is disbelieving of Gabe, whereas a strong sense of her memories of him gravitate Izzy towards hearing his story. With her indecision, the reader is stretched between the two opposing sides themselves: reminiscent of even Romeo and Juilet.

McAllister forms dynamic and wholly captivating characters who you cannot help but question: means, motives, capability. Without spoiling the ending too much, McAllister’s book is unlike any murder mystery I have read before: you simply cannot guess how the story will end. I found my expectations usually raised by this crime genre to be thoroughly challenged and it really has changed my view of murder mysteries. I was kept on my feet throughout. With no formal detective, Izzy being both a victim and bystander of the tragedy, when the next piece of evidence will come to light is unpredictable. It is a totally refreshing mystery. McAllister masterfully keeps the reader both in the dark and invites them on a thoroughly personal and thought-provoking tour of the effects of tragedy. Death frequently capturing the audience’s imagination, I think McAllister successfully challenges this femme fatale ideal in a vibrant and exciting way.

In all, it is refreshing to read a strong and unashamedly female narrative that is challenging, tragic but completely fun all at once. The novel entices the reader in with beautifully formed characters and threatens everything with a subtle tension urging you to turn page after page. In all, I cannot recommend this book enough to you, I was simply glued from page one.