Songbirds: The triumphant follow-up to the million copy bestseller, The Beekeeper of Aleppo
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-16 00:53:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Christy Lefteri
- ISBN：1786580853
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Summary
Author of THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO Christy Lefteri's SONGBIRDS， about a Nepali domestic worker living on the island of Cyprus who goes missing and her employer who tries to unravel her disappearance， finding herself embroiled in the deeper truths of modern slavery and colliding with a former park rancher caught up in the illegal poaching of migratory songbirds from Africa， bringing together timely themes of flight and entrapment， to Andra Miller at Ballantine。
Reviews
Choc Rebel
，
One can get trapped in life while looking for freedom。 This heartwrenching story is mainly about the different traps life has to offer。Nisha got trapped in an exploiting situation as a domestic migrant worker in Cyprus。 A difficult situation that is impossible to end as her family depends on her。Yiannis accepted to help his friend illegally poach birds。 A deal that he knows he can't get out of anymore without danger。 Petra is imprisoned in life by grief over her husband， making her living on aut One can get trapped in life while looking for freedom。 This heartwrenching story is mainly about the different traps life has to offer。Nisha got trapped in an exploiting situation as a domestic migrant worker in Cyprus。 A difficult situation that is impossible to end as her family depends on her。Yiannis accepted to help his friend illegally poach birds。 A deal that he knows he can't get out of anymore without danger。 Petra is imprisoned in life by grief over her husband， making her living on automatic pilot rather than enjoying life with her daughter until her maid Nisha mysteriously disappears。 Petra and Yiannis have to open their eyes and look for this very kind woman themselves， as the police just will not。Did they really know Nisha？ Do people see the persons behind the immigrant workers？It's a poignant story that holds a magnifying glass to abhorrent practices and hints we can all do much better。Sadly， this is not just fiction， as the story is based on incidents of the disappearance of domestic workers in Cyprus。 It is a slow read with more focus on the relevant issues than on the story itself， making it harder to feel emotionally attached to the characters， but that was in The Beekeeper of Allepo the same way。 Content warnings: miscarriage and distinct and cruel descriptions of poaching birds。 。。。more
Mo Austin
，
This is a difficult read and like the Beekeeper of Aleppo， it left me feeling angry and frustrated at our society。 Beautifully written and painfully descriptive， it tells the story of a migrant worker from the perspective of those whose lives she touched。
Pani Tau
，
Príbeh nám striedavo rozpráva Nišina zamestnávateľka Petra a Nišin priateľ Jannis， ktorý ju miloval。 V okamihu， keď nám príbeh rozprávajú， Niša už nežije a my ju tak spoznávame len prostredníctvom ich spomienok。 V spomienkach je totiž táto láskavá a múdra žena ešte stále nažive a obom veľmi chýba。 Viac než čokoľvek si želajú， aby sa im vrátila。Počas knihy som Nišu stále spoznávala a čím viac som o nej vedela， tým viac mi chýbala， pretože aj ja som ju postupne začínala milovať a obdivovať。 Tiež s Príbeh nám striedavo rozpráva Nišina zamestnávateľka Petra a Nišin priateľ Jannis， ktorý ju miloval。 V okamihu， keď nám príbeh rozprávajú， Niša už nežije a my ju tak spoznávame len prostredníctvom ich spomienok。 V spomienkach je totiž táto láskavá a múdra žena ešte stále nažive a obom veľmi chýba。 Viac než čokoľvek si želajú， aby sa im vrátila。Počas knihy som Nišu stále spoznávala a čím viac som o nej vedela， tým viac mi chýbala， pretože aj ja som ju postupne začínala milovať a obdivovať。 Tiež som si priala， aby sa nakoniec objavila živá a zdravá， aj keď som vedela， že je to nemožné。 Autorke sa podarilo vytvoriť puto medzi čitateľom a Nišou。 Pocit， že je mi blízka。 Neviem， vám opísať， aká je kniha nádherná。Autorka sa dotýka témy cudzincov， ktorí pracujú na Cypre a dúfajú v lepší život， namiesto toho sa však častokrát dostávajú do zložitých a nepríjemných situácií， bez možnosti vrátiť sa domov。 Ľudia sa na nich dívajú cez prsty， neuvedomujúc si， že aj oni sú osobnosti， so snami a nádejmi， láskou v srdci a všetkým ostatným， čo je človeku vlastné。Najväčšmi sa mi páčili pasáže， ktoré rozprával Jannis， keď na Nišu spomínal。 Z jeho spomienok na ich rozhovory a spoločne strávené chvíle bolo viac než jasné， že ju miloval。 Veľmi Nišu ľúbil a kričalo to z každej spomienky， čo na ňu mal。 Vždy som mala v očiach slzy， keď o Niši rozprával Jannis。O podobných témach nečítam， ale toto nebol príbeh o migrantoch， ale len a len o Niši a o prázdne， ktoré po sebe zanechala， keď niekto kruto ukončil jej život。 O prázdne v srdciach tých， ktorí ju milovali。 O tom， ako ďaleko siaha vplyv dobrého človeka a akú stopu v nás zanechá。 。。。more
Boktyckaren Carita
，
Upprörande！🦜220613🦜Nisha har lämnat sitt hemland och sin familj för att arbeta som hushållerska åt Petra på Cypern。 Det är mycket arbete med långa dagar， men hon har haft tur som har en snäll arbetsgivare。 🦜Nisha har faktiskt förälskat sig i Yiannis， som hyr lägenheten ovanför Petra， och drömmer om ett annorlunda liv tillsammans med honom。 Men en söndag， efter en utflykt tillsammans med Petra och hennes dotter， är plötsligt Nisha försvunnen。 Polisen gör inget och det blir upp till Petra och Yian Upprörande！🦜220613🦜Nisha har lämnat sitt hemland och sin familj för att arbeta som hushållerska åt Petra på Cypern。 Det är mycket arbete med långa dagar， men hon har haft tur som har en snäll arbetsgivare。 🦜Nisha har faktiskt förälskat sig i Yiannis， som hyr lägenheten ovanför Petra， och drömmer om ett annorlunda liv tillsammans med honom。 Men en söndag， efter en utflykt tillsammans med Petra och hennes dotter， är plötsligt Nisha försvunnen。 Polisen gör inget och det blir upp till Petra och Yiannis att söka sanningen om vad som har hänt。 🦜Det var inte förrän jag läste efterordet som jag verkligen fattade tycke för denna bok。 Kopplingen till verkligheten för utländska hushållsarbetare och deras tillvaro på Cypern gör mig upprörd och ledsen。 Att det får gå till så här i världen i dag！！！ Detta var första boken jag läst av författaren， men nu vill jag även läsa ”Biodlaren från Aleppo”。 🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜av 5 🦜#sångfåglar @lefterichristy @bokforlagetnona @storytelsverige #ljudbok @hannafredekman #caritasläsning2022 #45 。。。more
Julia - Bookishlyfalling
，
Sångfåglar var en långsam bok。 Jag läste ungefär hälften av boken innan jag kände att boken rörde sig framåt。 Jag fastnade inte riktigt för någon av karaktärerna， de kändes avlägsna på något sätt。 Även om jag inte fastnade för karaktärerna så tyckte jag om dem。 Jag tyckte synd om dem， alla bar på något som gjorde ont i hjärtat。 Jag kände mig sorgsen och uppriven under hela bokens gång。 Försvinnandet av Nisha påverkade många men det kändes ändå som att det tog lång tid innan någon reagerade på at Sångfåglar var en långsam bok。 Jag läste ungefär hälften av boken innan jag kände att boken rörde sig framåt。 Jag fastnade inte riktigt för någon av karaktärerna， de kändes avlägsna på något sätt。 Även om jag inte fastnade för karaktärerna så tyckte jag om dem。 Jag tyckte synd om dem， alla bar på något som gjorde ont i hjärtat。 Jag kände mig sorgsen och uppriven under hela bokens gång。 Försvinnandet av Nisha påverkade många men det kändes ändå som att det tog lång tid innan någon reagerade på att hon var borta， och tog det på allvar。Boken har ett viktigt budskap。 Alla människor borde vara lika mycket värda。 Glöm stereotyperna。 Många människor gör allt de kan för sina familjer även om det innebär att inte kunna vara med dem。 。。。more
Anne G
，
I have just finished reading this Christy Lefteri novel having previously read The Beekeeper of Alepppo。 I cannot recommend Songbirds highly enough to any reader who enjoys a wonderfully told story which， although a work of fiction， is inspired by real - life situations。 The plight of domestic workers， thousands of kilometres away from their homelands， toiling away in many cases for little reward and who are invisible to their employers and local communities is at the heart of this story。 It's s I have just finished reading this Christy Lefteri novel having previously read The Beekeeper of Alepppo。 I cannot recommend Songbirds highly enough to any reader who enjoys a wonderfully told story which， although a work of fiction， is inspired by real - life situations。 The plight of domestic workers， thousands of kilometres away from their homelands， toiling away in many cases for little reward and who are invisible to their employers and local communities is at the heart of this story。 It's sad but at the same time uplifting。 。。。more
Rohan Denton
，
3。5*。 It just wasn’t as good as the beekeeper of Aleppo， but was pretty eye opening to the systemic racism in Cyprus。
Marije
，
Aanrader！！
Ethan
，
A tale of the missed and love。 Songbirds is a beautiful book that follows these two themes。 While still having so so soooo much depth。 This book brings up very important issues， One being how song birds although fray and fragile are illegally poached， they sing there songs of hopelessness when they are faced with death。 Two how foreign woman have to work domestically with very little choice being disgustingly mistreated due to there race and gender。 The book makes sure these ideas are reinforced A tale of the missed and love。 Songbirds is a beautiful book that follows these two themes。 While still having so so soooo much depth。 This book brings up very important issues， One being how song birds although fray and fragile are illegally poached， they sing there songs of hopelessness when they are faced with death。 Two how foreign woman have to work domestically with very little choice being disgustingly mistreated due to there race and gender。 The book makes sure these ideas are reinforced in are head， through very strong yet powerful imagery repeatedly which could stur away any sensitive readers。 The plot is about a woman who is one of these domestic workers in Cyprus in order to send money to her daughter in Sr Lanka; she disappears。 The police do not search for her because she is “foreign” 。 Her neighbour who is deeply in love with her is in a trance of fear and shock worried about what could be。 But our new 2nd protagonist is the woman’s boss who decides to investigate herself。 Christy Lefteri has some utterly amazing imagery and this book was not one I thought I would enjoy at all。 But i do because of her fantastic and sometimes brutal hard to read writing。 I liked it a lot。4/5 。。。more
Mrs L Tuck
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If it wasn't this month's choice for my book club I would not have put myself through finishing this。 I found the description of poaching birds excessive and distressing， also unnecessary having made it to the end since it didn't really have anything to do with Nishas death。 I'm in the minority since others seem to love this book but it wasn't for me I'm afraid。 If it wasn't this month's choice for my book club I would not have put myself through finishing this。 I found the description of poaching birds excessive and distressing， also unnecessary having made it to the end since it didn't really have anything to do with Nishas death。 I'm in the minority since others seem to love this book but it wasn't for me I'm afraid。 。。。more
Vanessa Herbaux
，
un monde méconnu ， découvert suite à une disparition。。。celui des femmes qui quittent leur famille ， leur pays pour gagner leur vie，mais surtout offrir un avenir à leur famille restée dans un pays sans perspective。。。。toutes ces inconnues ， ces anonymes。。。qui restent avant tout des êtres humains
phoenix
，
ANOTHER MASTERPIECE BY WRITER-QUEEN CHRISTY LEFTERI
Misha Herwin
，
Beautifully written and very sad。
Mark Hancock
，
A slow start， but a good build-up to its tragic conclusion。The author holds the narrative together well， despite the modish use of multiple narrators。Occasionally a little florid in tone for me， but some evocative writing， too。I think this will provide many discussion points for my book group。
Louise Donegan
，
Beautifully unique and incredibly sad， Lefteri makes the unseen seen。 I loved how the natural beauty of Cyprus was brought to life and became the backdrop for the characters all fighting their public and private struggles。
Tanya Arthur
，
Listened on Borrow Box
Lienkie Vogel
，
4，5 🌟
PETRONELA ATOMEI
，
Dupa moartea sotului de cancer， Petra ramane singura sa se descurce cu fiica ei si cu o gospodarie mare。Astfel ajunge sa o angajeze pe Nisha， menajera din Sri Lanka。Nisha va fi parte din familia Petrei， astfel ca atunci cand ea dispare， Petra nu se lasa pana nu afla motivul pentru care Nisha a plecat。Zboruri frante este o poveste despre migratie si despre trecerea granitelor， despre cautarea libertatii， a unei vieti mai bune， doar pentru a te trezi prins in capcana。O carte pe care am citit。o far Dupa moartea sotului de cancer， Petra ramane singura sa se descurce cu fiica ei si cu o gospodarie mare。Astfel ajunge sa o angajeze pe Nisha， menajera din Sri Lanka。Nisha va fi parte din familia Petrei， astfel ca atunci cand ea dispare， Petra nu se lasa pana nu afla motivul pentru care Nisha a plecat。Zboruri frante este o poveste despre migratie si despre trecerea granitelor， despre cautarea libertatii， a unei vieti mai bune， doar pentru a te trezi prins in capcana。O carte pe care am citit。o fara sa o las din mana。Dupa ce am citit APICULTORUL DIN ALEP， aceasta carte m。a fermecat cu coperta ei。Lectura placuta， merita！ 。。。more
Louise
，
A beautiful yet heartbreaking book about the disappearance of Nisha a maid/nanny who left her own family in Sri Lanka and move to Nicosia in order to give them a better life。 When Nisha vanishes very few people care or are willing to help。 This is a sad reminder that this is the reality for many domestic workers。 PS do read the footnotes！
Fenella Harrison
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It is impossible not to find this book as beautiful as it is heartbreaking。 The struggle of the migrant workers is reflected through the poaching of the delicate songbirds and highlights the sadness throughout the story。 The heart of this book beats with a mothers love。 The love of Nisha with her own daughter Kumari who she left behind in Sri Lanka， the love of Nisha with her employees child she has raised for 10 years and the love Petra learns to share with her daughter Aliki through their shar It is impossible not to find this book as beautiful as it is heartbreaking。 The struggle of the migrant workers is reflected through the poaching of the delicate songbirds and highlights the sadness throughout the story。 The heart of this book beats with a mothers love。 The love of Nisha with her own daughter Kumari who she left behind in Sri Lanka， the love of Nisha with her employees child she has raised for 10 years and the love Petra learns to share with her daughter Aliki through their shared loss。 As we follow all the characters in their own words they all share the same adoration for Nisha。 It is not until the final chapters when her sorrowful fate is revealed that we see in full the affect she has had on each of their lives。 This novel is inspired by true events when 5 migrant women went missing in Cyprus and is emotionally described in the note by Christy Lefteri， who herself is the daughter of a Cypriot refugee， at the end of the book。 。。。more
Pat Stearman
，
Very interesting insight into a world I knew nothing about。 Modern slavery in Cyprus。。The hunting of songbirds as a metaphor as much as an occupation。 Sometimes a bit too much symbolism but good characters。 Not an easy read of course。 As a reader of crime novels the solution of the central disappearance was rather flat but this isn't detective fiction。 Very interesting insight into a world I knew nothing about。 Modern slavery in Cyprus。。The hunting of songbirds as a metaphor as much as an occupation。 Sometimes a bit too much symbolism but good characters。 Not an easy read of course。 As a reader of crime novels the solution of the central disappearance was rather flat but this isn't detective fiction。 。。。more
Oceantide74
，
A good book but heartbreaking。
Denisa Tomíková
，
Kniha je rozhodne pre milovníka príbehov aj spoločenskej beletrie。 Keď si knihu kúpiš， môžeš čakať záhadé rozprávanie， mnoho emócií， poukázanie na fungovanie （alebo nefungovanie） štátu či nazretie do mnohých ľudských trápení。 V tejto knihe nájdeš príbeh o láske， nádeji， strate aj o pokazených životoch。 Príbeh nie je len o Niši。 Príbeh je o mnohých ďalších ľuďoch， ktorých spoznáš počas čítania。Štýl písania autorky mi veľmi sedí a táto kniha si našla zaslúžené miesto v mojej knižnici。 Štýl písania Kniha je rozhodne pre milovníka príbehov aj spoločenskej beletrie。 Keď si knihu kúpiš， môžeš čakať záhadé rozprávanie， mnoho emócií， poukázanie na fungovanie （alebo nefungovanie） štátu či nazretie do mnohých ľudských trápení。 V tejto knihe nájdeš príbeh o láske， nádeji， strate aj o pokazených životoch。 Príbeh nie je len o Niši。 Príbeh je o mnohých ďalších ľuďoch， ktorých spoznáš počas čítania。Štýl písania autorky mi veľmi sedí a táto kniha si našla zaslúžené miesto v mojej knižnici。 Štýl písania autorky mi veľmi sedí a táto kniha si našla zaslúžené miesto v mojej knižnici。Rozhodne si chcem od autorky prečítať aj predchádzajúcu knihu „Včelár z Aleppa“。 。。。more
Sue
，
Deciding to read this after loving The Beekeeper of Aleppo was a bit of a gamble - could her second book possibly be as good？ The short answer is - yes！There is something about the author's style of writing that， despite the subject matter， I find soothing。 It seems to glide along， carrying you with it。Loved the way everyone's back story was carefully woven into the tale to enhance our understanding of who and why。 The awakening of Petra to the plight of Nisha and her fellow domestics， which als Deciding to read this after loving The Beekeeper of Aleppo was a bit of a gamble - could her second book possibly be as good？ The short answer is - yes！There is something about the author's style of writing that， despite the subject matter， I find soothing。 It seems to glide along， carrying you with it。Loved the way everyone's back story was carefully woven into the tale to enhance our understanding of who and why。 The awakening of Petra to the plight of Nisha and her fellow domestics， which also changed her attitude to her daughter and her neighbour （shades of a Man called Ove？） was touching。Nisha's end was inevitable， but that didn't stop this being a tale of hope and redemption。 。。。more
Laura Forster
，
Would have given this a 4。5 if I could - a really thought-provoking， sad story。 Although I didn't enjoy as much as her previous， The Beekeeper of Aleppo Would have given this a 4。5 if I could - a really thought-provoking， sad story。 Although I didn't enjoy as much as her previous， The Beekeeper of Aleppo 。。。more
Lisa
，
This book is beautifully written。 I love the parallels drawn between the beauty， richness and fragility of migrant songbirds and migrant workers。 The characters were all completely three dimensional and believable。 I cried。
Mia
，
Vackert skrivet om människors olika villkor， om kärlek och fördomar。
Jo Cox-Brown
，
I didn't really gel with this book or the characters in it， it was a slow read， with a typical and predictable ending， which I know is a strange thing to say for a true story， but i think the writer could have done a lot more to build empathy with the characters。 I didn't really gel with this book or the characters in it， it was a slow read， with a typical and predictable ending， which I know is a strange thing to say for a true story， but i think the writer could have done a lot more to build empathy with the characters。 。。。more
Tracey Harriman
，
One of the most beautifully written stories I have read。Devastatingly sad， even more so knowing the story was inspired by true events。
Jane C
，