Songbirds: The powerful novel from the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and The Book of Fire

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Christy Lefteri tells about Nisha's life from the points of view of Petra and Yiannis as they talk to the neighbors and Nisha's maid friends during their search. The book shows the reality of a migrant worker's life, and the slaughter of the migrating songbirds. It's heartbreaking that the songbirds are more protected than the migrating maids and nannies. The book is beautifully written and filled with symbolism. We never hear from Nisha herself, she is always seen through the eyes of others. Even though it’s been nearly two years since I read Christy Lefteri’s award-winning second novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo, one of the things that has continued to stay with me whenever I think of that book is the affecting, haunting nature of the story. While I might not remember every detail of the plot, I do remember the gut-wrenching emotions that the story evoked. I was moved by Nuri’s and Afra’s heartrending story detailing their harrowing journey from war-torn Syria to Great Britain, trying their best to survive as refugees in a foreign and not necessarily welcoming country. Lefteri’s newest work, Songbirds, is written in a similar vein — a poignant, heartbreaking story that centers on foreign domestic workers on the Greek island of Cyprus. Christy Lefteri, writes with an honest, passionate voice—a well researched novel. Lefteri cares about her characters, championing their journeys.

The mastery Lefteri has of telling a story. From the beautiful songbirds who are illegally poached and these precious birds who sing even while being caught in a net and death is upon them; and the foreign women working domestically with little choice but to be there and be treated marginally. This thought-provoking novel of love, loss, and redemption is thoroughly sublime.” —Caroline Montague, author of An Italian AffairFrom the prize-winning author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo comes Songbirds, a stunning novel about the disappearance of a Sri Lankan domestic worker and how the most vulnerable people find their voices. You say, we have to eat, and we have to survive, and yet we must protect our dignity and our identity. There are things we do to achieve those things. But we can respect the land and the animals that are on it. Always be kind to the land, the people, and the animals that are on it. Remember that. It's the most important rule in the world." It is a very beautiful book, full of gorgeous reproductions of Eva’s artwork, and many photographs of Eva which have never before been published. The text is based on extensive interviews with Eva’s family, friends, and musical colleagues. I enthusiastically recommend the book to all Eva Cassidy fans, especially those of you who have been thinking, “I wish I had known her.”

Applicability of cancellation rights: Legal rights of cancellation under the Distance Selling Regulations available for UK or EU consumers do not apply to certain products and services. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was looking forward to this novel, because I enjoyed the Beekeepers of Aleppo by the same author. Unfortunately this book disappointed me. It’s about the disappearance of a domestic worker, Nisha in Cyprus. The chapters alternate from the viewpoint of Petra , for whom Nisha worked for and Yiannis, with whom Nisha had a love affair. Petra's unravelling of Nisha's last days in Cyprus lead her to Nisha's friends--other maids in the neighborhood--and to the darker side of a migrant's life, where impossible choices leave them vulnerable, captive, and worse.When Nisha disappears, and both Petra and Yiannis notify authorities, her disappearance it completely dismissed. She's a migrant domestic worker from another country and as far as the authorities are concerned, she's "moved on". Nothing about her is considered, she's a nobody, there are so many more workers looking for jobs, who cares that one worker is gone now. She does not matter to those with the power to do anything about her disappearance. The characters such as Nisha - the missing lady, Yiannis - lover of Nisha and Petra - employer of Nisha, along with others did make the book very interesting to read about. The mystery aspect of the book was definitely worth reading but the unnecessary description of the surrounding made it a little bit boring and not to the point. As I mentioned, the mystery and the revelation isn't really the strong suit of this book, and the pace might feel a bit slow, but the strength of this book is how it helps us peer into the souls of these unfortunate domestic workers. While reading this book and uncovering the story of Nisha's life, my heart was touched by the suffering of these housemaids, and the great injustices they are subjected to. This is a heavy read delivered in a gentle manner. Despite the pretty prose and the pleasant island atmosphere of the setting, the topics covered here can weigh heavy on the heart. The emotional impact this book had on me made up for the relative weakness of the mystery plot and its resolution, so I am giving this a 4 stars, and it is a work I will remember, and I definitely do recommend. Zboruri frânte” de Christy Lefteri vine cu o poveste pe măsură după “Apicultorul din Alep”. Îmi place drumul pe care autoarea s-a hotărât să îl urmerze, căci modul în care abordează aceste subiecte este potrivit pentru a atrage atenția asupra oamenilor care luptă pentru o viață decentă. We are so far away from this wise and important foundation of being. We live in a world where people are unkind, who exploit--the land, the animals, each other. We live in a world where we don't see people for who they are, and get lost so deeply within ourselves we don't even see who we are.

Living on the island of Cyprus, Nisha is far from her native Sri Lanka. Though she longs to return home, she knows that working as a “maid” for a wealthy widow is the only way to earn enough to support her daughter, left behind to be raised by relatives. According to a BBC Radio 2 jury, Eva Cassidy was possessed of one of the best singing voices of all time. Another poll put Over the Rainbow on the list of the most memorable songs ever written. Eva Cassidy’s version received more votes than did Judy Garland’s. Songbird, an Eva Cassidy compilation, reached the number one spot on the British sales chart after hovering around the No. 80 position for almost two years. Not bad for a singer who in her lifetime hardly ever performed outside Washington D.C. or Maryland, except for a couple of weeks at the Blues Bar in Reykjavik, Iceland, 1994. Nisha's lover, Yiannis, had also been in economic trouble when an acquaintance involved him in illegally poaching songbirds as they fly between Europe and Africa. But Yiannis finds that the organization does not allow anyone to leave. When the police refuse to pursue the case, Petra takes on the investigation herself, a path that leads her to Nisha’s friends—other workers in the neighborhood—and to the darker side of a migrant’s life, where impossible choices leave them vulnerable, captive, and worse. In this heartfelt novel by the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, a Sri Lankan domestic worker goes missing from her employer’s home in Cyprus, and the widowed homeowner herself sets out to find her after the police show no interest.” — The New York TimesSongbirds by Christy Lefteri is a heartbreaking tale exploring the struggles domestic workers have to go through just to provide their families with the basic necessities of life. Reading this book has clearly shown me the stark divide between people who are overflowing with privilege without even being aware of it, just like how a fish doesn't know it's submerged in overflowing ocean water, and people who have to sacrifice their entire youth just to provide their families with things that are default aspects of many people's lives that require little to no sacrifices. Another contrast we see highlighted in this book is the one between disgusting cruelty and selfless kindness, two attitudes human beings are equally capable of, but lean on one more than the other due to their own upbringing. And in that dismissal, people are treated as less than human. Animals are treated as expendable. Nature is treated as though it has no expiration date. A story that holds a magnifying glass to abhorrent practices, even if performed by people who are not so much evil, as trapped. There are also eight Songbirds collections for home use, each volume containing between six and twelve stories, and I’m delighted that these and also the individual titles (all signed by me!) are now available from my local bookshop. This is based on the disappearances of some of these domestic migrant workers. The darker side of the world they live in.