The Beekeeper of Aleppo

　　你不可能不被感動，因為這正是屬於這個時代的故事。



　　他們的生活，原本很平凡、普通、簡單。每天早晨，養蜂人努里(Nuri)早起禮拜，然後驅車前往他養在郊區的蜂巢；每到周末，努里身為藝術家的妻子阿芙拉(Afra)，會在市集販售她色彩繽紛的畫作。他們居住在敘利亞美麗的阿勒坡，原以為這樣的生活會一直持續下去，然而意想不到的轉折卻驟然發生。



　　當摯愛的一切都被戰爭摧毀，努里知道他們別無選擇，只能離開家園。但離開敘利亞，卻不是件容易的事：阿芙拉在一次奪走兒子薩米(Sami)性命的爆炸中，失去了視力，留下傷痕累累的身心。努里必須設法排解她的悲痛，同時，還得振作起來，帶領他們兩人踏上危機重重的旅程，穿越土耳其和希臘，前往他們的目的地：英國，以及充滿不確定的未來。



　　擁擠的難民營、危險的跨海旅程、惡劣的人口走私犯、申請移民身分的艱難過程，是一場漫長的噩夢。而在這趟旅程中，努里也成為和薩米同齡的穆罕默德(Mohammed)的監護人。驅使努里一路前行的堅定信念，來自表親、摯友穆斯塔法(Mustafa)，正在等待著他們。穆斯塔法已在約克夏擁有自己的養蜂房，並且投身於傳授他的同胞們養蜂的技術。當努里和阿芙拉努力在破碎的世界中航行，他們必須面對自己無法言說的、失去的痛苦，與那些隨時可能吞噬他們的危險……。



　　這部動人的作品，來自作者Christy Lefteri的背景，以及她在雅典擔任難民營志工的經歷。透過努里的故事，從戰爭的殘酷，到支撐人生存下去的微小善意，描繪出無比真實的人物群像：身在那一個由人類所造成的悲劇之下的人們，如同努里，即使多麼努力要成為堅強的人，也無法完全掩藏自己被深深劃下的傷口。 (文/博客來編譯)

This unforgettable novel puts human faces on the Syrian war with the immigrant story of a beekeeper, his wife, and the triumph of spirit when the world becomes unrecognizable.

"Courageous and provocative, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a beautifully crafted novel of international significance that has the capacity to have us open our eyes and see."--Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE

Nuri is a beekeeper and Afra, his wife, is an artist. Mornings, Nuri rises early to hear the call to prayer before driving to his hives in the countryside. On weekends, Afra sells her colorful landscape paintings at the open-air market. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the hills of the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo--until the unthinkable happens. When all they love is destroyed by war, Nuri knows they have no choice except to leave their home. But escaping Syria will be no easy task: Afra has lost her sight, leaving Nuri to navigate her grief as well as a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece toward an uncertain future in Britain.

Nuri is sustained only by the knowledge that waiting for them is his cousin Mustafa, who has started an apiary in Yorkshire and is teaching fellow refugees beekeeping. 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 even the bravest souls. Above all, they must make the difficult journey back to each other, a path once so familiar yet rendered foreign by the heartache of displacement.

Moving, intimate, and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a book for our times: a novel that at once reminds us that the most peaceful and ordinary lives can be utterly upended in unimaginable ways and brings a journey in faraway lands close to home, never to be forgotten.

Praise for The Beekeeper of Aleppo

"This book dips below the deafening headlines, and tells a true story with subtlety and power."--Esther Freud, author of Mr. Mac and Me

"This compelling tale had me gripped with its compassion, its sensual style, and its onward and lively urge for resolution."--Daljit Nagra, author of British Museum

"This novel speaks to so much that is happening in the world today. It's intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant, but very importantly it is accessible. I'm recommending this book to everyone I care about."--Benjamin Zephaniah, author of Refugee Boy

作者簡介

　　Brought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF-supported refugee center in Athens. She is the author of the novel A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible.