"From the pen of international bestseller The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Songbirds is a beautifully poignant story about the disappearance of a nanny and the darker sides of a migrant’s life. It is another haunting read which will break your heart."
From the pen of international bestseller The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Songbirds is a beautifully poignant story about the disappearance of a nanny and the darker sides of a migrant’s life. It is another haunting read which will break your heart.
Inspired by the real-life disappearance of domestic workers in Cyprus, Christy Lefteri (a child of Cypriot refugees) brings their story to life when Nisha, Sri Lankan nanny and maid vanishes without a trace. Her employer Petra tries to unravel the mystery with Nisha’s lover Yiannis.
Nine years ago Nisha arrived in Cyprus to find work so that she could earn money to support her daughter Kumari who she had to leave with relatives in Sri Lanka. Her relationship devoid of physical contact and via a tiny screen. She never returns. Or does she? The police don’t take her disappearance seriously and it is left to Petra to investigate. We never meet Nisha, we hear her story through the mouths of others and this mirrors her lack of voice in real life.
Yiannis is a poacher, hunting the tiny endangered songbirds migrating from Europe to Africa. Full of symbolism, the plight of the songbirds mirrors that of the refugees. The story of entrapment can’t help but pull you in, as Lefteri has crafted such a beautiful and empathetic exploration of prejudice, and the plight of migrant domestic workers. It’s a stunning novel about the need to fight for truth and justice, to enable women to reclaim their lost voices.
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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