Reviewed by Emma Crowley
She walks unseen through our world.
Cares for our children, cleans our homes.
She has a story to tell.
Will you listen?
Nisha has crossed oceans to give her child a future. By day she cares for Petra's daughter; at night she mothers her own little girl by the light of a phone.
Nisha's lover, Yiannis, is a poacher, hunting the tiny songbirds on their way to Africa each winter. His dreams of a new life, and of marrying Nisha, are shattered when she vanishes.
No one cares about the disappearance of a domestic worker, except Petra and Yiannis. As they set out to search for her, they realise how little they know about Nisha. What they uncover will change them all.
Many thanks to Bonnier Books UK for my copy of Songbirds to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Songbirds is the second book from Christy Lefteri following on from The Beekeeper of Aleppo which was published last year. Honestly this was a far better book and the fact that I read it one sitting really affirms that. The author was influenced by a tragedy in Cyprus where five migrant women and two children went missing and the authorities did nothing to investigate. They assumed they had simply moved on. The author brilliantly highlighted the difficulties and suffering that migrants and domestic workers experience all over the world. Many of the women search for freedom but find themselves trapped exchanging one cage for another. This story demonstrates the strength, resilience and sacrifices that these people go through. It’s a story about migration and crossing boarders and is wonderfully portrayed in comparison to the migration of the songbirds which Yiannis hunts as they make their journey to Africa. Christy Lefteri highlights to the reader that systematic racism exists but that we must learn to see each and every human being in the same way as we see ourselves and that is one very important point to take from this book.
The story is set in Cyprus and at times I even forgot it was set there as really this could have been anywhere where migrants are forced to work as domestic workers. The themes are universal and it was as if the author was speaking for each person that has suffered when they thought they had found freedom and a new life. Yiannis has left his former high powered life behind and now lives on the top floor of a house in a quiet neighbourhood. Petra and her daughter Aliki live on the bottom floor with their maid/nanny Nisha. Yiannis catches songbirds during their migration from Europe and this was very well detailed. The analogy of the songbirds provided lots of food for thought for the reader. You can see that Yannis struggles with this illegal hunting as many believe him to be just a forager in the woods. But Yiannis is bound up and tied to a chain that he can’t break free from and Nisha when she discovers this realises he is not the man she believed him to be.
A relationship has slowly developed over time between Nisha and Yiannis but it’s a secret as Nisha goes to his apartment in the dead of night. We don’t get chapters from Nisha’s perspective but it’s testament to the brilliant writing of the author that I felt I came to knew her so well. She was given a voice through the other characters and her various layers are pulled back the more the story develops. We come to learn that Nisha came from Sri Lanka and why she did so. She stepped into Petra’s world when she needed her the most although Petra does not realise this until one night Nisha disappears leaving all her belongings behind and no clues as to where she went or why. Nisha leaves behind a void and an emptiness in both Petra and Yiannis. The hurt that Yiannis feels radiates from the pages. How can Nisha have left them especially as you discover the road they have recently navigated? Yiannis was a complex character who knew he was in too deep and was devastated when Nisha disappeared. I did come to feel and appreciate the connection between the pair but it was Petra and Nisha I found myself gravitating towards more.
If Nisha had not gone missing would Petra have continued to take her for granted as she was always just there doing everything that was expected of her and much more? It made Petra realise that she never really knew Nisha, that she was the one raising her child and Aliki had formed such a bond with her that was impossible to break. Aliki was like a substitute daughter for Nisha in place of Kumari whom she was forced to leave behind in Sri Lanka. Aliki never gives up and refuses to believe that Nisha just left after all those years with them. Petra is forced to wake from the almost slumber like existence she has being going around in for years and you admire her for this. For when push comes to shove, she will not rest until she finds Nisha and the journey she takes is an enlightening but difficult one to navigate.
Petra becomes exposed to so much that she never knew existed around her neighbourhood and the island at large. It became a turning point for her, in that she was forced to connect with her daughter, to truly understand how she lived and thought and that she was a special person and that Nisha was the one who had always seen this. It’s only when Nisha disappears then that is when she is truly valued and respected for all that she does. She is no longer a shadow always lingering in the background with no voice yet always ready to step in and help when needed. It shows how migrants despite the situation they find themselves in and their reasons for coming to a new country that they are people that deserve appreciation and a chance to do well and make a new life for themselves. As opposed to being treated like a slave or a second class citizen. Not that Petra did this but I don’t think she truly understood how good she had things until Nisha disappeared. Petra, as she seeks answers, will soon come to understand that she owes Nisha more than she can ever truly repay her.
Songbirds was not as dark a read as The Beekeeper of Aleppo. Yes, the subject matter is a serious one and growing ever more prevalent and relevant in our society and this is conveyed in a powerful way. The seriousness and intensity of the themes being explored are not to be underestimated but I found it comes across in a much more accessible way for the reader. I thought the story didn’t ramble on and go off on meaningless tangents as I found the first book had. The meaning was clear to understand and the message was coming across loud and clear. I didn’t find myself struggling to read between the lines in order to decipher the hidden meaning which I find usually slows down the pace of a book. If I am trying to comprehend what is being said and having to reread sentences on numerous occasions that it detracts from my enjoyment of the story and disrupts the pace. Thankfully, here this was not the case.
I felt the author was even more confident in her writing and was able to convey the themes and messages that she wished to without me ever feeling like I was wading through each page. Songbirds was a real human emotional story but at the same time it read a bit like a crime thriller without too much intensity in that direction. Overall, the flow of Songbirds was very good, the descriptions of Cyprus and the specific area where the main characters lived were excellent and I soon became deeply invested in the characters and the eventual outcome for all involved. I desperately wanted to know what had happened.
Songbirds is a powerful read without it feeling like you are being preached to. A well balanced overview is provided leaving the reader free to form their own opinions and for me those quickly emerged one specific side. I would definitely recommended that you read this book. It teaches some important life lessons and your understanding and empathy of the situation with regard to the many migrants all over the world increases and your respect deepens.
No comments:
Post a Comment