Songbirds

A Novel

By: Christy Lefteri

Narrated by: George Georgiou, Indira Varma, Art Malik, Lolita Chakrabarti

“A beautifully crafted novel that sits at the intersection of race and class, that flags the frank truth of the life of migrant workers for whom a flight to freedom can become the most finely woven trap.” (Jodi Picoult, number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Two Ways)

From 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.

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.

Yiannis is a poacher, trapping the tiny protected songbirds that stop in Cyprus as they migrate each year from Africa to Europe and selling them on the illegal market. He dreams of finding a new way of life, and of marrying Nisha.

But one night, Nisha makes dinner, an aromatic dahl curry, for the family who pays her: Petra and her daughter, Aliki. Then, after she cleans the kitchen and tucks Aliki into bed, Nisha goes out on a mysterious errand, and vanishes.

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.

Inspired by the real-life disappearance of domestic workers in Cyprus, Christy Lefteri has crafted a poignant, deeply empathetic narrative of the human stories behind the headlines. With infinite tenderness and skill, Songbirds offers a triumphant story of the fight for truth and justice, and of women reclaiming their lost voices.

©2021 Christy Lefteri (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"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 Times

“Like the vulnerable songbirds trapped in mist nets, Christy Lefteri’s characters—women who leave foreign lands to work abroad and send money back home—broke my heart and kept me turning the pages of her gorgeous novel well into the night.”—Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

“I loved this tender, moving story about the powerful chord that binds mothers to daughters, about those we fail to see and protect. The humanity in Songbirds is compelling, tinged with sadness, delicately delivered with urgency. I finished this book and could not stop thinking about Nisha. It is stunning and beautiful, a magnificent achievement.”—Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice

Beautiful and disturbing story. Do we choose to unsee?

Once again, Christy Lefteri makes you question your view of the world. Do we choose to unsee the people around us we treat as tools? Is it easier to make stories of inconsequence than look for the depth? Beautiful stories, mesmerizing description of nature and inner world of a person. Looking forward for more from Christy.

sad but wonderful story

The two main topics of this story are both very sad. but eye opening

Absolutely beautiful

Very well written, with beautiful descriptions. The book brings attention to important issues. Loved this book!

Lovely prose, heartbreaking story

A beautifully written story, but so very sad. The author has chosen to spotlight a very tragic human rights situation that doesn’t get much attention. It is contrasted with a subplot about poaching protected birds; both the birds and the women are victimized by men ( simple analysis ). Be warned that the descriptions of the bird poaching are very difficult to read. The narration was excellent.

Powerful

This was a powerful message delivered through several voices and points of view. The authors note at the end was also informative and sobering.

Loved it

I loved it. It was educational, compelling and heartfelt.
Thank you Christy Lefteri- for giving voices to those who are marginalized.

Engaging throughout!

I enjoyed this book. Very good character development and moved at just the right pace.

Another excellent book by Christy Lefteri

Song Birds is another excellent novel, based on much research and real events , by Christie Lefteri. The author is an excellent storyteller with an ability to engage the reader with descriptive writing and depth of characters through their individual thoughts, all which enlighten her story. Bravo!

Recommend highly

A book well crafted and and story beautifully and meaningfully told. It is a book for humans who care.

Sometimes We Have to Read Hard Things

4.25 stars for Songbirds by Christy Lefteri. This story appealed to me for the historical and cultural themes. It is the story of a widow whose young houseworker disappears in the night and never returns home. The setting of Greece was beautifully transportive. I thought the author did an amazing job developing the three central characters, too, especially as the book is not that long. I was not prepared for the part of the story that includes the songbirds and would just give a trigger warning that if you are sensitive to animal cruelty, a few parts of this book might be a little painful to get through. The songbirds and their plight are 100% integral to the story, though, so I would still really recommend the book. The author's note at the end was very insightful as the story is apparently based on real events and women who went missing in Greece and the lack of any interest by law enforcement for the most part to look for them. The story of the missing woman, Nisha, is told by her employer, Petra, and her boyfriend, Yiannis. I found them so beautifully but painfully drawn in all of their imperfections and flaws and failures but love and determination to find Nisha. There is an unknown 3rd narrator in the story which made the mystery aspect particularly compulsive. The historical part of the story related to Greece and in particular the war with Turkey and the existing boundaries during the time of the story was really fascinating. I know very little about Greece and really thought author did a lovely job of putting the reader in this beautiful but war torn and economically ravaged country.
Strong themes of refugees vs migrant workers and domestic workers and how they are treated/mistreated and as the author noted, "migration and crossing borders and searching for freedom." Loved this book. Give it a try if you enjoy a little mystery/historical fiction mashup set in Greece!