'Songbirds is a story about migration and crossing borders: it is about searching for freedom, for a better life, only to find oneself trapped. It is a story about the way in which systemic racism exists often unquestioned, relying upon prejudice and nationalistic ideals to survive. It is a story about learning to see each and every human being in the same way we see ourselves.'
After finishing the book and knowing what the title means it is such a powerful book that gives a voice to all the migrant domestic workers. The writing was so poetic and touching and Lefteri is such a talented writer but sadly I felt this book was a bit slow for me. I guess that was the point of it but for me it missed the mark, comparing this to the Beekeeper I definitely loved Beekeeper a lot more than this one but the writing and imagery in this book were written so well. 3.95
Quotes
'Yes, I love thinking about beginnings. I don't like endings, though I suppose I'm like most people in that. An ending can be staring you right in the face without your knowing it. Like the last cup of coffee, you have with someone when you thought there would be many more.'
'I understood that sometimes the earth speaks to you, finds a way to pass on a message if only you look and listen with the eyes and ears of your childhood self.'
'And she understood for the first time that everything - everything - must come to an end'.
'When you feel alone, try to remember that at some point the water inside you would have been dinosaurs, or the ocean, or a polar ice-cap, or maybe a storm cloud over a farway sea at a time when that sea was still nameless. Water crosses millennia and boundaries and borders. Remember we all have something in common, and that is the water that runs through us.'
'Sometimes the most beautiful things can hurt us.'
See this and other reviews like this on my Goodreads page- link below :)
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