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Songbirds

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Songbirds

By: Christy Lefteri
Narrated by: Indira Varma, George Georgiou, Art Malik, Lolita Chakrabarti
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About this listen

Her courage to cross oceans.

Her hope for a better life.

Her love for a daughter, above all else.

Not all tragedies make headlines, not every voice is heard.

Nisha has crossed oceans to give her child a future. Now she spends her days caring for someone else's daughter while her own waits for her return, half a world away.

For Petra, it is only natural to hire a domestic worker to keep her house clean and her family fed. Their lives have nothing in common, except the love they feel for their daughters.

Then one day, Nisha vanishes. No one cares about the disappearance of a foreign domestic worker, except Petra and Nisha's secret lover, Yiannis, the only connection to her daughter back in Sri Lanka.

As Petra and Yiannis desperately search for Nisha, they realise how little they knew about her. What they uncover will change them both forever.

Inspired by true stories of love and loss, hope and refuge, this evocative masterpiece from the million-copy best-selling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Christy Lefteri, is an illuminating story of the power of the human spirit, and the enduring love of a mother for her child, that will stay with you long after you finish listening.

©2021 Christy Lefteri (P)2021 Bonnier Books UK Europe Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Heartfelt Tear-jerking

Critic Reviews

"Will break your heart and open your eyes." (Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz)

"I've never read anything quite like Songbirds—a beautifully crafted novel." (Jodi Picoult, best-selling author of Wish You Were Here)

"This thought-provoking novel of love loss and redemption is thoroughly sublime." (Caroline Montague)

"...broke my heart and kept me turning the pages of her gorgeous novel well into the night." (Alka Joshi, NYT best-selling author of The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur)

"Christy Lefteri has crafted a beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful, and relevant." (Benjamin Zephaniah on The Beekeeper of Aleppo)

"...it's impossible not to be moved by Lefteri's plea for humanity and perhaps inspired too." (Observer, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo)

"Courageous, proactive, haunting." (Heather Morris, on The Beekeeper of Aleppo)

All stars
Most relevant
A new style for my reading, loved it at each and every emotional stage, great characters in a story of need and love

Beautifully written with tonnes of intrepid

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I cried for the songbirds, and a practice I’m sure still is still rife. A dad account of some aspects of human nature coupled with some hope for the future. A great read with beautiful phrasing

Reading this beautifully presented story makes one want to cry for humanity

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I did so enjoy the information shared in this book.love how we can listen and learn so much from our audio books.This was a very deep moving book a bit like a meaty bite with lots of nourishment,but o so very sad.The narrator’s gave me an enjoyable treat with their soothing tones.Thank you Christy Lefteri

Was obvious a lot of research has gone into this book

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I am Petra, learning so much about a world I didn't know existed. Wow what a story. Beautifully written and well told by the narrators. My only disappointment is that I have now completed all of Christy Lefteri's works. Each one has revealed so much to me, thank you

can't get enough, I am spellbound

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A tragic story but written with such exquisite beauty and delicacy. So rich in its layers, metaphors, and detail, and with engaging, complex characters, I devoured it in a weekend.

Just beautiful

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