Songbirds cover art

Songbirds

The powerful novel from the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and The Book of Fire

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Songbirds

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

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £14.51

Buy Now for £14.51

'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, bestselling author of Wish You Were Here.

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 bestselling 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 reading.

Praise for Christy Lefteri:

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

'Lefteri is an astonishing weaver of stories.' Daljit Nagra

' . . . broke my heart and kept me turning the pages of her gorgeous novel well into the night.' Alka Joshi, NYT-bestselling 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 Europe Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Excellent narrators. A tough listen especially the fate of the songbirds but even worse is the treatment of the Sri Lankan women. Powerful

The unseen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed this book. The narration was wonderful. The story, although fictional, was based on true events and, therefore, an eye-opener to domestic workers.
I don't want to say too much so as not to leave spoilers.

A Moving Book...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Christy Lefteri writes so beautifully and with such sensitivity.

I chose this audio book after having been deeply moved by "The Beekeeper of Aleppo" which I listened to some time ago. This novel is just as good and continues the theme of the plight of refugees in a way that provides the listener with a greater understanding of the hardship endured by those who have little choice but to leave their countries to seek safety elsewhere. The hostility, cruelty and utter disregard they face on the way is shocking and shameful.

So I recommend this book. It is engrossing, deeply moving and educational. It is also very well narrated and has the bonus of a chapter read by the author at the the end in which she explains her motivation for writing the book, followed by a chapter from The Beekeeper of Aleppo, read by Art Malik.

Beautiful, deeply moving, educational story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a fabulously constructed story, with strong, believable characters each on their own journey of discovery and understanding. I thought the narrators - one for each character, depending on whose view point the story was taking - were excellent, and they really helped to bring the story alive. I feel touched by what I have felt and learnt from this book, and will definitely be sharing it with others.

Flawless in every regard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyed this book - beautifully and poignantly written. Good story and characters. Narrated well. Some long silences but just an issue with editing I think, not a big problem.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews