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The Book of Fire

The moving, captivating and unmissable new novel from the author of THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO

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The Book of Fire

By: Christy Lefteri
Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
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'Stunning... will long remain in the reader's mind' - Kristin Hannah

This morning, I met the man who started the fire. He did something terrible, but then, so have I. I left him. I left him and now he may be dead.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful village that held a million stories of love and loss and peace and war, and it was swallowed up by a fire that blazed up to the sky. The fire ran all the way down to the sea where it met with its reflection.

A family from two nations, England and Greece, live a simple life in a tiny Greek village: Irini, Tasso and their daughter, lovely, sweet Chara, whose name means joy. Their life goes up in flames in a single day when one man starts a fire out of greed and indifference. Many are killed, homes are destroyed, and the region's natural beauty wiped out.

In the wake of the fire, Chara bears deep scars across her back and arms. Tasso is frozen in trauma, devastated that he wasn't there when his family most needed him. And Irini is crippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire.

But this family has survived, and slowly green shoots of hope and renewal will grow from the smouldering ruins of devastation.

Once again, Christy Lefteri has crafted a novel which is intimate and epic, sweeping and delicate. The Book of Fire explores not only the damage wrought by human folly, and the costs of survival in our changing world, but also - and ultimately - our powers of redemption and renewal. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural World Literature Greece Inspiring Tear-jerking Heartfelt Thought-Provoking
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I felt that I was in Greece. So thought provoking. I did not want it to end. So simple but moving. Thanks

Let us all learn something from it

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Yet another beautiful and poignant story about life from Christy. Well read too by Alix.

Beautiful story

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I absolutely loved this audio book. The storyline was excellent and superbly read. Christy Lefteri is such a wonderful author; I love her books. This story places you right there, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling every chapter, every ‘page’. Tears of pain, tears of joy, tears of love. There aren’t many books that draw me in so completely. It’s hauntingly beautiful.

Superb

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Absolutely beautiful book, that tells its story so well whilst making the reader think, and feel so many emotions. Christy Lefteri is a very talented author.

A fantastic story

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I loved this audiobook from Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo. It was a slow burn, which I tend to avoid, but the writing and narration, made it a compelling story that I didn’t want to stop listening to.
Set on an unnamed Greek Island, it’s told partly by Irini’s point of view before and after the fire that destroys half the island, and also from The Book of Fire that Irini writes about her experiences during the ordeal. It was a clever way of telling that part of the story, even though it was written in the third person which I don’t always like. The mystery throughout about who started fire and the aftermath was really good, and keep me listening to discover what it was all about .
As I mentioned before the writing was so good, especially the descriptions of the forest before and after the fire. It reminded me of past holidays to the Greek Islands, decades ago.
The author’s note at the end explains where she got her inspiration for the story, following a wildfire on a Greek island. As I was listening to this there was a huge fire on the island of Crete, and in the last couple of days another one in Marseille in the south of France, and one in Spain. It’s frightening!
Alix Dunmore, a new-to-me narrator, was absolutely superb, drawing me in and keeping my attention the whole time. I definitely want to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
Highly recommend this if you enjoy contemporary, slow burn mysteries.

Another wonderful book from Christy Lefterie

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