A beautifully crafted and genuinely touching story based around one families tragedy and their subsequent joining of one of the great human migrations.
It is a vivid portrait of the psychological and physical turmoil caused by war and the migrant trail to Europe.
Consistently brutal, the book is sprinkled with wonderful writing. I really enjoyed the bee motif.
The book is wonderfully structured, with a dual timeline filling out the story via flashbacks. The tension rises as the catastrophes unfold - even if you know where they end up it's the journey that matters.
I read "American Dirt" recently, a book about another of the great human migrations of our time. It's almost unfair to compare them, while "American Dirt" is flawed but enjoyable, this work is far superior, a grown up and serious book, gripping, moving and well written.