A tragic story about the neglect of immigrant workers. Nisha is a Sri Lankan maid working in Cyprus. She works for Petra, a widowed professional woman with a nine-year-old child, Aliki. Nisha is almost a mother to Aliki, having raised her since she was a baby. But Nisha has a life of her own, a daughter named Kumari still back in Sri Lanka. She must work in Cyprus to earn money to send back to her impoverished family. Yiannis lives in an apartment attached to Petra’s house. He lost his job during the financial crisis and now ekes out a living by illegally poaching birds. Yiannis and Nisha have developed a relationship, an intimate one. When Nisha unexpectedly goes missing one day, it brings Yiannis and Petra closer together as they desperately try to figure out what has happened. Based on the true stories of migrant workers in Cyprus, Songbirds is a compelling story about class and racist assumptions. The employers of these maids take little interest in their lives and presume they are somehow subhuman. When they are reported as missing persons to the police, no action whatsoever is taken, until the shocking truth is exposed. An expertly crafted novel of topical interest. Songbirds, by Christy Lefteri. Published by Manilla Press. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba Comments are closed.
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