The Bees: A Novel

At first glance, The Bees seems like a fairly standard dystopian novel, albeit with a rather unusual protagonist. The heroine of the story, a bee called Flora 717, is a member of the lowest caste in the hive. The hive is ruled by an all-powerful leader referred to as the Holy Mother, who evokes fervent and occasionally fanatical devotion from her offspring. The Sage sisters, her coterie of priestesses enforce the laws of the hive, often through brutal tactics. It doesn't take much insight to foresee that Flora will rise up and challenge the powers-that-be.Yet the plot of this novel refuses to be confined to a standard dystopian story. Even identifying a primary antagonist is difficult. Though she holds ultimate authority in the hive, the Holy Mother does not appear to directly orchestrate the Sage's brutal peacekeeping methods. On the contrary, she shows genuine affection for her numerous progeny; she is one of the few bees in the hive who doesn't discriminate against Flora based on her caste. Though the Sages collectively can be said to act as an antagonist, most of the most nail-biting moments in the book occur in their absence. Predators, starvation and the elements prove just as deadly as hive politics. In a way, nature itself acts as an antagonist.Occasionally, I found that I had difficulty suspending my disbelief; in one scene a newly hatched bee is destroyed because she has a bent wing, yet Flora is allowed to live even after repeatedly arousing the ire of the Sages. On the whole, however, the plotline was clever and engaging. What makes this novel so enticing is that it finds the sweet spot between fact and fantasy. Though Paull draws inspiration from the natural world, most of the animals in the book are anthropomorphic and engage in very human behaviors. The book contains also many quasi-magical elements which serve to create foreshadowing and advance the plot.In The Bees, Paull weaves a unique and compelling world which is equal parts beautiful and brutal. I'm certain that I'll never look at a bee in the same way again.

The book is described as The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games, but really it is more like Animal Farm meets Watership Down, with a hefty twist of classic individualistic Romanticism. Flora 717 is born into the lowliest cast of worker bees, but somehow has remarkable individual powers unlike any other in her caste, an unaccountable fact that leads her into all sorts of caste-spanning adventures that make for a great story, but one hardly close to nature. In fact, the author's strong desire to fictionally elevate Flora at the expense of all other species (wasps, spiders, mice, crows, in short, "the myriad," all come in for authorial/honeybee denigration), and other bee castes turn the book away from a strongly imagined anthropomorphic tale into a fantasy where literally anything can happen. The problem with fantasy literature, and why to many of us it is so unsatisfying, is that the author can pull a trait or circumstance or event out of her hat any old time without regard to what we, the reader, had thought was possible. Where there are no fixed rules, there is no authorial responsibility to an imagined verisimilitude: the rules of what can actually happen in the story keep changing.In spite of this, the story is engaging because the author's poetic, narrative gifts make the relentless focus on Flora 717 come off without becoming tedious or bogging down in sentimentalism. Since the story is ultimately a fantasy, criticisms of emotional and instinctual verisimilitude, or parallels to the human world seem beside the point. Flora is both racked with guilt and driven to behave in certain ways--except when she is not and a sort of overwhelming spirit of self carries her above it all. In the end, the heroic individual triumphs, as in all good romanticism.Within the hive the author's account of the drones is hilarious, and the cynicism practiced by the groupthink manipulating Sage priestesses is reminiscent of Orwell. The author also imagines a devotional unity in the hive in tension with individual expression of self which without the fantasy elements, would have made for a great anthropomorphic story. As it is, the author does such a good job of creating sympathy for Flora, and such a good job of portraying a vibrant if vanishing natural world, that the book is worth reading, romanticism and all.

I thought this was a great read. I am a new beekeeper, and this book personifies the bees, and gives you a picture of what goes on inside the hive. It holds true to the basic elements of how a hive operates, and even though it is fiction, it is a fun way to get into the beekeeping mindset. Very creative and kept me interested.

Im an in-training entomologist who loves reading xenofiction. When i heard about this book i placed an order immediately, not sure what to expect but excited nonetheless!What followed was pure agony. I specialize in bee behaviors and every page was like another stab to my brain. Theyre basically humans, which i might've been willing to accept if not for the wildly jarring insect mannerisms thrown inbetween the catholicism. Yes, you read that right. The bees are catholic. Why? I have no clue. I finished the book and felt like a deflated, shriveled husk of a man.The book is fine if youre looking for a book about catholic hierarchies and betrayal in a vaguely fantasy flavor. It's a light read that isn't terrible all things considered. I exaggerate playfully, not maliciously. That said, only give this to an entomologist if you hate them or want to send them into a crazed ranting state. I lost a chunk of my sanity that I'm never getting back. Great book.

El libro llegó bien, pero la historia no me pareció tan buena.

This is an extraordinary and wonderful book - one of the most effective I have read. It very cleverly uses narrative form to describe life in a beehive over about a year, from the point of view of one worker bee that finds itself with various jobs. The reader learns in detail all that goes on in a bee colony, and is also made aware of the almost mystical communication that exists among them, including how the queen's happiness is so essential to the well being of the hive. The book gave the reader not only knowledge of how a hive works, but also, importantly, the feeling of how it works. Only narrative form could have done this. (And I thought the personification of the drones as dandies was very clever.) The author must have a very deep understanding of bees.

Written with tremendous perspective on the apiary and its bees. The physiological and psychological effect bees have on each other as well as how they are affected by their environment, all written in a fantastical way. Sometimes sad, sometimes exhilarating, a great read from cover to cover, and you don't have to be a beekeeper to enjoy it thoroughly!

Well researched, beautifully written.A book that can be read by all ages and all preferences. It doesn't really fit into one specific genre, I think.I was drawn into the story from the very beginning and almost couldn't put the book down. It was not at all, what I expected.I also didn't expect, that the life of a bee could be so interesting, so gripping!It's definitely a good read and it made me regard bees differently after I finished it. (I didn't especially like or even notice them very much, before I read this book...)

Delivery was before time... SO full marks for quality and punctuality....