It was a
Bookriot article that piqued my interest, with the writers listing the
books they read that month and one made particular mention of how much she enjoyed reading
The Bees by
Laline Paull. And then, a couple of weeks later and at the same site, I found out that
The Bees was on sale at Amazon for $1.99. I figured it was a sign. I decided to read it immediately, because I didn't know if I would still be interested if I wait out a few months.
Flora 717 should have been marked for death the moment she broke through the wax, what with her large size, rough fur and ability to speak. But a curious
Sage priestess thought to experiment and see what else she can do besides perform her task as sanitation worker in the hive. What follows is a series of events where Flora 717 is thrust in situations where a sanitation worker would never have found herself in, including actually meeting the
Queen. Being in those situations also mean finding out things she shouldn't know. There is an undercurrent of unease in the hive, one that isn't helped by the coming winter and the constant threat of predators.
Throughout the entire book, we understand how the hive works. The bees are grouped according to
kin or family, with each kin in charge of certain tasks... such as the
floras in charge of sanitation, the
thistles in charge of general security, the
sage and their role as priestesses, etc. While most of the population are born female, a handful of males are born for breeding purposes. The queen is at the center of everything, loving every bee in her hive, who in turn love and serve her with all their hearts, even willing to die for her and the hive. Everybody has their place and their role... which is probably why Flora 717 stands out.
Flora 717 is dutiful and industrious. She is most willing to serve hive and queen... just not in the role of a sanitation worker. And thinking like that can get you in trouble when you're part of a hive. But Flora 717 is also brave, strong and a quick thinker, which are traits that aid her in various sticky situations. She finds herself witness to or in the middle of the problems of the hive. And her trips outside prove that the world is a dangerous place for something as small as a bee, where wasps, spiders and crows await to eat you, where humans have sprayed poisonous things on precious flowers that could have fed the hive through winter, and where a bee could lose her way and never come home from.
Author Laline Paull used our general knowledge of bee culture as foundation to ground her story, giving structure to the world that Flora 717 and the hive is a part of. It's easy enough to see the
dystopian elements of the story, especially with the hive mind sometimes depicted with fervor akin to religious mania... all bees receive devotion from the queen at specific times, which help them to feel calm and happy, and they even have a mantra,
"Accept. Obey. Serve." that all must abide to even if the situation is unfair or deadly. As with all dystopian societies we have read or watched, cracks are sure to form, and in
The Bees, those cracks put Flora 717 and her bee sisters through some pretty harrowing experiences as the seasons change.
After I read
The Bees, I perused the comments section on its
Goodreads page. I've noticed that readers either loved it or didn't like it in extremes. And that's the thing about
The Bees... either you find the concept and fictionalization of the bee hive facts to be ridiculous, or you get fully on board with the story and find things to love about it. I found myself in the latter group, cheering on Flora 717's successes and sometimes wishing she had better luck (really, this bee shouldn't have survived a single season considering the situations she always finds herself in), holding my breath every time she tries to outwit or outrun danger both inside and outside the beehive, and totally getting into her feeling of exhilaration or wonder when she experiences new things.
Somehow, the life of Flora 717 and her bee sisters became a grand
adventure that I relished with every wingbeat that took Flora 717 to her new experiences and also dreaded every time danger presented itself. And once I was done reading, I found myself talking about it with others. And while my success at relaying how fascinating this book about bees and their
drama is questionable, a book that moves you to sharing them with others is one that is a definite must-read.
Happy reading!!
