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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was SO GOOD and especially interesting for me to read as an entomology student! Strangely human for a story about bees, this is at its core about the love between a mother and her daughter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Violence
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was a bit hesitant about the idea, but Flora's story caught me up and I enjoyed the look into the lives of bees from a very different angle. Very cleverly done.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
I’m just going to be honest.
I only started reading this book because it was the chosen book for a virtual book club. In the end I missed the book club session because I didn’t finish reading it in time, I just could not get in to it, despite my enthusiasm! I’d read ten pages put it down, I’d read ten pages put it down. In the end it took me just over a month to read a 343 page book? I really really don’t like leaving negative reviews but this book just wasn’t for me, probably didn’t help that I just don’t believe the main character could do everything that she did? I don’t know but it’s sadly one of my worst reads for 2020
1.5/ 5 stars
I only started reading this book because it was the chosen book for a virtual book club. In the end I missed the book club session because I didn’t finish reading it in time, I just could not get in to it, despite my enthusiasm! I’d read ten pages put it down, I’d read ten pages put it down. In the end it took me just over a month to read a 343 page book? I really really don’t like leaving negative reviews but this book just wasn’t for me, probably didn’t help that I just don’t believe the main character could do everything that she did? I don’t know but it’s sadly one of my worst reads for 2020
1.5/ 5 stars
Really unique and interesting, but I kept getting confused when the bees were described with human parts and accessories. Are they bees or are they bee-human hybrids? Also feels a bit too "Handsmaid's Tale-y", like trying too hard to be feminist.
In the era of Covid 19, it’s not hard to imagine yourself alone, 3:16am in your dining room, rigorously investigating the scientific word for a bee aficionado. Down the rabbit hole of google, you twist and turn, trying to make in-congruent pieces fit with scraps of information and poorly coded bee blogs. You have one simple task: to find a special, latin word for a bee lover, a lovely label for the humble appreciator of the most noble bug.
The name Melissa comes from a hittite word. And melittologists are etymologists that specialize in bees. You would think you can combine “melitt” and “philia” and get a gorgeous new epitaph. Melittphilia if you will. However, your rudimentary high school ancient attic did not prepare you to surgically mutilate fields far beyond your chosen degree. So you scrap that idea and return to your newest, most prized possession. Better than two-ply toilet paper and instant ramen is the Bees by Laline Paull. It’s the book that radicalized you, the book that took you in at your darkest 24 hours, provided you with warm food and an octagonal shelter, putting the chaos and confusion of 2020 on pause. This book is an journey and transformation on par with Madeline Miller’s Circe.
I present to you the book I read on my last Thursday in my University dorm, the book that deftly transported me away from presidential primaries, racial violence, and Virus a la Corona.
This book made me temporarily obsessed. It successfully got my mind off of the pandemic looming.
Because of The Bees. I made honey cakes. I seriously looked up bee keeping as a hobby. I questioned my humanities major.
I understand all those activities are due to a base level of security I enjoy. The social distancing protocols of Covid 19 negatively impacts vulnerable, insecure populations and additionally endangers previously stable households. In that chaos, The Bees won’t give back your job or restore health. But it will gift some merciful hours of calm and brilliant turns of phrase. Paull’s descriptions give chills. I 100% have a favorite line.
P.s. Apiology is the study of honey bees
The name Melissa comes from a hittite word. And melittologists are etymologists that specialize in bees. You would think you can combine “melitt” and “philia” and get a gorgeous new epitaph. Melittphilia if you will. However, your rudimentary high school ancient attic did not prepare you to surgically mutilate fields far beyond your chosen degree. So you scrap that idea and return to your newest, most prized possession. Better than two-ply toilet paper and instant ramen is the Bees by Laline Paull. It’s the book that radicalized you, the book that took you in at your darkest 24 hours, provided you with warm food and an octagonal shelter, putting the chaos and confusion of 2020 on pause. This book is an journey and transformation on par with Madeline Miller’s Circe.
I present to you the book I read on my last Thursday in my University dorm, the book that deftly transported me away from presidential primaries, racial violence, and Virus a la Corona.
This book made me temporarily obsessed. It successfully got my mind off of the pandemic looming.
Because of The Bees. I made honey cakes. I seriously looked up bee keeping as a hobby. I questioned my humanities major.
I understand all those activities are due to a base level of security I enjoy. The social distancing protocols of Covid 19 negatively impacts vulnerable, insecure populations and additionally endangers previously stable households. In that chaos, The Bees won’t give back your job or restore health. But it will gift some merciful hours of calm and brilliant turns of phrase. Paull’s descriptions give chills. I 100% have a favorite line.
P.s. Apiology is the study of honey bees
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
what the heck was this book
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I just, this should either have been full allegory or it should've been full exploration of the inherent dramas of a bee hive, not this projecting humanity onto bees without committing to it.