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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love this book.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
These bees are violent and show no mercy.
If you like gore and havoc then this is the book for you
If you like gore and havoc then this is the book for you
So good. And unique. I've never read anything like it. Well researched but heartfelt. I learned a lot about bees but also read a gripping story.
It's a story set in a beehive in which all the characters are bees. Watership Down with bees rather than rabbits? Sadly no, and it illustrates just how difficult was Richard Adams' achievement with his 1972 classic about anthropomorphized bunnies. A novel needs relatable characters, an intriguing plot, and at least some familiarity in setting and context to provide an engaging story. The problem lies in drawing the boundaries between human nature and animal nature in a manner capable of exploring the otherness of animal life whilst retaining narrative human intrigue. In Watership Down, Adams tells a very human story of overcoming danger via community bonds, but he equally evokes an illuminating vision of what life might feel like for rabbitkind. Here is where Paull fails with The Bees. The setting is fascinating and seemingly well-researched; Paull presumably did her homework to nail down the objective facts concerning bee life and behavior. Yet, the story she tells is just boilerplate YA dystopian banality. What’s worse is that the life of a hive-mind species is perhaps the single worst place to apply this over-told fantasy template. Presumably bees, of all species, as eusocial insects do not suffer individualist angst under the tyranny of forced servitude in an oppressive society. The result: this book is Hunger Games but everyone’s running around in bee costumes.
I waited patiently for this story to become more interesting than ludicrous, but it never happened. Maybe I could have thought about the religion/cult themes, but >>yawn<< nah.
A tiny bit A Bug's Life, a little bit Watership Down, and a surprising amount The Handmaid's Tale (minus the ritual rape), I found The Bees to be legitimately compelling. The amount of scientific accuracy worked into a fictional piece, albeit significantly stretched, was pleasant, even as an afterthought. Orwellian in theme, the novel questions the rightness and necessity of uniformity, obedience, and custom. Additionally, the human race, class, and nationalistic parallels to the hive caste system and relations with the outside world is seamlessly written, rather than being pushed heavy-handedly onto the reader. The rarely-paired duo of communist tendencies and religious fanaticism are blended well into the triumphs and woes of the hive and the protagonist, Flora 717. Flora is a strongly identifiable character, and she is very easy to empathize with, despite the fact that she is a worker bee and the reader is, presumably, human. I found myself loathe to put the book down until I finished it, and was even tempted to read it again once I had.
An inventive story about the inner workings of a beehive as told by a most independent and stubborn worker bee originally born in the lowest level of beehive society. It felt like the hive social structure was based on early nunneries. I was hoping for more but it was just an ok read. Too many religious overtones for my taste.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes