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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Here's where we're at: our cunningly written, pleasantly aspected fiction is now increasingly concerned with the apocalyptic scenarios of life after the end of life as we know it. When the bees are gone, when the complex management systems that our society depend on collapse, and when the social relationships that depend on those systems themselves buckle and fall, what next? Lunde isn't going to be able to answer those questions. Instead, she settles for a hope for a book that she hasn't written, namely, The History of Bees. Not, of course, the one that you hold and that she has written, but instead a book written by one of her characters, which itself comes as an iteration of a family's efforts at managing and "keeping" bees.
In the affective chaos of the end of individual dreams, of failing careers, of disappointed familial desires, what soothing source can be found -- what can calm you? Here's this:
The core emotional charge of Lunde's novel, underneath its interlocking and mutually reinforcing stories of parents and children, bees and social relations, is the drama of consciousness refuting the complexities of contemporary life and retreating to the naturalist's dream of utopic, communal relationships. Sure, along the way there are grieving mothers and angsty, drunken sons, bewildered fathers and gem-cuttingly clever daughters – and of course, the motif and the symbol, the bees – but fundamentally there's a dynamic between individuals and collectives that is realized as broken and idealized as healable.
Other things: confusing that the translator into English, Diane Oatley, has been almost entirely removed from the book's presentation. That's a shame.
I'm impressed at the accessibility of this book even as I realize that it might be a little light for some. I don't believe that it has much new to say, but I do think that it's good going while it does take place. That's enough, perhaps. One of those novels that will capture their readers for a day, maybe two. Try your local library!
In the affective chaos of the end of individual dreams, of failing careers, of disappointed familial desires, what soothing source can be found -- what can calm you? Here's this:
The buzzing pulsated through the air, made something vibrate inside me. A tone that calmed me, made it easier to breathe.There you have it, really, everything of the plot stripped down to its thematic crux.
I just stood there like that. Tried to follow each individual bee with my eyes, see every individual bee's journey from the hive, out to the flowers, from flower to flower, and back again. But I kept losing sight of them. There were too many of them, their movement patterns impossible to understand.
So instead I let my gaze come to rest on the whole, on the hive and all the life it surrounded itself with, all fo the life to which it attended.
The core emotional charge of Lunde's novel, underneath its interlocking and mutually reinforcing stories of parents and children, bees and social relations, is the drama of consciousness refuting the complexities of contemporary life and retreating to the naturalist's dream of utopic, communal relationships. Sure, along the way there are grieving mothers and angsty, drunken sons, bewildered fathers and gem-cuttingly clever daughters – and of course, the motif and the symbol, the bees – but fundamentally there's a dynamic between individuals and collectives that is realized as broken and idealized as healable.
Other things: confusing that the translator into English, Diane Oatley, has been almost entirely removed from the book's presentation. That's a shame.
I'm impressed at the accessibility of this book even as I realize that it might be a little light for some. I don't believe that it has much new to say, but I do think that it's good going while it does take place. That's enough, perhaps. One of those novels that will capture their readers for a day, maybe two. Try your local library!
dark
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
🇺🇸 English
This book is a quietly stunning novel. Structured with the elegance of Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, the story is full of movement, return, and resolution.
This book is a quietly stunning novel. Structured with the elegance of Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, the story is full of movement, return, and resolution.
I loved how the three timelines circle around one another, each echoing the same urgent theme: how deeply interconnected we are with nature. It’s especially poignant now, as harmful pesticides are being reapproved and our environmental blind spots continue to grow.
This book is a powerful reminder that every choice we make, even the smallest, ripples outward. We are not separate from the ecosystem. We are the ecosystem.
🇩🇪 Deutsch
„Die Geschichte der Bienen“ ist ein leises, tiefgreifendes Buch. Wie Korsakovs „Hummelflug“ aufgebaut: kreisend, fließend, mit kraftvoller Auflösung.
🇩🇪 Deutsch
„Die Geschichte der Bienen“ ist ein leises, tiefgreifendes Buch. Wie Korsakovs „Hummelflug“ aufgebaut: kreisend, fließend, mit kraftvoller Auflösung.
Mich hat besonders die Kreisstruktur fasziniert, wie sich die Erzählstränge ineinanderfügen und am Ende alles zusammenkommt. Gerade jetzt, wo viele schädliche Pestizide wieder zugelassen werden, wirkt der Roman aktueller denn je.
Er erinnert uns daran, wie kurzsichtig wir Menschen oft sind und wie sehr jedes Detail unseres Handelns mit unserem Schicksal verknüpft ist. Wir stehen nicht neben der Natur. Wir sind Natur.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
An sich richtig gutes Buch, mit nicer message aber die Charaktere haben mich teilweise sehr genervt. Ging glaub auch darum, aber hat mich manchmal echt genervt
Very important message, but very slow read. William's story was hard to follow because he seemed so annoying and selfish, George was a bit easier but still slow because the emotion wasn't there. Tao was the most interesting, but only because of the post-apocalyptic environment. Overall has a great message, but bad storyline. The flow was off and focused more on advocacy than a good read.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes