Reviews

The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai

lorarose's review against another edition

adventurous informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

kentexmom's review against another edition

4.0

After a mention of a drunken orgy in the preface, I wondered what I had gotten myself into picking up this book. It surprised me! About bees, beekeeping, murder hornets, politics, government, religious fundamentalism, cruelty, following God. I really enjoyed this book.

caribeandthebooks's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

librar_bee's review

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

christinecasey's review against another edition

3.0

Another reviewer mentioned that they had a quest to read a book from an author of all 196 countries. And in preparing for this Tunisian authored novel, they did a little background reading. While not necessary, I think it would have helped me coming into this. I have a hard time following geopolitical stories where I’m unfamiliar with the context.
However, that said, it’s not entirely essential and this is still a unique allegory of a beekeeper saving his hives from an invasive pest as the country itself deals with its own invasion of political forces and the accompanying fallout.
Came for the bee info, stayed for the mysterious intrigue.

calliopereads's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.0

brettpet's review against another edition

3.0

The Ardent Swarm is a lovely little novel/novella about the impact of Arab Spring on tight-knit communities. Tons of connections to be drawn between the main character Sidi's bee colonies and the village he lives in, with both communities responding to outside stressors in similar ways. Writing wise, I didn't have much to complain about—Yamen Manai's prose (granted, I read the translated version) is effective and sets up the stakes quickly.

Overall, I just wished the book was longer. Certain sections are far too brief, such as the introduction to characters like Tahar and Jannet, and I felt like I needed more time with the setting. This is a very digestible and approachable novel, and it could have been expanded into something much deeper with another 100 pages (usually I'm saying the opposite with books, so I mean this as a compliment). I really liked the ending, not sure if other readers found it too predictable but it felt a bit like a folk tale and was

Spoiler

surprisingly positive

? Definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more from Manai.

katietheman's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The more I reflect on this book, the more I like it. I think I did a disservice to myself listening to the audiobook because I do feel like there are things I probably missed, especially at the beginning of the story. The symbolism felt obvious but that is something I appreciated about the book. Very good!!

mg_reads's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

4.75

ropey's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad

3.0