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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This book had a “happy” resolution but man, there was something stressful about the way the characters handled stress. None of them were particularly healthy and those depictions made me feel anxious to the point that it was hard to continue reading. I’m not convinced that the main thesis of the book wasn’t “these are three bad ways to deal with the hand you have drawn in life”. Each character was inconsiderate of someone or some people in their lives and couldn’t see beyond their own problems. Which isn’t uncommon when you are stressed or under duress but it was a lot to take through an entire book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
love the narrative style and how the three stories tie together. I disliked all the leads to some extent but don't worry the author does too lol. didn't keep me from being invested in the story. also i learned a lot about bees!
"For å kunne leve i naturen, med naturen, må vi fjerne oss fra naturen i oss selv"
Denne boka er så bra og så jævleg på same tid. Om kva som kjem til å skje om vi held fram med å fucke opp jorda vår.
Denne boka er så bra og så jævleg på same tid. Om kva som kjem til å skje om vi held fram med å fucke opp jorda vår.
Hørt som lydbok på Fabel. Likte den godt, spesielt med bruk av ulike stemmer på de tre narrativene.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars
I finished it because I'm a sucker for alternating timelines and 19th century settings and want to know how the apocalypse plays out because that knowledge might come handy once. Also, as the daughter of a passionate beekeeper, I can't not stand behind anything promoting the conservation of bees and for that I loved this story.
But I have to say I had a hard-time connecting to the characters and can even barely remember the middle storyline of MAGA farmer and estranged son. The other two lines were fine, with the naïve English scholar and the eerily empty world of China post-Collapse. But even in those, there was little pulling you in. Maybe the goal of these stories was to paint a detailed image of some ordinary lives in which the bees are just a strange backdrop.
In the end I did not feel like I left with more than when I started reading the story.
I finished it because I'm a sucker for alternating timelines and 19th century settings and want to know how the apocalypse plays out because that knowledge might come handy once. Also, as the daughter of a passionate beekeeper, I can't not stand behind anything promoting the conservation of bees and for that I loved this story.
But I have to say I had a hard-time connecting to the characters and can even barely remember the middle storyline of MAGA farmer and estranged son. The other two lines were fine, with the naïve English scholar and the eerily empty world of China post-Collapse. But even in those, there was little pulling you in. Maybe the goal of these stories was to paint a detailed image of some ordinary lives in which the bees are just a strange backdrop.
In the end I did not feel like I left with more than when I started reading the story.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately this ended up being a story I liked more in concept than in execution. It's an impactful tale about the effects of humans on nature, and the possibly very dire consequences of such- specifically related to the mass extinction of bees. It also examines three parent/child relationships. I liked the ending of the book a lot more than the beginning, as it explores how the three threads of the book are connected and what happened with the collapse of the bee population, but the family explorations never quite came together for me or felt particularly engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death