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A review by cheye13
The Bees by Laline Paull
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This was so dry and so long and for what? It's over 500 pages to explain the fall of a beehive after the human caretaker passes away. I really should've dnf'd quite early because I truly hated the writing style, but I had to know the point of the story. And it sucked. I was really hoping for some less direct commentary or some layers of meaning, but it was all so dry. What itched the most was the dystopian tone; I couldn't tell if it was condemning bees behavior as a metaphor for human society or if the story stopped at face value because the society was bees. Ultimately a failure of commentary if it was intended at all.
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Police brutality and Religious bigotry
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
all content warnings in context of a bee society, which may be enough distance for some