The Bees

"Finished September 29th. Really loved this book! So intriguing. Kind of a slow start, but once you catch on to the world of the bees, it’s impossible to put it down. "

"(3.5 Stars) I have mixed feelings about this novel. It took me forever to finish it, and I still can't figure out why. The premise is fascinating and there are so many things that make it stand out in what I would think are good ways. I can't understand why I was only invested in the end. This is a novel that follows the life of a sanitation worker bee (and the many times she should have been killed). It's also a political book that deals with the hierarchy of the hive, and the ways that the power is enforced and changed. The writing was good and the plot was good. I can't say much against the book besides the fact I could never get into it. I did learn that all bees don't necessarily die when they sting something. Only certain types of bees, this was because of a clarifying google search after I was befuddled when bees didn't immediately parish in the book after stinging things. I know you can take this book as an allegory for absolute monarachy's but I found that one of the reasons it stood out was because bees operate differently than humans do. They have built-in mechanics to listen to and that creates very interesting things when it comes to politics as Paull showed. It was a fascinating read, I'll give it that."

"DNF at 40% - I am so bummed that I couldn’t get into this book. I’m a huge insect lover and am always seeking books told from the perspective of animals so I thought this book would be made for me.<br/><br/>But for me, the cool aspects like the author describing how bees live and think and experience life—like how one bee downloaded the info from another in order to learn how to forage for pollen while avoiding danger or how the hive protected itself from an invading wasp—were just not enough to overcome the puritanical, misogynistic, and hierarchical themes that were central to the story. And I know those themes are central intentionally and I did try to challenge myself to just experience what the author was saying without bias, but it was just irritating.<br/><br/>Honestly, the audiobook probably made me dislike the book even more and maybe I’d have stuck it out longer if I’d been reading it physically. And this is NOT a knock to the narrator or narration—it fit the story very well. But I just find it very hard to enjoy stories featuring characters that so completely embody types of people and attitudes that I can’t stand with very little else to gain from the story or not having my thoughts challenged in any way by the story.<br/><br/>Examples of the types of characters in the book I’m talking about were a priestess bee who embodies the spirit of the sort of nun who abuses children with glee and thrives on hating anyone deemed unworthy or the male bees who find joy in publicly denigrating their lowly servants in a sexualized way. And again—I know this was the point and the voices the narrator gave each character was spot on, but I just was so annoyed and at 40% there was so little else going on in the book other than experiencing these sorts of characters that I just didn’t want to continue.<br/><br/>I think the comparison of this book to The Handmaid’s Tale is useful because I think folks who like that book have a good chance of liking this one. But I didn’t get anything out of that book either."

"One of my favorite books, it really made me want to learn more about bees"

"This was one of the most odd, yet interesting and entertaining books I have read in a while. When I first started reading, I wasn’t sure that I liked it and struggled to get past the first few chapters. However, I decided to stick with it and was glad that I did. It surely will not be the book for everyone, but if you are seeking to read something outside of your normal interest, I’d recommend giving it a shot! I can say with certainty, I’ve never read anything like it before."

"This book is a mixture of Animal Farm and Hunger Games with a dash of The Handmaid's Tale. A dystopian tale with an intriguing heroine. It is a new favorite of mine."