The Bees

De: Laline Paull

Narrado por: Orlagh Cassidy

The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games in this brilliantly imagined debut set in an ancient culture where only the queen may breed and deformity means death.

Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees. With circumstances threatening the hive’s survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw but her courage and strength are an asset. She is allowed to feed the newborns in the royal nursery and then to become a forager, flying alone and free to collect pollen. She also finds her way into the Queen’s inner sanctum, where she discovers mysteries about the hive that are both profound and ominous.

But when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all—daring to challenge the Queen’s fertility—enemies abound, from the fearsome fertility police who enforce the strict social hierarchy to the high priestesses jealously wedded to power. Her deepest instincts to serve and sacrifice are now overshadowed by an even deeper desire, a fierce maternal love that will bring her into conflict with her conscience, her heart, her society—and lead her to unthinkable deeds.

Thrilling, suspenseful and spectacularly imaginative, The Bees gives us a dazzling young heroine and will change forever the way you look at the world outside your window.

Excellent Concept, Mediocre Execution

What did you like best about The Bees? What did you like least?

I liked the concept / idea the most. I liked everything else the least.

What could Laline Paull have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have a different narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Most bee voice characterizations were snobby or holier-than-thou. The regular narration was that way, too.

Was The Bees worth the listening time?

No.

Any additional comments?

The book could have been better story-wise if there were more sub-plots or smarter reveals. The story was far too linear for my liking. The descriptions were rather plain, too -- I expected more of my imagination to be stimulated with visual ideas, for example. There was much text around smells and chemicals -- but these, too, were too narrow to let my imagination play.