Aspects of bee behavior are well known such as dancing to inform their hive of the location of flowers. Not so for screenwriter laline paull, whose ambitious first novel, the bees, doesnt feature a single human characterand its set in the labyrinthine world of the hive. A member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive, flora 717, due to her courage and strength, finds her way into the queens inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets about the hive that cause her to challenge authority and perform unthinkable acts. The handmaids tale meets watership down in this brilliantly imagined debut. Her sisters in this batch of lowly sanitation workers emerge modestly. Laline paull s the bees plunges readers into an imaginative world where flora 717 is about to develop a mind of her own.
The bees also explains to us the thought that the colony is the creature and that the bees are the cells that make it up. Flora 717 is a worker bee born into the lowest caste of her totalitarian hive society. Laline paull s chilling yet ultimately triumphant novel creates a luminous world both alien and uncannily familiar. May 25, 2014 may 23, 2014 laline paulls ambitious and bold first novel, the bees, follows flora 717, a sanitation worker doomed by her birth to the lowest caste of her community. The handmaids tale meets the hunger games in this brilliantly imagined. Laline paull has written a really great book which i wholeheartedly recommend. A beehive is a place of order, control, maybe even oppression. She was dying of cancer, and she said she hoped there would be a flowering of creativity when she had gone. The bees takes us fully into the world of a honey bee hive, playfully anthropomorphizing the insects while still capturing the bizarre habits, rituals and castes unique to the bee. Flora smashes her way out of the pupating cell, in a storm of waxy. By pulling the listener inside a bee hive and tracing the seasonal lifecycle of one remarkable worker bee, laline paull has created a breathtaking novel with shades of dystopia and the pacing of a political thriller, demonstrating orwellian intelligence but somehow refreshingly lacking the satire.
In laline paull s debut novel, the bees, flora 717 is a sterile worker bee from the lowest caste of an orchard hive. Jul 18, 2018 the bees by laline paull the bees is one of the most beautiful and creative books ive read in some time. Laline paulls chilling yet ultimately triumphant novel creates a luminous world both alien and uncannily familiar. Read this book, the bees by laline paull, her debut novel, for its originality, for the obvious and extremely interesting research she did on bees and their.
The bees by laline paull is a fascinating look into the most industrious of natural orders, a beehive. Currently in adaptation at the national theatre for a 2022 production. There, worker bee flora 717 discovers shes also able to lay eggs, a one in 10,000 anomaly that draws the notice of the queen as well as some unseen complications. Aug 11, 2020 that being said, i still found paull s tale fascinating and struggle to recall a book that i could classify as comparable. May 23, 2014 laline paulls ambitious and bold first novel, the bees, follows flora 717, a sanitation worker doomed by her birth to the lowest caste of her community. Thrilling and imaginative, the bees is the story of a heroine who changes her. May 21, 2014 f lora 717 is a bee with problems, right from the start. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the bees. She was born into the hive as a humble sanitation worker cleaning up and removing the dead bodies of her. 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.
A novel by paull, laline and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The bees was short listed for the baileys womens prize for fiction. Paulls heart pounding novel wrenches us into a new world. Flora 717 was born into the kin of sanitation sisters. The hive mind can override personal thoughts and control their actions. Overall, the bees is a truly unique, heartbreaking, and beautifully delivered story exploring the imagined inner workings and drama of a hive, with the delightful addition of having factual details used liberally throughout. Laline paulls ambitious and bold first novel, the bees, follows flora 717, a sanitation worker doomed by her birth to the lowest caste of her.
The main character is flora 717, who is born into the lowest caste of bees, the sanitation workers. Longlisted for the desmond elliott prize for new fiction 2015. Class, caste, and mother love, in a society forty thousand years old. The strong encouraged the weak and helped them, but as the daily casualties mounted, the sage made the decision to break open emergency rations for those in dire need, then use vital energy to summon the holy chord and take the hive mind itself into trance. Lily 500 in the bees, then kindly recall that variation is not the same as deformity.
Sep 14, 2015 book club discussion questions for laline paull s the bees. Jun 17, 2014 this moment occurred to me too often as i read the opening chapters of laline paull s ambitious but erratic debut, the bees. Thats not to say the story was not compelling, it was, but only up to a point. Lee laline paull cites a number of academic sources at the end of the book. Like her sisters, she is bound by the motto to accept, obey and serve. The bees book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons. Laline paull talks about her first novel, the bees, set inside the dystopian world of a bee hive. Feb 01, 2015 laline paull s debut, an allegory of human mores and emotions set in a bees nest, revels in lyrical prose, writes anita sethi. Tracy chevalier, new york times bestselling author of girl with a pearl earring. Although the novel opens in a recognisably human world, the narrative swiftly turns to centre on flora 717, a sanitation bee who, though. A thriller set in a beehive, based on real honeybee biology. This moment occurred to me too often as i read the opening chapters of laline paull s ambitious but erratic debut, the bees.
Author interview laline paull, author of the bees bookpage. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia laline paull is a british novelist. Laline paull s debut novel the bees imagines humble worker bees hive adventures, and a sting in the tale considers focuses on. The bees was my debut novel and i happened upon the amazing fact of the laying worker in the honeybee hive a world where only the queen may breed. The bees book midcontinent public library bibliocommons. Aspects of bee behavior are well known such as dancing to inform their hive ofmore laline paull cites a number of academic sources at the end of the book. This is a beautiful and different novel where one is able to escape simple fictions of humanity and where one can embrace a normally unknown life, creating such profound emotions and images that only flora 717s experiences allow us to dance over the read more of this. My beekeeper friend angie biltcliffe opened the magic door to the hive for me. I found myself championing this brave winged warrior as she faces mortal.
Read this book, the bees by laline paull, her debut novel, for its originality, for the obvious and extremely interesting research she did on bees and their societal ways, their physical structure and biology and even their sexuality, but not necessarily for its plot and story telling. But, she is born slightly larger than the other floras, and she has the ability to speak. Thrilling and imaginative, the bees is the story of a heroine who, in the face of an increasingly desperate struggle for survival, changes her destiny and her world. The other, laline paull s the bees, is a dystopian novel of manipulative characters thats. With circumstances threatening the hives survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw but her courage and strength are an asset.
Although the novel opens in a recognisably human world, the narrative. May 16, 2014 goulsons book is one of two new titles by british authors that delve into the secret world of bees. The bees by laline paull abebooks skip to main content passion for books. May 12, 2014 accordingly, laline paull s debut novel exploring the life of a honey bee navigating the age of pesticides and suburban sprawl seems welltimed. A sensual, visceral miniepic about timeless rituals and modern environmental disaster. Harpercollins publishers, may 6, 2014 fiction 352 pages. May 08, 2014 read this book, the bees by laline paull, her debut novel, for its originality, for the obvious and extremely interesting research she did on bees and their societal ways, their physical structure and biology and even their sexuality, but not necessarily for its plot and story telling. The bees by laline paull a new way of choosing what book to. Discuss the reasons why you think this book was added to the. Accept, obey and serve is the mantra of the bees as they work in their respective kin groups for the betterment of the hive and the glory of their holy mother, the queen.
The bees by laline paull a new way of choosing what book. Though prepared to sacrifice everything for the queen and work herself to death, she is a survivor who escapes internal massacres, religious purges, and can even successfully confront a huge marauding wasp. Paull s heart pounding novel wrenches us into a new world. Many of the extraordinary facts packed into this fantasy novel are wonderfully realised.
This unique thriller centres on a beehive and principally flora 717, a bee who occupies the lowest hierarchy of the hive society. May 6, 2014 two new books consider the complicated world of bees. Shortlisted for the baileys womens prize for fiction 2015. Read the bees, by laline paull online on bookmate the handmaids tale meets the hunger games in this brilliantly imagined debut set in an ancient culture where only the queen may breed and deformi. If your book club has had the pleasure of reading the bees this month youll find some great discussion starters below. The book describes the birth, life, and death of flora. Her maternal love and desire to serve and protect is deeply touching. Her debut novel, the bees, was nominated for the 2015 baileys womens prize for fiction. May 08, 2014 the bees also explains to us the thought that the colony is the creature and that the bees are the cells that make it up. Though prepared to sacrifice everything for the queen and work herself to death.
306 725 525 723 1691 100 257 797 578 1304 1240 670 1590 1344 801 1808 1715 1598 1724 832