Name: Wynter's review of The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
Item: The History of Bees
Rating: 3
Author: Wynter

Maja Lunde

“Imagine The Leftovers, but with honey” (Elle), and in the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this “spectacular and deeply moving” (Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author) novel follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the bees—and to their children and one another—against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis. England, 1852. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive—one that will give both him and his children honor and fame. United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper fighting an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation. China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Tao’s young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident, she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him. Haunting, illuminating, and deftly written, The History of Bees joins “the past, the present, and a terrifying future in a riveting story as complex as a honeycomb” (New York Times bestselling author Bryn Greenwood) that is just as much about the powerful bond between children and parents as it is about our very relationship to nature and humanity.

A Novel

The History of Bees

***THE NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*** ''Fans of Cloud Atlas and Never Let Me Go will love The History of Bees'' Good Housekeeping ''Dystopian and electric, this book is set to blow minds everywhere'' Stylist ''Haunting and poignant ... an important and wonderful book'' Dave Goulson, bestselling author of Bee Quest In the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this dazzling and ambitious literary debut follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the bees - and to their children and one another - against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis. England, 1851. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive--one that will give both him and his children honour and fame. United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper and fights an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation. China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Tao''s young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident--and is kept in the dark about his whereabouts and condition--she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him. Haunting, illuminating, and deftly written, The History of Bees joins these three very different narratives into one gripping and thought provoking story that is just as much about the powerful relationships between children and parents as it is about our very relationship to nature and humanity. Praise for The History of Bees: ''Spectacular and deeply moving. Lunde has elegantly woven together a tale of science and science fiction, dystopia and hope, and the trials of the individual and the strengths of family'' Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author ''Such is the genius of debut novelist Maja Lunde that her tale of three eras--the long past, the tenuous present and the biologically damned future--is strung on the fragile hope of the survival of bees'' Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author ''As a lover of honeybees and a fan of speculative fiction, I was doubly smitten by The History of Bees. Maja Lunde''s novel is an urgent reminder of how much our survival depends on those remarkable insects. It is also a gripping account of how--despite the cruelest losses--humanity may abide and individual families can heal'' Jean Hegland, author of Into the Forest ''By turns devastating and hopeful, The History of Beesresonates powerfully with our most pressing environmental concerns. Following three separate but interconnected timelines, Lunde shows us the past, the present, and a terrifying future in a riveting story as complex as a honeycomb'' Bryn Greenwood, New York Times bestselling author ''Here is a story that is sweeping in scope but intimate in detail'' Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise ''A brilliant and beautiful novel'' Jan Askelund, Stavanger Aftenblad ''She does everything right [...] She paints on a broad canvas, the topic is highly important and the language is both comprehensive and precise'' Geir Vestad, Hamar Arbeiderblad ''One can easily understand the buzz ...'' Maria �rolilja R�, Adresseavisa ''The settings portrayed in the novel are impressively visual and each character is perfectly naturally rooted in his or her own era and environment'' Janneken �verland, Klassekampen ''Maja Lunde will reach a big audience with The History of Bees. (...) She has written a novel many will read in one go, and then sit down and think, about life, the world and the future. That is unique and it is very well done'' Annette Orre, littkritikk.no ''The History of Bees is a fascinating and brilliantly written novel that elegantly moves between the various stories and timelines'' Oddmund Hagen, Dag og Tid

Sebastian Stockmarr

Evil Lizzard

"In the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this ... literary debut follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a ... story of their relationship to the bees--and to their children and one another--against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis"--

Wynter

My copy was provided for free by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you have patience for slow-burning narrative, or prefer books driven by gradual character development and familial drama, then you'll love this. A story that follows three seemingly disconnected narrators, comments on the real bee crisis, and moves seamlessly through time between historical setting and a futuristic world immediately appealed to me. Because I am an impatient person, I had a hard time waiting for the plot to make sense, however. In addition, once the separate strands finally came together, the payoff was not enough for me. But did I regret reading this hefty tome? Not even a little bit.

Hannah Myhre

Read it in norwegian back in the end of 2015 finished in beginning 2016, and I still think about this book! Absolutely amazing and important, everyone should read this book!

Daryl Houston

This book was ok. I liked the idea, I liked the cross-generational sweep of it, and the writing was perfectly pleasant. Some of the things that I think were maybe supposed to be sort of a surprise toward the end weren't. I suppose it was a hair preachy, more by implication than by direct preaching, and maybe that's even ok -- art can certainly have a purpose beyond the aesthetic.

It took me several days to get through what is really a pretty short and easy book. By contrast, I picked up Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach after putting this one down, and the contrast between the two is stark, even when at times they cover similar material (e.g. hesitant intimacy between members of a couple). What I'm finding in Egan that I was missing in Lunde's book (which I'll confess I began skimming partway through as a result) was this hard-t0-define thing that I guess you call style, or that you might call touch in a musical or sporting setting. My daughter has played the cello for a few years now. She can play a song that is recognizable as the song she's playing. She has some sense of dynamics (she'll crescendo and decrescendo when called for, and she'll play staccato or legato as called for), but for example she hasn't mastered vibrato yet. So when she plays, it is undeniably music that she's playing, but it's not capital-M Musical, and it's not as beautiful to listen to as the same song played by a more accomplished musician. This is how I felt about Lunde's book. The pieces are there. It's a book that has the shape and theme and parts and even vaguely the flow of a literary novel, but it just falls short in style or touch or dynamics or whatever. It's basically missing the prose equivalent of vibrato.

Sameer Vasta

I have been, for a few years now, obsessed with bees and the role they play in our ecosystem. When colony collapse disorder started affecting North American bee populations, I was stricken with worry. Maja Lunde’s novel is essentially a book written to stoke my anxiety: what would the world look like if the bees disappeared? What could we have done to avoid this? Sure, the book reads a bit like it was written for children, but the story is an important one for our time.

(originally published on inthemargins.ca)

England, 1851. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive--one that will give both him and his children honour and fame. United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper and fights an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation. China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Tao's young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident--and is kept in the dark about his whereabouts and condition--she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him. Haunting, illuminating, and deftly written, The History of Bees joins these three very different narratives into one gripping and thought provoking story that is just as much about the powerful relationships between children and parents as it is about our very relationship to nature and humanity.

Carolina Lopes

I feel like this had so much potential, but I ended up feeling disappointed.

Most of the characters really started to annoy me (I found myself rolling my eyes quite a lot, which is rarely a good sign). I didn't enjoy the writing style either (The author. Writes in tiny sentences. Like this. All along. The novel.) I also didn't particularly love how the stories developed towards the ending.

I'd really love to rewrite this because there really is potential, and I enjoyed myself while reading most of it (only in the last quarter did I start feeling like I just wanted it to be over so I could move on to the next book). Overall, 2,5 stars.

Renee Blankenship

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde is one of those books that I read and then couldn't stop thinking about. Yes, the cover is absolutely gorgeous (that sparkle!!) but aside from that, the story itself was unforgettable. 

Told in three different time periods, Lunde was able to achieve something extra ordinary in doing so. She wove together a story that made you care for each character, while also appreciating the grander scope of what the story was about: the importance of bees to our world today and our future. Something that I don't think most people realize or fully understand. 

Our three main characters are as follows, William (inventor of the bee hives living in Victorian times), George (a modern day bee farmer struggling to keep his bees alive at the very beginning of the bee "disappearances"), and Tao (a bee pollinator living in a dystopian future where bees have disappeared). Each of these characters struggled with their relationship to bees and it in turn affected the relationships with those around them. My favorite character was Tao, a mother who will stop at nothing to find her child in a world that has all but disappeared along with the bees. 

One of my favorite scenes that Lunde wrote was Tao dragging herself through the empty streets of a mostly empty city thinking of nothing but her child and knowing she will do anything to find him. I was so struck by that scene and the following ones as she found out what had happened to her boy, as well as the final scene which was unexpected and definitely powerful. 

There is much that can be taken from this story, applied to our world today and the affect our relationship with bees will have on future generations. Reading the dystopian story alongside the other two really made the affect more powerful I think, of what a loss of these bees would mean to us as a society and to the world as a whole. 

I am so grateful to Touchstone books for the advance copy I received to review and the final copy as well! Its a book I will keep alongside my other "favorites" and look forward to rereading again someday. (As well as recommending to all of my friends!)

Lina

I would actually give it a 2.5 star rating. The topic of this book is really important and definitely worth to write about. The story (stories) itself however doesn’t have any depth. The writing and the character development something seems kinda dull.

Jeremy Cote

Note: I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I loved this book. Plain and simple. It had a fantastic triple narrative that circled each other throughout the whole novel and merged seamlessly at the end. The characters are what really make this story shine, and there is plenty to love, get mad at, and feel sympathy for with regards to the characters. They are all unique, and it was a pleasure to read this book. Additionally, the greater message of being mindful of the environment is one I hold dear. Overall, a great book.

Evil Lizzard &
The History of Bees by Maja Lunde

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