The Bees

By Laline Paull

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062331175
• ISBN13: 9780062331175
• Release Date: May 2015
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Great story!!

I loved this so much that I’m buying a physical copy (read it on kindle before). You really go in depth in the world of bees, which sounds weird, but it was amazing! If you love fantasy reads, I think you’ll like this one- it takes a bit to get used to the bee world/perspective, but it’s a beautiful story after you do!

Fascinating book!

I was unsure about this book when I initially bought it, as it is from the viewpoint of a bee. However, I found myself drawn back to the story... anxious to find out what happened to Flora 717! The book gives so much insight into the fascinating inner workings of the hive and hierarchy of the various factions within the colony. I will definitely reread this book again.

Couldn't get its Wings

I really wanted to like this book - the idea sounds interesting and I am all unique narrators (told from a bee's POV). But this was jumbled and all over the place and could never hold my interest. Great idea that was very poorly executed.

So unique

This book is such an interesting one. Being from the perspective of the bees, it takes you into a different world. I have found people either love it or hate it, but it always makes them think about it and it stays with you for days after.

It was too strange for me

I was recommended this book, but for me personally the personal writing from the view of the man character being a bee was too strange for me. I thought the book would be interesting, but I wasn't able to read through the strangeness to really get into the book properly.

The worst book

This book made no sense what so ever. Never again