The Bees Audio CD – Audiobook, 6 May 2014

Being an assistant bee-keeper this book was a bit hard to get into at first. I got the concept of what the author was trying to do. Having bees running down corridors to visit the nursery, or the Queen in her chamber of white ornate wax. This doesn't quite reflect reality so it was a push to suspend belief.The story revolves around bee 717 who learns the ways and intricacies of hive life and its sweet.Then comes the action.In the author notes, one of her younger family members had read a draft version had given her the feedback to include more violence. Yes, she listened. Sometimes to horrifying effect.Things then got very Dystopian, with priestesses walking around demanding that everyone OBEY, SERVE, PROTECT at all costs. And I do mean all costs. The punishment for disobedience to the holy mother was severe indeed.In all, the author has done her research well and our intrepid bees fight off all the usual suspects. Wasps, mice, Foul Brood (disease), winter and the impact of humans on the environment.I was rushing through pages at some points and gripped with intrigue.Whatever the accuracy - Bee 717 you will always have a place in my heart, and you can't say fairer than that!.

The Bees is an excellent and thought-provoking read. It is a very worthwhile addition to the anthropomorphic tradition of books like Wind In The Willow and Watership Down. What, I wonder, is it in our psyche that draws us to humanise the lives and thoughts of animals and insects?The book describes the birth, life, and death of Flora. She was born into the hive as a humble sanitation worker – cleaning up and removing the dead bodies of her sisters. But she, very unusually for a bee of her class, has the ability to talk and question the meaning of her existence. She is brave and saves the colony from a deadly wasp attack – and is rewarded by spending time in the queen’s serene presence. She is ‘promoted’ to be a forager and responsible, with her fellow foragers, for bringing in the nectar and pollen on which everyone depends so precariously for life.The Bees is not sentimental in describing the life of the hive. From the mating of a drone with the queen (and his subsequent immediate death), to the ‘removal’ of sick bees, to the contraction of the colony as winter approaches – surviving drones and the older and weaker bees are all thrown out, to the issues that a queen-less colony can face, everything is told in a matter of fact way. Life for a bee can be very hard.We learn a great deal about nature as we read The Bees. We get to know the evil and devious methods that wasps and spiders use to attract their prey. We get familiar with what flowers bloom at which season of the year, and we are taught how to recognise different pollens. Did you, for example, know that poppy pollen is black? We even find out the devastating impact of searching for pollen in a field of rape seed that has just been sprayed with deadly chemicals. And did you (I swear this is true) know that a forager returning to the hive performs a complicated dance to indicate to other foragers the precise direction and distance of the pollen she has found?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. The Hive Mind can override personal thoughts and control their actions. Groups think can take over and drive behaviour.Laline Paull has written a really great book which I wholeheartedly recommend. If you want to understand the life of the hive – and enjoy a really good story at the same time – then this is absolutely for you. You will be totally fascinated. The most memorable book I have read for quite a while.

This book has been raved about so much that I suspect I must be missing something as I did not enjoy it at all and couldn't even read to the end. I have given it two stars as I think the concept is brilliant and I did like the writing style. My biggest issue was with the protagonist, Flora, who I could not warm to and actually started to dislike as the story progressed. Her arrogance, overinflated ego and selfishness made it very hard to care what happened to her. Flora's constant rule breaking with no consequences became a necessary plot device so the many different aspects of the hive could be explored. However it very quickly became repetitive and I eventually lost interest. Many parts of the story made me think of a darker version of Bee Movie too which somewhat ruined the reading experience. I'm disappointed that I did not enjoy this as the premise was so promising.

Well. I don't know where to begin or what to say without spoiling the plot.Imagine a Bee Hive with human behaviour, power hungry upper class, the working class low caste, politics and the frailties of emotion, love etc.Well, somehow Laline has constructed an incredible lifelike world. Perhaps Orwellian in some respects but you will be thoroughly gripped from start to finish and never forget this book.Flora, the main protagonist is an amazing character and her journey from start to finish is a rollercoaster ride.One day I will reread this book but for now I'm cherishing the gorgeous memory of discovering this incredible book, Thank you Laline.

Well researched, beautifully written.A book that can be read by all ages and all preferences. It doesn't really fit into one specific genre, I think.I was drawn into the story from the very beginning and almost couldn't put the book down. It was not at all, what I expected.I also didn't expect, that the life of a bee could be so interesting, so gripping!It's definitely a good read and it made me regard bees differently after I finished it. (I didn't especially like or even notice them very much, before I read this book...)

Ho letto i primi capitoli, il libro è davvero intrigante. Utilizza però dei termini specifici del regno animale, quindi per me che non ho una conoscienza perfetta dell'inglese è un po' difficile. Alla mia ragazza che studia inglese a Londra è piaciuto molto!

This book offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of the honey bee, exemplified by Flora, lowly cleaner turned forager turned Queen Mother.The book is a bit too long and sometimes repetitive but the writing is so incredibly gorgeous and the story so unusual, exciting and delightful that I give it 5 stars.

Wow who would have thought such a wonderful story could be created through the eyes of a sanitation worker bee. The lowest of the low in a tightly controlled social world. Although poetic licence was used there was total suspense of disbelief. I felt for the bees and feared for their lives.

Eine spannend und in schöner Sprache erzählte Geschichte. Mein Tochter nimmt gerade in der 4. Klasse "Bienen" durch und ich habe das Buch noch mal auf Deutsch gekauft. Wir lesen es zusammen und überprüfen im Internet, was es mit diesem oder jenem auf sich hat. Meistens stellt sich heraus, dass die Bienen es tatsächlich so machen, wie im Buch beschrieben.

Written with tremendous perspective on the apiary and its bees. The physiological and psychological effect bees have on each other as well as how they are affected by their environment, all written in a fantastical way. Sometimes sad, sometimes exhilarating, a great read from cover to cover, and you don't have to be a beekeeper to enjoy it thoroughly!

Slow at first but then turns into a suspenseful page turner! Very interesting read. I may be bias because my parents owned bee hives for years, but they are truly a fascinating part of nature. So much work goes into keeping the hive organized and there really is a lot of bee politics. This novel was definitely well researched.

What an amazing book and story. It goes a mile a minute straight from the start. I couldn't put it down

Great story. Well written. Informative. Intriguing metaphor for ... Well read the book and find out! :)

I will never look at a bee the same again, this is a great read. I loved every page.

I found this really held my attention and the writer was able to accept the world created. Can be read on many levels.

What a fabulous story written from the point of view of a bee. who knew their lives were so complicated!

Very imaginative and almost hypnotic. I loved the rhythm of the prose and I learned a lot Hope she will write a lot more books

It was a busy read for me trying to keep the sect's apart. An insight into what an insect must put up with.

What a great read, with echoes of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, this book takes on politics, society, religion & sexuality - all through the eyes of bees. Highly recommended.