The Bees

Paull, Laline

3.71

40,450 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1483004082 ISBN 13: 9781483004082

Publisher: Blackstone Pub, 2014

"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 any deformity means death in which a devout young worker bee finds herself in possession of a deadly secret, and becomes a hunted criminal whose decisions will mean life and death for her entire hive.Born into the lowest class of her rigid, hierarchical society, Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, an untouchable fit only to clean and remove the bodies of the dead from her orchard hive. As part of the collective, she is taught to accept, obey, serve work and sacrifice are the highest virtues, and worship of her beloved queen the only religion. Her society is governed by the priestess class, questions are forbidden, and all thoughts belong to the hive mind.But Flora is not like other bees a difference that holds profound consequences. 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.Part parable, part coming-of-age story, part pure page-turner, Laline Paull s chilling yet ultimately triumphant novel creates a luminous world that is simultaneously foreign and utterly familiar. Thrilling and imaginative, "The Bees" is the story of

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Product Description:

A member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive, Flora 717, due to her courage and strength, finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum where she discovers secrets about the hive that cause her to challenge authority and perform unthinkable acts.

Review:

"Riveting... evocative and beautiful."----NPR

"Richly imagined"----Los Angeles Times

"It quickly became clear that in its basic facts, the novel sticks closely to real-world apian biology and behavior. That is fascinating enough, but Paull deftly wields this information to create an even more elaborately layered culture of beeness...Beautiful."--Washington Post

"A marvelous work of fiction... The parallels to "1984" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" are numerous but this story is also its own."--Florida Times-Union

Fascinating engrossing Paull s clear fascination with her source material brings humanity and warmth to a depiction of the remarkable social world of bees, which is no small achievement. ----Huffington Post"

The Bees is an extraordinary feat of imagination, conjuring the life of a beehive in gripping, passionate and brilliant detail. With every page I turned, I found myself drawn deeper into Flora s plight and her immersive, mesmerizing world. ----Madeline Miller, bestselling author of The Song of Achilles--Madeline Miller, bestselling author of The Song of Achilles"

This is a rich, strange book...convincing in its portrayal of the mind-set of a bee and a hive. I finished it feeling I knew...how bees think and live. This is what sets us humans apart our imagination can...create a complete, believable world so different from our own. ----Tracy Chevalier, New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring"

Told with rapturously attentive imagination...Few novels create such a singular reading experience. ----The New York Times Book Review"

Riveting evocative and beautiful. ----NPR"

Richly imagined ----Los Angeles Times"

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