The Bees: Library Edition

Paull, Laline

ISBN 10: 1483004074 ISBN 13: 9781483004075

Publisher: Blackstone Pub, 2014

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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"

From the Back Cover:

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 assets. She is allowed to feed the newborns in the royal nursery and then to become a forager, flying alone and free to collect nectar and pollen. A feat of bravery grants her access to 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 preeminence-enemies abound, from the fearsome fertility police who enforce the hive's strict social hierarchy to the high priestesses jealously wedded to power. Her deepest instincts to serve and sacrifice are now overshadowed by a greater power: a fierce maternal love that will bring her into conflict with her conscience, her heart, and her society-and lead her to perform unthinkable deeds.

Thrilling, suspenseful, and spectacularly imaginative, The Bees and its dazzling young heroine will forever change the way you look at the world outside your window.

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Pub
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1483004074
• ISBN 13: 9781483004075
• Binding: Audio CD