The Bees A Novel
The Bees A Novel by Laline Paull, published by HarperCollins on May 6, 2014, is a unique exploration of life within an ancient bee society. This 1st Edition, comprising 352 pages, presents a world where only the queen may breed, and deformity is met with death. The story follows Flora 717, a sanitation worker in her hive, who, despite being part of the lowest caste, exhibits curiosity and courage that set her apart from her peers. As she navigates the complexities of hive life, Flora’s journey leads her to uncover profound mysteries that challenge the very foundations of her society.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines elements of fiction, literary themes, science fiction, and fantasy. Flora’s ascent from a lowly worker to a forager and her eventual confrontation with the hive’s sacred laws highlight her fierce maternal instincts and the conflicts they create. The Bees delves into the dynamics of power, sacrifice, and the struggle for identity within a rigid social hierarchy, offering a thought-provoking perspective on both the natural world and human society.
Official synopsis Publisher
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.
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