The History of Bees – Book Review – Beyond The Spine Reviews

Very light on spoilers, but indicates how happy the three perspective characters are at each of their arc finales.

This isn’t one of my favourite reads from the last five years, but it’s easily one I would recommend.

As a fan of bees and a hoarder of bee facts, there wasn’t too much in this book that was new to me, but there was plenty that I thought was important. Specifically, the emphasis that bees are necessary for modern agriculture, and without them, society as we know it is doomed.

Unfortunately, I read most of this book in a fluey fugue, so my perception of some elements could be a bit distorted.

Three Perspectives

The History of Bees is told through three timelines, one perspective in each. I enjoyed the novelty of the different timelines, but I think the speed at which the story switched made it difficult for me to settle in with any of the point-of-view characters. It was hard for me to remember anyone’s name.

Instead, I distinguished the three shifting stories as Victorian era, modern era, and the future.

I also didn’t like any of the characters, which isn’t to say that they were bad—their stories were compelling—but they’re certainly not clean-cut heroes I could root for.

The Victorian Era

At first, the Victorian era story (William) was easily the one with which I resonated the most. Depressed, lethargic academic is something I can understand more than parents possessed by the concept of legacy.

However, as his story progressed, I became more estranged by his adoration of his eldest son while missing the efforts of his doting daughter. The concept of legacy and parenthood is what gets William out of bed, but it also takes over his story in a way that alienated me as a reader, but it never reaches the zenith of Tao and George.

The Future Era

I found it very difficult to empathise with Tao, whose inability to see that she recreates her own parental trauma with her son was incredibly frustrating for me.

Like George (modern era), Tao never considers that her attempt to control Her progeny is unacceptable. Tao’s ambition leads her to suffocate the present and secure a miserable future as a martyr.

The Present Era

George is easily the most immediately despicable of the three, though elements of William’s later story contends with my constant dislike of George.

Much like Tao, George seeks to control his child, and like Tao he is unable to, creating frustration and tension between parent and son.

Connected by Bees

As one would guess, the three storylines are connected by a thread—a thread of bees. In the past, the reader learns about the beginnings of mass beekeeping, and the discoveries that enabled modern apiculture.

In the present era story, author Maja Lunde tells us about the difficulties faced by beekeepers in the modern day through the lens of a family of beekeepers.

In the future, in a world without bees, human progress is undone as all hands must bend toward pollination.