The Bees

(3.5 Stars) I have mixed feelings about this novel. It took me forever to finish it, and I still can't figure out why. The premise is fascinating and there are so many things that make it stand out in what I would think are good ways. I can't understand why I was only invested in the end.

This is a novel that follows the life of a sanitation worker bee (and the many times she should have been killed). It's also a political book that deals with the hierarchy of the hive, and the ways that the power is enforced and changed. The writing was good and the plot was good. I can't say much against the book besides the fact I could never get into it.

I did learn that all bees don't necessarily die when they sting something. Only certain types of bees, this was because of a clarifying google search after I was befuddled when bees didn't immediately parish in the book after stinging things.

I know you can take this book as an allegory for absolute monarachy's but I found that one of the reasons it stood out was because bees operate differently than humans do. They have built-in mechanics to listen to and that creates very interesting things when it comes to politics as Paull showed.

It was a fascinating read, I'll give it that.