The Bees, Laline Paull
The Bees, Laline Paull
6 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Bees
A Novel

Author: Laline Paull

Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy

Unabridged: 10 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 05/06/2014


Synopsis

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.

About Laline Paull

Laline Paull studied English at Oxford, screenwriting in Los Angeles, and theater in London. She lives in England with her husband, photographer Adrian Peacock, and their three children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on April 20, 2022

The Bees is a powerful tale of what life might look like to a hive member. This is not your kids’ Bug’s Life, but a very grown-up, compelling drama that includes both sweetness and considerable sting. There are several elements that might make one think of Game of Thrones Drones. Corruption on high,......more

Goodreads review by Trudi on June 10, 2014

Bees are exceptional creatures. Their hive characterized by drama and high stakes, intelligence and a sophisticated organization that is a marvel to study and behold. For all its beauty and the tantalizing production of golden, luxurious honey, the bee life comes at a high price -- an existence prop......more

Goodreads review by Delee on April 02, 2017

People who know me even just a little- know how much I love Watership Down...so when I saw THE BEES on one of my friends GRs profile and read some reviews, one review in particular caught my attention- "Watership Down with Beeeeees" it said. I didn't have to read any further than that... For Flora 71......more

Goodreads review by Jane on March 03, 2019

I'm not even sure how to review this -- it's certainly one of the strangest things I've ever read! But I really enjoyed it! I listened to the audiobook as narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, and the narration was very good. In this story we follow Flora 717, a lowly sanitation bee, from the moment she emerge......more

Goodreads review by Baba on September 12, 2021

Accept. Obey. Serve. Flora 717 is a survivor - large, deformed and ugly at birth, normally she should have been summarily terminated... and did I forget to mention, she is a bee! Whether seen as allegorical or literal, the buzz (pun intended :)) around this book is very much well deserved. Are the co......more