Bookreview: The Bees by Laline Paull*

This is a damned book. I have to say it. I'm sorry, but it took me a lot of time to really get into it. But once it was done, nothing could take me away from it. And it let a hole in my heart once finished.

Ms. Paull stages Flora 717 as her first protagonist. This one is born in the lower cast of her society where everybody go by the name of their cast, and their number indicates their birth. So, Flora is a special case because she is born with a tongue when Floras usually don't. Normally, a deformity is banished, and the bearer executed. But a Sage protests against the execution of Flora 717 whose in great shape and her strength needed in the society. So, she starts her life as a cleaner, but is introduced by the Sage in the Nursery and becomes a nurse. Flora 717 is different, not only because of her tongue which permits her to reply when needed, but also because she has a strong will to love and be loved, to not only respond to the needs of her society, but also to live her life at 200%. In this matriarchal society, where the Queen is the only one authorized to give birth, where everyone is influenced (or drugged?) by sweet scents, Flora 717 will find herself pregnant: and will have to hide it in order to survive.

Did I say Flora 717 is born in a hive?

Laline Paull succeeds to demonstrate world of the bees and to captivate the reader. A great first novel for this new writer.

You HAVE to read it if you are interested by bees, dystopias or matriarchal societies.

"The scent of the hive began to change as dawn rose, but the comb was quiet and no one stirred as Flora returned to her dormitory. Her bunk was completely cooled of body warmth as she lay down and curled her abdomen in for sleep. The tip still throbbed, yet she felt oddly calm. All she wanted was to draw the last of that beautiful scent into her mind and feel that warm, tender shimmer of life against her body again. She had committed a crime, yet she felt no guilt, only love for her egg."

*Pas encore traduit en français./Not translated in French.