Cannonball Read 14

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That Bee Life Hustle

The Bees by Laline Paull

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The Bees by Laline Paull, another MGR read, follows an unusual worker bee named Flora 717. The entire novel is written from her perspective. It took me a few pages to realize Flora was an insect! It becomes rather obvious that she has a monotonous existence. She is essentially as garbage bee working sanitation for the hive. Her belly is unusually big, apparently seen as ugly by society. Somehow she is able to talk, unlike other worker bees. She is curious about other parts of […]

Oh no! Not the Bees!!

The Bees by Laline Paull

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The Bees follows a bee named Flora 717.  Flora is in the lowest caste of the hive being one of the sanitation workers.  She immediately finds out she’s different from the other bees, in that she can produce food and feed the babies with “flow” (something that most other bees can’t do). Curiosity typically is punished in the hive but Flora’s courage and loyalty to the hive is rewarded. She experiences things that most bees never get to do–move fluidly between the different castes of […]

Gorgeous, Enthralling, Brilliant.

The Bees by Laline Paull

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The Bees is an enthralling and gorgeously written tale in the tradition of Watership Down. The frightening realism coupled with the brilliant world-building makes for an experience that will haunt you long after the story is over. Flora 717 is born in to the lowly sanitation class of her hive but upon her emergence it is discovered she can make Flow, an essential food source for the babies. She is put to work in the nursery and rotates through several roles. Later an act of […]

Bee-lieve Me, This Buzzed About Book Is Bee-autiful

The Bees by Laline Paull

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I love this book so much that I don’t know if I’ll be able to talk about it without breaking down into the incoherent fangirl I am in my heart of hearts. I’m going to try though because this was one of the most unique books I’ve read in years. One to put on my shelf of favorites, push into the hands of friends (or strangers), and revisit for yearly rereads. But don’t take my word for it, take Margaret Atwood’s, who called it a […]

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The Bees by Laline Paull

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NB: I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads program, but that has not affected the content of my review. What the F star star cunt* did I just read. IIIIIIIIIIIII . . . have no idea how to rate this book. I have no idea how to talk about this book. I have no idea how to think about this book. I mean, on the one hand, I’m so glad something like this — so weird and weird and […]



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