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lauraew333's review against another edition
5.0
Telling the Bees was about the murder of Albert Honig's neighbors. They were known as the Bee Ladies and they had an interesting relationship/friendship with Albert. Albert is a bee keeper, following the footsteps of his parents and also getting The Bee Sister's hooked on bees as well.
This book, to say the least, was filled with many layers. You can read just on the surface and merely try to solve the murder case. Or you can delve deeper and untangle Albert's rambling about bees and his relationship with Claire, the younger of the Bee Sisters. Through these ramblings, he describes the things he has learned through a life with bees and the knowledge he hopes to pass onto others.
I really liked this book. It was thought-provoking and deep. Yes, the classic action-packed-fast-paced-story is a very good read but once and a while I like to slow down and really read a book. This was one of the perfect books for that task.
Five star book all around!
This book, to say the least, was filled with many layers. You can read just on the surface and merely try to solve the murder case. Or you can delve deeper and untangle Albert's rambling about bees and his relationship with Claire, the younger of the Bee Sisters. Through these ramblings, he describes the things he has learned through a life with bees and the knowledge he hopes to pass onto others.
I really liked this book. It was thought-provoking and deep. Yes, the classic action-packed-fast-paced-story is a very good read but once and a while I like to slow down and really read a book. This was one of the perfect books for that task.
Five star book all around!
ivanssister's review against another edition
3.0
This is sort of a mystery, sort of a family history. Albert Honig is the type of man who likes to take the long way around a story. Overall this was an interesting story of family secrets.
bjreader's review against another edition
4.0
I found ''Telling the Bees' to be a creative and beautifully imagined novel spanning the arc of the twentieth century. It was a story abuzz with the ache and far reaching consequences of words left unspoken, the persistence of regret and the power of truth to both wound and heal. Loved the interspersing of the beekeeping in amongst the story, it added a definite allure to what was being told.
laura_storyteller's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
aiker_aika's review against another edition
2.0
a healing read with no romantic chenes. very nature-y and philosophical. didn't vibe with the numerous bee information it gave though. at first, it was alright and i am fascinated by this new info, but by the end of the book, i already skipped the parts with the info chenes and skipped back to the plot line. i just wasn't interested on bees. but after all, this book was easy to read an easy to follow. but the flashbacks to like 70 years made me so out of place and i can not really relate to it and it makes me laugh though.
marilynsaul's review against another edition
2.0
This book initially fascinated me. I've always been intrigued with beekeeping (my first Brownie badge!), but have never been brave enough to undertake the responsibility. So for anyone wanting to read about bees, hive hierarchy, how to keep a good hive and how to replenish a dying hive, this is a great book. That being said, the narrator is a reclusive character who frequently rambles off the topic of discussion, which at first was endearing, but later became downright annoying. His dearth of emotions would remind you of Spock, but Spock at least had personality. Two hundred pages into this 300-page book I was ready for it to end, but, no, on it went to its not so interesting and not so unexpected conclusion. I seriously wanted to wring this guy's neck and put him out of his misery, as I'm sure Claire also wanted to do throughout their acquaintance.
lilacs_books's review
3.0
Usually, I wouldn't like a book like this very much. It was very slow and the main character was much more contemplative than in most books I enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of contemporary fiction or mysteries either. However, I did enjoy this book. I'm not sure why but I definitely liked it.
The main character, Albert, is an old beekeeper and has been his whole life. He's never really had any adventure or done anything interesting in his life. At first I thought he was going to be very boring, but he's not. He's full of interesting facts about bees that I never new before. For example, a queen bee isn't born a queen bee, but is nurtured on royal jelly to make her develop the right organs to be a queen bee instead of a normal worker bee.
Some would find these seemingly random facts about bees annoying and distracting but they actually all relate to the story. Albert will explain something about bees and a few pages later it will be revealed how a human character has done the exact some thing he just described with bees. The author uses descriptions of bees' lives to foreshadow all the time, so by the end I'd read something simple about bees and would be scouring my head for how that could relate to the story and what it meant. Plus, they were really interesting, and I much prefer learning random things in books than school and am much more likely to remember something I learnt while reading.
As for the mystery side of the book, it was decent. I'm not keen on mysteries but like I said above the author used the bees to foreshadow, which made it more interesting for me. It was quite well thought out and I didn't spot any plot holes. The thing is, the big revelation at the end of the book wasn't really a big shocker. It was more of a "yeah, that makes sense" while nodding head sort of thing. I guess a relaxed revelation matches the tone of the book though, which was very slow and laid-back. All the same, don't go expecting a big "wow, I never would have guessed that!" moment.
All in all a very sweet, simple book. No action or adventure, but a sweet old man and many hives of bees. It was a slow read, but still enjoyable. Though, come to think if it, if I'd read this two years ago I don't think I'd have been able to finish it; I'd have wanted a more interesting plot and more fast paced action and wit. I think this is the sort of book you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy properly, and maybe older adults would find it a more enjoyable read than teenagers and young people. Still, I liked it and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but in no way does that effect (affect?) my opinion of it.
The main character, Albert, is an old beekeeper and has been his whole life. He's never really had any adventure or done anything interesting in his life. At first I thought he was going to be very boring, but he's not. He's full of interesting facts about bees that I never new before. For example, a queen bee isn't born a queen bee, but is nurtured on royal jelly to make her develop the right organs to be a queen bee instead of a normal worker bee.
Some would find these seemingly random facts about bees annoying and distracting but they actually all relate to the story. Albert will explain something about bees and a few pages later it will be revealed how a human character has done the exact some thing he just described with bees. The author uses descriptions of bees' lives to foreshadow all the time, so by the end I'd read something simple about bees and would be scouring my head for how that could relate to the story and what it meant. Plus, they were really interesting, and I much prefer learning random things in books than school and am much more likely to remember something I learnt while reading.
As for the mystery side of the book, it was decent. I'm not keen on mysteries but like I said above the author used the bees to foreshadow, which made it more interesting for me. It was quite well thought out and I didn't spot any plot holes. The thing is, the big revelation at the end of the book wasn't really a big shocker. It was more of a "yeah, that makes sense" while nodding head sort of thing. I guess a relaxed revelation matches the tone of the book though, which was very slow and laid-back. All the same, don't go expecting a big "wow, I never would have guessed that!" moment.
All in all a very sweet, simple book. No action or adventure, but a sweet old man and many hives of bees. It was a slow read, but still enjoyable. Though, come to think if it, if I'd read this two years ago I don't think I'd have been able to finish it; I'd have wanted a more interesting plot and more fast paced action and wit. I think this is the sort of book you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy properly, and maybe older adults would find it a more enjoyable read than teenagers and young people. Still, I liked it and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but in no way does that effect (affect?) my opinion of it.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Such an odd mixture of murder mystery, quiet ruminations on a personal history and arcana on beekeeping. The problem is that the last part overwhelms the first two, detracting from what could at times be a Marilynne Robinson-esque book.
The mystery is essentially obscured by the author; Claire and Hilda, aka "The Bee Ladies" are found by Albert, their neighbor, bound, gagged and asphyxiated in their home. While close at one time, there was a falling out and haven't spoken in over 15 years. The detective in charge of the inquiry asks Albert for his help, but this taciturn man spends more time talking about the bees than about his neighbors. There are trips down memory lane, recounting the history of the neighbor's relationship, that could be promising and yet, because of all the bee talk are too obscured. The big twist over who the killer was is telegraphed if readers can separate story from bees.
In her forward, the author mentions becoming interesting in the topic of bees when she "borrows" a book from her local library (she never returns the book) and Telling the Bees is clearly an excuse to share that interest. Less would have been more.
ARC provided by publisher.
The mystery is essentially obscured by the author; Claire and Hilda, aka "The Bee Ladies" are found by Albert, their neighbor, bound, gagged and asphyxiated in their home. While close at one time, there was a falling out and haven't spoken in over 15 years. The detective in charge of the inquiry asks Albert for his help, but this taciturn man spends more time talking about the bees than about his neighbors. There are trips down memory lane, recounting the history of the neighbor's relationship, that could be promising and yet, because of all the bee talk are too obscured. The big twist over who the killer was is telegraphed if readers can separate story from bees.
In her forward, the author mentions becoming interesting in the topic of bees when she "borrows" a book from her local library (she never returns the book) and Telling the Bees is clearly an excuse to share that interest. Less would have been more.
ARC provided by publisher.
renee_pompeii's review against another edition
Too much bee info, though will revisit to find out what happens with Claire who is pretty interesting.