The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
You’d probably define this as a dystopian science fiction novel because one if its three narrative strands is set nearly a hundred years in the future when the world has suffered an ecological disaster. It’s a science fiction novel in the mould of ‘Cloud Atlas’ as we alternate between three stories set in Victorian England, America at the start of the 21st century and China in 2098. The obvious link between all three strands is the importance of bees, or in the case of the Chinese story the absence of bees, who have long since become extinct with, we infer, drastic consequences for human life. As the stories progress, more subtle links begin to emerge including a focus on the parent-child dynamic.
The protagonist in the Victorian story is William, a disappointed seed merchant, who has given up his hopes of academic success and esteem for love. The pleasure of married, family life has proven transient, however, and he swings between deep depression and bravura plans to make a mark in the science world to gain the kudos with society and his family that he desperately craves. He sees what he considers a chance to produce something of value to society – a new type of beehive that will make beekeeping a much more manageable process. It seems that his close observation of the bees will lead to a technological breakthrough and the esteem that matters most to him. Things don’t, however, turn out as he expects.
George is a Midwestern beekeeper who is struggling to maintain his traditional approach to apiary in the face of modern farming methods that have ecological side effects but financial advantages. He seems not only to be fighting uphill against this rather dubious agrarian progress but also with his wife and son. The former wants to swap the harsh demands of her husband’s vocation for a more comfortable lifestyle in Florida. His son wants to write and has no interest in carrying on the family business, much to his father’s vexed incomprehension.
The third story, whilst at time slow moving, is the most fascinating. We are introduced to Tao who with her husband spends long, hard days painting pollen onto fruit trees. It seems that the centralised state control of the country has allowed China to cope with the worst of the dystopian future that the bees’ disappearance has engendered. Life for Tao and her family is full of backbreaking labour and few of the luxuries of life that we now enjoy, but there is a sense of purpose in their community and a feeling that China is in a better state than elsewhere. That is, however, until Tao’s son is struck down by a mystery ailment when the family take a trip into the country on a rare day’s holiday. The state authorities whisk him away, with Tao and her husband left distraught and mystified about why they are receiving no news of his condition or whereabouts. This leads Tao on a quest into the squalid, dangerous underbelly of the ruined city, Beijing, to reclaim her son.
Now this book seems to be right down my street as I love dystopian fiction as well as the creation of specific historical lifestyles. Yet this book left me rather underwhelmed. It had so many interesting elements but, ultimately, I found it slow moving and repetitive. The investments I made in the story and characters did not come to an enlightening coherence for which I had hoped.
I don’t normally look at other readers’ comments but did so in this case because I struggled to properly understand why I was unsatisfied with this novel. What I gleaned was that most readers liked the idea of this book more than the execution. Now this is Lunde’s first book for adults and, whilst I have never written a book, it seemed to me to have the characteristic of a less mature work. The two historical stories did not seem sufficiently differentiated in terms of the central male characters and the dilemmas they faced. Whilst I am not someone who needs to like characters to find a book appealing, here, both William and George were so self-centred, dogmatic and self-pitying that there was little hope of seeing them develop – they were fixed in their own worlds literally and metaphorically.
This is not a book I can recommend but, if the premise intrigues you, then it is not badly written and it may be more to your tastes than it was to mine.