Everything one ever wanted to know about bees. ( )

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. ( )

I believe the author was trying to draw a metaphoric relationship between the history of two neighbors over a lifetime to the art of beekeeping. The story was a nice one, but the metaphor was difficult for me to grasp clearly. I think, overall, that the message of this novel is that clear, honest communication is vital. You shouldn't try to keep secrets from bees or lived ones. ( )

Albert find his neighbours Claire and Hilda murdered. What follows is a tale that flits backwards and forwards between their younger life and the murder investigation - interwoven with lots of information about the life of a beehive.

An interesting story without being gripping ( )

One of the most difficult ratings I've ever had to ponder but for this honey enthusiast (connoisseur?) any book about an erudite beekeeper no matter how frustrating his behavior and the narrative itself can be deserves five stars. The setting of southern Cal also helps as does the timespan from pre-WWI to the present. Although too much is told in flashback, Hesketh does an admirable job with her point of view time shifts. ( )