April Book Club - The Bees by Laline Paull

Laline Paull's debut novel tells the story of Flora, a young female, constrained by the class she was born into, surrounded by religious fervour and controlled by a ruling elite.

 So far, a typical dystopian tale. However the twist here is that Flora is not human but a worker bee and the world she lives in isn't a far-flung future but the here-and-now in a beehive.

The book group was divided as to this novel - some loved the parallels with modern life, while others said they 'couldn't get past the talking bee'. However we all agreed that we are now much more aware of the perils facing bees, the dangers of pesticides, and the impact of climate change. In fact most of the group committed to taking measures to create bee-friendly environments in their gardens and hanging baskets!