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Die Geschichte der Bienen

(Klimakvartetten #1)

Maja Lunde,

Ursel Allenstein (Translator)

3.82 · Rating details · 9,482 ratings · 1,178 reviews

England im Jahr 1852: Der Biologe und Samenhändler William kann seit Wochen das Bett nicht verlassen. Als Forscher sieht er sich gescheitert, sein Mentor Rahm hat sich abgewendet, und das Geschäft liegt brach. Doch dann kommt er auf eine Idee, die alles verändern könnte – die Idee für einen völlig neuartigen Bienenstock.

Ohio, USA im Jahr 2007: Der Imker George arbeitet har ...more

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Hardcover, 512 pages

Published March 20th 2017 by btb (first published August 2015)

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Sep 19, 2017 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Three stories that are connected, though how is not apparent until book's end. 1851, William, 2007, George and 2098, Tao, tied together by their dependency on bees. In 2098, the bees have all been wiped out, in China they pollinate by hand, a labor intensive endeavor. Each of these three have sons, so this is also very much about the bond and expectations between parent and child.

Very slow start to this book, was tempted to put it down, but I have a profound interest in our environment, espe ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 بثينة العيسى rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

رواية لا تُنسى، ومن أجمل ما قرأت. هي من ذلك النوع الناعم الذي يمنحك البصيرة ويريك عوالم غير مسبوقة. أحببتها وممتنة للترجمة البديعة.

تمنّيتُ ألا تنتهي.

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Aug 16, 2017 Taryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: received-from-publisher, netgalley

Without bees, the flowers were just flowers, not blueberries, not bread and butter.

3.5 Stars. The three protagonists are multiple generations apart, but their lives are all linked by the fate of bees:

• Sichuan, China in 2098: Pollinating insects completely disappeared from Earth over half a century before, so humans have assumed the bees' role. In order to survive, humans have refined the arduous process of hand-pollination. Children are trained for the job as soon as they enter school and beg ...more

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Nov 12, 2018 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-german

Unfortunately, this was a bit of a disappointment for me. I heard so many raving reviews about this book, so I totally expected this to really draw me in and leave a lasting impression, but that didn't really happen. Mostly this was down to the characters. I didn't get a good grip on them; they stayed very two-dimensional throughout the entire book. This is a shame, because I feel that a deeper connection to the characters would have changed my feelings drastically.

The story is told from three d Unfortunately, this was a bit of a disappointment for me. I heard so many raving reviews about this book, so I totally expected this to really draw me in and leave a lasting impression, but that didn't really happen. Mostly this was down to the characters. I didn't get a good grip on them; they stayed very two-dimensional throughout the entire book. This is a shame, because I feel that a deeper connection to the characters would have changed my feelings drastically.

The story is told from three different points of view, each taking place in a different time period. I found all of the individual stories interesting, but none of them really pulled on my heartstrings, despite having the potential to do so. Again, this is where a better character development and deeper look into their lives and feelings would have been needed.
The chapters were all pretty short, which was another thing that bothered me (and I normally love short chapters!). Whenever the really interesting stuff seemed to start (a discovery, a new idea, etc.), the chapter ended and the point of view changed. And when the story turned back to a character, time had already passed and the chapter picked up after all the exciting stuff had already happened and all you can read about now is the conclusions and the further actions the character is taking. Longer chapters would have been so much better! I needed more feelings and thoughts and emotions!

I heard so many critics talking about how "important" this book is. I do agree that the topic is very important, but the book itself? Not really. I could have gone without reading it, because I didn't see any real exploration on why bees dying would be a horrible thing to happen. Like yeah, the world doesn't seem to be such a nice place in the year 2098, but how exactly does this all relate to the bees? I needed more answers...(view spoiler)

The reason I decided to give this book three stars nonetheless, is the fantastic writing style. Maja Lunde certainly knows how to use words, which made for a very pleasing and "comfortable" reading experience, and I stayed interested in the topic and the three different life stories the whole way through. However, I would love her writing even more if she put a bit more feeling into it and gave her characters more depth. ...more

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Jan 15, 2018 Manny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history-and-biography, older-men-younger-women, swedish-norwegian-and-danish, science, science-fiction

All over the world, the bees are dying. Despite considerable research, we don't really know why; it seems to be a combination of several different causes. Evidently, this is not good. But what does it mean in emotional terms? What would be an appropriate way to feel? Having read Maja Lunde's elegant and beautiful novel, I can suggest some possible answers:

- It might feel like being hungry and knowing you're never going to get enough to eat.

- It might feel like helplessly watching your partner be ...more

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Jan 12, 2016 Mallpunk rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I felt it was too simplistic. I never really connected with any of the three stories. I kept waiting for a plot twist or something that would really catch me, either emotionally or intellectually, but it continued straight all the way to the end. The characters lack depth and everything is over-explained. The ending attempts to bring together the threads, but it feels more like an afterthought to tidy up loose ends, and not something that touches upon the core of the story.

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Dec 11, 2017 Mohamed Al rated it really liked it · review of another edition

لا بد أن البعض منكم، خصوصا إذا كان شقيًا مثلي في طفولته، تعرّض إلى لسعة مؤلمة من نحلة غاضبة بعد أن نكش خليتها بطرف عصا أو رماها بقطعة حجر. ولا بد كذلك أن البعض منكم تمنى مثلي، وهو يمسح بقايا المخاط والدموع من على وجهه، بينما تدلك والدته مكان لسعة النحلة لو اختفى هذا النحل الشرير من العالم!

تذكرت أمنيتي الطفولية تلك وأنا ألتقط هذه الرواية التي ترجمتها دار المنى مؤخرًا، وكُتب على غلافها الغلفي بأنها "رواية ذكية ورائعة"، وقلت لنفسي يبدو أن هذه الكاتبة، والتي لا بدّ وأنّها تعرّضت للسعة نحلة في طفولت لا بد أن البعض منكم، خصوصا إذا كان شقيًا مثلي في طفولته، تعرّض إلى لسعة مؤلمة من نحلة غاضبة بعد أن نكش خليتها بطرف عصا أو رماها بقطعة حجر. ولا بد كذلك أن البعض منكم تمنى مثلي، وهو يمسح بقايا المخاط والدموع من على وجهه، بينما تدلك والدته مكان لسعة النحلة لو اختفى هذا النحل الشرير من العالم!

تذكرت أمنيتي الطفولية تلك وأنا ألتقط هذه الرواية التي ترجمتها دار المنى مؤخرًا، وكُتب على غلافها الغلفي بأنها "رواية ذكية ورائعة"، وقلت لنفسي يبدو أن هذه الكاتبة، والتي لا بدّ وأنّها تعرّضت للسعة نحلة في طفولتها، لم تكتفِ بأمنية، كما فعلت أنا، ولكنها ذهبت أبعد من ذلك وتخيلت عالمًا بدون نحل ... انتقامًا منه ربّما كما ظننت في بادئ الأمر.

لكن ما لم يُكتب على الغلاف الخلفي، ولا الأمامي، وتجب كتابته هنا .. هو أنّ هذه الرواية بقدر ما هي موجعة كلسعة النحل، إلا أنها لذيذة جدًا كعسله. والمؤلفة لم تكتب الرواية انتقامًا من النحل، بل افتح أعيننا على الكارثة التي تهدد وجوده بسبب الاستخدام المفرط للمبيدات وانتشار الآفات الدخيلة، والتي بدأت فعلًا بالتأثير على أعداده التي بدأت بالتناقص كثيرًا منذ عام ٢٠٠٦.

يُمكن لرواية "حين اختفى النحل" أن تُقرأ على عدة مستويات، فهي رواية ديستوبية مروعة تصور لنا كيف سيبدو العالم لو اختفى النحل، وهي رواية تاريخية وعلمية تسرد لنا المحاولات البشرية الأولى لترويض النحل (إن جاز التعبير)، وهي هجاء سياسي مرير للأنظمة التي تحول المجتمعات إلى آلات صمّاء، كما أنها رواية رمزية ذكية تؤكد فكرة خلود الكتب .. الورقية منها تحديدًا.

على الرغم من وجود العديد من الشخصيات الرئيسية التي سنكتشف كيف تتقاطع مصائرها في نهاية الرواية إلا أن النحل هو الشخصية الرئيسية، وحضوره في الرواية حضور إيجابي، على نحو ما، فالنحل هو من يُخرج "ويليام" من كآبته في إنجلترا عام 1852، وهو الذي يعيد ترتيب العلاقة بين "جورج" وابنه "توم" في أمريكا عام 2007، وهو الذي يدمّر ومن ثم يعيد بناء حياة "تاو" في الصين عام 2098.

إنها بالفعل، كما كُتب على غلافها الخلفي، رواية رائعة وذكية.

...more

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Aug 22, 2015 Tanja Berg rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scandinavian, drama, family-saga

Rating 4* out of 5. Read in Norwegian. I feel a teeny weeny bit foolish reviewing this book in English, since it hasn't yet been released in any other country. It's been sold to several and it certainly has international appeal, and thus, I choose to review in English anyway.

This is probably the most un-Norwegian book by a Norwegian author I have ever read. It works though. The book is beautifully written and a joy to read for sheer composition. There are three different plots on different timel ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Mel (Epic Reading) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-netgalley, library-ebook, own-print, favorites

This is wonderful!
By a Norwegian novel debut author, Maja Lunde; translated from Norwegian The History of Bees is really well written. While I give 80% of that credit to Lunde, a bit of credit is due to the translator Diane Oatley.
Following three different timelines, all related to bees in some way, this is a literary masterpiece.

The three settings
We have 1898, 2007 and 2089 as our time periods. Set in completely different parts of the world as well; England, USA and China respectively.
Of c ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Lucy Banks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A slow-burner, but loving the exploration into the vital importance of bees.

Bees are absolutely my favourite insect, so a book with bees in the title was never going to be overlooked by me. As ever, I wasn't sure what to expect - and was mostly engaged, with just a few occasions where I was left scratching my head.

The story follows three narratives - William, a bee-hive designer /obsessive from the Victorian era, Geo ...more

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Jul 29, 2018 Katie.dorny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018

Definitely between a 3.5/4 star read for me.
Here we meet William, George and Tao. Our past, present and future in regards to our history with bees.
Each character embodies a different personal, historical or familial crisis. In this book change is painful. Humanity is destroying itself trying to tame bees globally; and this relationship is also imprinted on our intimate relationships.
All characters have varying relationships with their sons - it is rather symbolic to tie alongside earth’s relatio ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Marialyce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rating wise this book is a tough one for me to call. There were parts of it that were excellent while also having parts that seemed to drag a bit. However, the author, Maja Lunde, was able to weave a tale of three generations of bee keepers. Each one covered a time span. The past, was represented by William, a seed keeper who wants to build a perfect bee hive thus securing his fame and his family's future in the world he inhabits. In the present time, we meet George who battles the modern age in Rating wise this book is a tough one for me to call. There were parts of it that were excellent while also having parts that seemed to drag a bit. However, the author, Maja Lunde, was able to weave a tale of three generations of bee keepers. Each one covered a time span. The past, was represented by William, a seed keeper who wants to build a perfect bee hive thus securing his fame and his family's future in the world he inhabits. In the present time, we meet George who battles the modern age in farming as he strives to bring his son into the world and the passion he holds for the bees. Finally, there is Tao presenting the future where bees are no longer living. She and her husband are employed in the process of painting pollen unto the fruit trees to ensure not only their survival but also that of the people who now exist in a world that no longer resembles what we have come to know. These three characters come together with their families to provide the reader with many glimpses into their family dynamics and the way of life each lead in the world that they inhabited.

For this reader Tao's story was the most interesting. Her son is taken ill on a day trip into the country and is whisked away mysteriously. She begins a search for him, leaving her husband behind and through her travels we see a world of the future that is none too bright and exceedingly sad.

I found this book to be very earthy, one that paints a strong picture of our reliance on these little creatures that bind together in their hive and work as a unit. They definitely have something to teach we humans about binding together to accomplish goals.

So now it comes to rating this novel. In my mind I feel that the subject matter rates a five. However, because the writing was at time wandering and somewhat disjointed, I will give it a four. I realize that this book was translated into English so some of this meandering might have been caused by that issue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Touchstone for providing me with an advanced copy for an unbiased review.

...more

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Jan 28, 2018 Carlos rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction-btw

3.5 stars for this book. It is a nice book that attempts to connect three timelines, one in the late 1800’s , the other in the early 2000 and the last one in the late 2000’s . The only thing linking them is the bees and how beekeeping has destroyed , supported and changed their life forever. It was a very interesting thing to try and keep up with all these timelines, at first it takes you some time to connect with all the different characters, so I would say it had a slow start. The book picks u ...more

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Aug 22, 2017 Annina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, studying, nordic-authors

Ich konnte das Buch kaum weglegen. Bei allen drei Protagonisten (insbesondere bei Tao) konnte ich mitfühlen. Ich finde Maja Lunde hat den Grat zwischen Fakten und Fiktion sehr gut getroffen und in einem simplen Stil wiedergegeben. Empfehlenswert.

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Jul 30, 2016 Rafal rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: varia-scripta

Świetne czytadło. Połknąłem ją w kilka dni. Czytałem z wypiekami. A kilka razy łza zakręciła mi się oku.
Ale mimo to mam do tej książki sporo zastrzeżeń.
Żeby jednak nie było, że jestem marudnym pierdzielem - zacznijmy od zalet.

Największą jest wspaniałe ekologiczne przesłanie. Po przeczytaniu tej książki człowiek aż chce zatroszczyć się o środowisko, zaczyna kochać pszczółki a zanim rozgniecie komara, zastanowi się dwa razy. Piszę to prawie bez ironii. Bo ja i bez tej książki mam takie podejście Świetne czytadło. Połknąłem ją w kilka dni. Czytałem z wypiekami. A kilka razy łza zakręciła mi się oku.
Ale mimo to mam do tej książki sporo zastrzeżeń.
Żeby jednak nie było, że jestem marudnym pierdzielem - zacznijmy od zalet.

Największą jest wspaniałe ekologiczne przesłanie. Po przeczytaniu tej książki człowiek aż chce zatroszczyć się o środowisko, zaczyna kochać pszczółki a zanim rozgniecie komara, zastanowi się dwa razy. Piszę to prawie bez ironii. Bo ja i bez tej książki mam takie podejście do życia, ale mam szczerą nadzieję, że parę osób, które naturą się nie przejmuje - po lekturze - zmieni zdanie. To przesłanie jest wg mnie lepsze niż na przykład w "Sekretnym życiu drzew", które jest raczej nudne.

Zaletą jest także język. Prosty, bez nadęcia nawet w szczególnie wzruszających czy ważnych momentach.

Zalet jest wiele innych, ale są pomniejsze więc przejdźmy to drobnych problemów.

Przeszkadzało mi to, że to tak naprawdę ckliwa historyjka. Bardzo przewidywalna w wielu aspektach. Powód choroby chłopca zgadłem od razu. Powiązania między bohaterami też prawie od razu były oczywiste, niespodzianką (ale nie zaskoczeniem) było tylko - jak konkretnie zostaną te powiązania przedstawione.

No i najważniejszy dla mnie zarzut - który stawia dla mnie pod znakiem zapytania literacką wartość tej książki. Forma. Krótkie rozdziały z imionami bohaterów jako tytuły i bardzo plastyczne opisywanie rzeczywistości. To podobne rozwiązanie do "Gry o tron". I tak jak w przypadku GoT tak i tu miałem wrażenie, że autorka pisała książkę, ale oczyma duszy wiedziała już scenariusz i film, jaki na podstawie tej książki powstanie. To ma na pewno wiele zalet. Krótkie, dynamiczne rozdziały powodują, że świetnie się czyta w autobusie. Ale niestety literatura na tym cierpi. W pewnym momencie ma się wrażenie, że to "Serial o pszczołach" a nie "Historia pszczół".

Ale poza tym na pewno warto to przeczytać i kocham pszczoły (oraz miodek) ...more

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Jul 21, 2017 Semjon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Ich habe lange zwischen 2 und 3 Sternen geschwankt und mich nun letztlich für die bessere Note entschieden, weil das Buch durchaus unterhaltsam geschrieben ist. Zudem mag ich es, wenn verschiedene Handlungsstränge neben her laufen und am Ende verwoben werden. Zudem wird ein interessantes Thema mit dem Bienensterben aufgegriffen. So viel zu den positiven Aspekten.

Ich war aber auch enttäuscht von dem Buch, denn der Titel lässt vermuten, dass die ökologischen Aspekte der Bienen und die Konsequenze ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Lost In My Books rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ulubione

"Jedna pszczoła bowiem jest niczym, cząstką tak małą, że całkiem pozbawioną znaczenia, natomiast razem z innymi jest wszystkim. Bo razem stanowią pszczelą rodzinę."

Ta książka przewijała mi się naprawdę wiele razy, dużo osób mówiło o niej naprawdę pozytywnie, ale bałam się po nią sięgnąć, bo odnosiłam wrażenie, że może być nudna. Aż pewnego dnia (1,5 miesiąca temu) jakoś nagle naszła mnie ochota na nią i zrobiłam spontaniczny zakup. Czy żałuję? Absolutnie nie!

Historia tej powieści toczy się w trzech wiekach. Na początku poznajemy przyszłość w roku 2098, główną bohaterką jest Tao, która pracuje od rana do wieczora przy ręcznym zapylaniu drzew, ponieważ wszystkie pszczoły na świecie wyginęły. Pewnego dnia ginie jej synek i Tao wyrusza na poszukiwania, a to na co trafi będzie przełomowe dla ludzkości.
Następny bohater to Wiliam z roku 1852, pracuje nad pewnym projektem, nie wie tylko, że w innej części świat ktoś wpadł na ten sam pomysł.
I ostatnia nasza postać to Geogre z 2007 r., prowadzi on hodowlę pszczół i z całego serca pragnie by jego syn odziedziczył po nim farmę, niestety Tom ma zupełnie inne plany. W dodatku pszczoły zaczynają stopniowo na całym świecie wymierać.

Historia każdej z tych osób jest naprawdę bardzo ciekawa i naprawdę nie potrafię wybrać, która bardziej mi się podobała. Śledziłam losy każdego z nich z równym zainteresowaniem. Najlepsze jest to, że autorka stworzyła bohaterów bardzo realistycznych i naprawdę dobrze nadała im cechy charakteru.

Książka miała być o pszczołach, a tak naprawdę one są tylko tłem całej fabuły. Dobrym tłem. Śledzimy życie i losy bohaterów, które po prostu są powiązane z pszczołami. Ale to nie jest wada, lecz zaleta. Chciałabym częściej trafiać na powieści z dobrym tłem fabularnym. Szkoda tylko, że autorka nie nadała więcej dramatyzmu w związku z utratą pszczół, bo jednak one są najważniejszą częścią naszego życia, więc byłoby dobrze, gdyby ta katastrofa była bardziej dramatyczna, może byśmy bardziej zdawali sobie z tego sprawę.
description

W ,,Historii pszczół" nie ma jakiejś porywającej akcji, ale o dziwo książka nie nudzi. Śledzenie losów bohaterów naprawdę absorbuje. Nie próbowałam nawet myśleć, jak to wszystko się skończy, czytałam ją i dałam się porwać opowieści, tak po prostu. I chociaż książkę czyta się naprawdę szybko, to przeczytanie jej zajęło mi kilka dni, nie chciałam jej szybko skończyć, chciałam się nią delektować, dłużej zostać z bohaterami, tak aby nigdy nie zapomnieć tej historii. Podkreślę, że jest ona również pełna emocji.
Naprawdę cieszę się, że kupiłam ją i poznałam tę piękną, sączącą i mądrą powieść. Autorka napisała kawał wyśmienitej lektury.
...more

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Jun 29, 2017 Touchstone Books rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

For starters, our art team did an incredible job with the U.S. cover. Absolutely incredible. And when you see it in person, it's even more beautiful—tons of gold, special effects, I can't get over it. But that's what we had to do to live up to the gorgeous story inside. Would a world without bees be a world without us? You'll have to read it to find out.

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Nov 29, 2017 Maryam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley, fiction, first-read, ebooks

This book consists of three connected stories which their connection is not clear until almost the end of the book. When the connection is revealed the three stories become one and it’s actually story of us, humans.

1851/ England: William, an academic which tries to design a new bee hive in order to observe their lives. He’s obsessed with first his research then his son Edmund who seems ignores him all the time.

2007/USA. George. He’s from a generation of bee keepers/ Organic bee keeprs. He takes ...more

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Apr 02, 2018 Sandra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, first-read-book

Ateidami į pasaulį su savimi ir misiją atsinešame. Misija - kurti, naikinti, susinaikinti. Knygoje supintos trys istorijos apie vidines katastrofas, ištekančias toli už vidinių indų ir keičiančias pasaulį (priežastis ir pasekmė kaip varomoji knygos jėga). Visos jos susijusios su bitėmis ir bičių, kaip tobulų organizmų, elgsenos ypatumais. Istorija įtikinama ir verčianti apmąstyti savo šiandienos veiksmus, skatinanti žvelgti plačiau ir pasidaryti atitinkamas išvadas. Trijų pagrindinių veikėjų pav ...more

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May 06, 2017 BuboBubo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: neuzugänge-2017, read-in-2017

1852: Der Biologe und Samenhändler William lebt zusammen mit seiner Frau, seinem einzigen Sohn und seinen sieben Töchtern in England. Er forscht über Bienen und möchte seinem Sohn Edward und seinem Mentor Rahm imponieren und verschreibt sich ganz der Bienen und ihrer Lebensweise. Er verfällt nach mehreren Rückschlägen immer wieder in schwere Depressionen und kann sein Bett nicht mehr verlassen und ist somit seiner großen Familie keine große Hilfe Gelingt es ihm dennoch Erfolge durch seine Forsch 1852: Der Biologe und Samenhändler William lebt zusammen mit seiner Frau, seinem einzigen Sohn und seinen sieben Töchtern in England. Er forscht über Bienen und möchte seinem Sohn Edward und seinem Mentor Rahm imponieren und verschreibt sich ganz der Bienen und ihrer Lebensweise. Er verfällt nach mehreren Rückschlägen immer wieder in schwere Depressionen und kann sein Bett nicht mehr verlassen und ist somit seiner großen Familie keine große Hilfe Gelingt es ihm dennoch Erfolge durch seine Forschung zu erlangen?

2007: George lebt in Amerika, Ohio, mit seiner Frau Emma und seinem Sohn Tom. Er betreibt eine Imkerei und möchte, dass sein Sohn diese eines Tages übernimmt. Doch dieser beschließt eine akademische Laufbahn einzuschlagen. Nicht nur das trifft den Vater, sondern auch ein großer Kollaps bahnt sich an. Immer mehr Bienen sterben-nicht nur in seiner Imkerei, sondern die ganze USA ist vom großen Bienensterben betroffen. Kann er sich und seine Familie über Wasser halten?
2098: Tao lebt mit ihrem Mann Kuan und ihrem dreijährigen Sohn Wei-Wen in China. Dort geht sie jeden Tag ihrer Arbeit als Handbestäuberin nach, denn Bienen gibt es schon lange keine mehr. Nicht nur die Insekten mussten einen großen Verlust verzeichnen, auch die Menschen sind nicht mehr so zahlreich auf der Erde wie ein Jahrhundert zuvor. Eines Tages erschüttert der Unfall des kleinen Sohnes das Ehepaar und auch die Regierung ist auf den Vorfall aufmerksam geworden.

Die norwegische Autorin Maja Lunde erzählt in drei Handlungssträngen, auf drei Kontinenten, drei Geschichten. Jede von ihnen hat eines gemeinsam, den Bezug zu Bienen.
Wir erleben die anfängliche Erforschung von Bienenstöcken, die Anfänge des Bienensterbens und eine mögliche Zukunft in der es keine Bienen mehr gibt und wie die Menschheit mit dem Verlust der Insekten vor Jahrzehnten umgeht. Auch wenn die Geschichten in verschiedenen Jahren spielen und auf verschiedenen Kontinenten, wird die Abhängigkeit voneinander sehr deutlich. Der Leser wird durch kurze Kapitel, welche sich immer wieder abwechseln durch die Geschichte der Bienen geführt.
Jede Familie kämpft mit Existenzängsten, welche sehr von den Bienen abhängt. Auch die Beziehung der Erwachsenen zu ihren Kindern wird deutlich und die Bienen haben einen sehr starken Einfluss darauf. Jeder Hauptcharakter hat seine Eigenarten, die den Leser manchmal zweifelnd zurücklässt. Alle drei Handlungsstränge sind spannend und interessant. Der Leser weiß vom Anfang an auf was es hinausläuft, auf das große Bienensterben, und leidet mit allen drei Protagonisten mit.
Auch wenn die verschiedenen Personen mit unterschiedlichen Problemen zu kämpfen haben, dreht sich alles um die Bienen, um die Existenz und um die Familie, insbesondere das Verhältnis zu den Kindern. Die Bienen sind hier das Gerüst, das alles aufrechterhält und lebensnotwenig ist.
Dadurch, dass mein Opa selbst Bienen hatte und selbst Honig geschleudert hat, hatte ich bereits Vorwissen zum Thema Imkerei. Es hat mir viel Spaß gemacht, einen Roman zu lesen, in dem diese kleinen Insekten eine große Wirkung haben. Maja Lunde hat keinen Roman geschrieben, der mit Fakten überfüllt ist, sondern einen Roman mit viel Gefühl und einer tollen Story, in der Bienen einen großen Teil einnehmen und deutlich macht, wie sehr die Menschheit diese fleißigen Insekten braucht. ...more

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Jul 16, 2017 Marjorie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

There are three stories in this wonderful novel about the history and destiny of bees and their ties to humanity. The stories take place in 1851, 2007 and 2098. 1851 tells the story of British shopkeeper William Savage, whose dream is to build a better bee hive to ensure his children a better future. 2007 centers on George and his son, Tom. George is a beekeeper who longs to build up his business together with Tom, but Tom’s longings lie elsewhere. In 2098, Tao has the horrendous job of hand pai ...more

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Aug 31, 2017 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-via-netgalley, scandinavian, lit-in-translation, historical-fiction, dystopian, environmentalist, reviewed-bookbag

Blending historical, contemporary and future story lines, this inventive novel, originally published in Norway in 2015, is a hymn to the dying art of beekeeping and a wake-up call about the environmental disaster the disappearance of bees signals. The plot strands share the strong themes of troubled parenthood and the drive to fulfill one’s purpose. Like David Mitchell or Louisa Hall, Lunde juggles extremely different time periods and voices admirably. The only sections of the book that dragged ...more

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Aug 09, 2017 ☙ percy ❧ marked it as tbr-shortlist · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-standalone

this sounds kinda like cloud atlas except with extra bees, which essentially sounds like... MY PERFECT BOOK!!!!!!

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Sep 17, 2017 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This is a beautifully written story with an incredibly terrifying message. If the bees die, so do we. Simple as that. The three interconnected timelines focus on bees in the past, present and future. The past timeline deals with the invention of better beehives to aid in the study of bees. It doesn't sound super exciting but this family has a lot going on and they are quite interesting. I especially loved Charlotte, the budding feminist who doesn't let her gender hold her back from reading and, This is a beautifully written story with an incredibly terrifying message. If the bees die, so do we. Simple as that. The three interconnected timelines focus on bees in the past, present and future. The past timeline deals with the invention of better beehives to aid in the study of bees. It doesn't sound super exciting but this family has a lot going on and they are quite interesting. I especially loved Charlotte, the budding feminist who doesn't let her gender hold her back from reading and, gasp, thinking!

The present timeline concerns a bee farm and the family who tends it. They also have a ton of personal issues which come to a head when CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) hits their farm and the bees disappear. This is happening in real life RIGHT NOW which is absolutely horrifying and infuriating. No one knows the cause but it seems to be linked to pesticides and climate change. If we don't start taking better care of the Earth and the plants and animals on it we will be doomed.

This leads directly to the future timeline which is a world without bees and other pollinators. There is mass starvation, the United States collapses completely. China survives, although barely, mainly because they have enough of a workforce to pollinate fruit trees by hand. The main character in this section is one of these human bees and spends long days in trees painting pollen on pear tree flowers. This idea blew my mind! Just imagine all of the labour required to pollinate every tree and plant by hand. It's insanity! Despite all this work the Chinese people are still starving and there are some truly bone chilling scenes in this section.

The story is not linear but moves back and forth between the three timelines. I didn't find it confusing at all as it was very clear which time we were visiting. All of these stories are connected by bees but also have another connection that we don't discover until near the end. The timelines tie together very neatly and it all concludes in a satisfying way. The stories are all quite sad but not without hope. In the end I'm left even more committed to save the bees by avoiding buying products using pesticides and by planting a bee friendly garden. I hope this book inspires others to do the same. ...more

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Jul 06, 2017 MadameMelli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, neu-2017

Schon länger hatte ich dieses Buch auf dem Schirm, jetzt habe ich es im Rahmen ekner Leserunde auch endlich verschlungen.

Verschlungen trifft es auch gut, denn es hat einen recht klaren Erzählstil, der immer eine unbestimmte Melancholie durchscheinen lässt. So etwas liebe ich und auch diesmal konnte es mich überzeugen.

Wir verfolgen die Geschichten dreier Familien, Jahrhunderte getrennt und doch irgendwie verbunden. Jeder der Protagonisten hat mir seinen eigenen Problemen zu kämpfen, die sehr sta ...more

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Sep 08, 2017 Karen Kay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-netgalley, sci-fi, netgalley-read-2017

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

This story is told from three exceedingly different views. William lives in England 1852, George in the U.S. 2007 and Tao in China 2098. Each character shows us how important bees are to our society.

As with many translated books, I feel things are lost in the translation. Just like watching a bee buzzing around languidly from flower to flower, the story wandered from here to there to here to there to here ....

3.25☆

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Sep 12, 2017 RoseMary Achey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

While there are many dual time novels The History of Bees uses three time periods; a historical, contemporary and futuristic to provide a brief history of bees. A historical fiction contemporary dystopian novel-is there such a category? Even if you are not the least interested in honey bees this is such an interesting novel and yes all three stories are related.

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Feb 11, 2018 Marketa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Taková jemně post- a pre-apo směs, která z pohledu tří různých lidí z různých dob vypráví docela podobné příběhy o vztahu mezi rodičem a dítětem, kterému dominuje hlavní téma - včely. Docela dost mě to bavilo, až jsem byla sama překvapená. ^^

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Jul 05, 2018 Anni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"I continued turning the pages until I came to the passages about knowledge, the same sentences I had read as a child, but now the words made an even greater impression: “In order to live in nature, with nature, we must detach ourselves from the nature in ourselves … Education means to defy ourselves, to deny nature, our instincts…”

Three timelines and three generations of beekeepers are linked in this nightmarish vision of a global disaster due to human interference in the natural life cycle amo ...more

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Nature Literature: The History of Bees discussion	1	10	Sep 17, 2018 06:25PM
Play Book Tag: The History of Bees by Maja Lunde - 5 stars	4	18	Sep 08, 2018 04:31PM
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Der "Erwachsenen-...: Buddy-Read zu "Die Geschichte der Bienen" von Maja Lunde	27	28	Jul 22, 2017 07:09AM

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About Maja Lunde

Maja Lunde

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Maja Lunde is a Norwegian author and screenwriter. Lunde has written ten books for children and young adults. She has also written scripts for Norwegian television, including for the children’s series Barnas supershow (“The Children’s Super Show”), the drama series Hjem (“Home”) and the comedy series Side om Side (“Side by Side”). The History of Bees is her first novel for adults. She lives with h ...more