Painted Hives

by Jay Ebben

The strange and vivid dream that Wilber Jansen had as a young teenager about a vineyard with a cricket field in Slovenia has haunted him now for six years. It was always the Sasha, his best friend and first true love, was there in the vineyard waiting for him. Wilber is now attending college where he, serendipitously, stumbles upon the opportunity to attend a week-long beekeeping class in Slovenia. This is his chance to go to Slovenia and find the vineyard from his dream. Maybe Sasha is actually there waiting for him! Arriving in the capital city of Ljubljana, Wilber meets two people who astonishingly resemble characters from his dream . . . and with that, Wilber’s adventure begins. Freaked out by these and other encounters, and with only a week to find Sasha, Wilber enlists his beekeeper mentor and befriends an attractive and bubbly bank teller, Nina, to help him. They set off on a journey to discover the location of the vineyard with the cricket field . . . expecting to find Sasha.

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[S. Collin]

Painted Hives is a lighthearted read for readers who enjoy a literary journey.

[Terry]

I downloaded and read this book for a World Bee Day event hosted by the Slovenian Union of America. This engaging coming-of-age story celebrates the beekeeping traditions of Slovenia, through the eyes of a young man searching for the girl of his dreams. It is written in the first person, with a voice that might be the author himself at a younger age. I especially liked how the author added authentic details of what a young American summer student is likely to experience in the capital city of Ljubljana, including some of my favorite places for pizza, ice cream or a drink.

[Matej Tacer]

Liked the vivid descriptions of the streets of Ljubljana. The descriptions are quite accurate and you could tell that the author was familiar with the place and actually walked the streets himself as well as travelled to the country side.

Also, I learned something new about beekeeping even though I had spent many hours working with my father on his bee hives before.
The story is contrived and cheese at times however, I enjoyed reading as it took me back to my home country.