The Music of Bees

The Music of Bees is the kind of book that envelopes you within the first pages. Eileen Garvin's storytelling talent is evident early on as she pulls her readers into a story about how the lives of three strangers collide and how they find solace and family with each other.

The main characters are: 44-year-old Alice who is recently widowed, a beekeeper in her spare time but is unhappy and unappreciated in her 9 to 5 job. There's also Jake, a teen whose dysfunctional family life and recent paralysis have him concerned about where his future lies. Finally, there's Harry, a 24-year-old socially awkward homeless man whose anxiety, loneliness and lack of human connection have him struggling until he finds friendship and a home with Alice and Jake. By chance and circumstance, these very different people come together on Alice's small apiary, and these three unlikely people find a love and appreciation for the bees and each other.

I loved Garvin's style of writing as she defines her flawed characters and vividly describes her apiary setting in Oregon. I guarantee that you will never look at a honeybee the same way again. And although we go down the honey hive (so to speak) a little too deep at times, I found the descriptions of the bees and their community life fascinating, and I appreciated the underlying environmental message. The ending is predictable but enjoyable, leaving this reader satisfied and grateful that I finally picked up this book.

I can see why this book has received so much praise. It is an endearing, uplifting and engaging story about friendship, finding passion in what you do, resiliency and the innate need for all of us to have somewhere we belong. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Eileen Garvin

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Duton Books

First Published: April 1, 2021

Opening Line: Jacob Stevenson had the tallest mohawk 

in the history of Hood River Valley High School.

Book Description from GoodReads: A heartwarming debut novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect.