Sunday, May 3, 2020

A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings

A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings is a retrospective and philosophical musing over the author's year as a novice beekeeper. Originally published in 2018, this American edition is due out 5th May 2020 from Knopf Doubleday on their Pantheon imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I'm fond of natural philosophy and I'm a beekeeper and (fanatical) gardener. I was excited to find this book and really enjoyed reading it. It has garnered numerous comparisons to H is for Hawk, which is maybe somewhat apt in that they're both introspective memoirs by British women with more than a little life examination and personal philosophy included, but where MacDonald is dour and fierce in voice, Jukes is more gentle, humorous, bewildered, and full of ennui. I found a much more apt comparison with Sue Hubbell's work.

Either way, I found this a worthwhile and relaxing read. There's no distinct narrative arc or distinctly promoted message. There is introspection and historical comparison against the cycle of seasons and lives, human and insect.

Beautifully and lyrically written. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.


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