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melodyseestrees's review
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The bees and hornets play a very subtle role. They were completely overshadowed by the conflicts and tensions between humans. I guess I expected the bees to be a little more important in the scheme of things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Colonisation and War
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A very heavy-handed metaphor. I loved Sidi and I would read about his daily life forever. The second half of the book seemed like a totally different book, with the plot picking up and random characters coming out of nowhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
freethefrican's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
voela321's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I ordered this in my quest to read books from international authors. This book is set in Tunisa after the Arab Spring Uprisings. This is a story of poor people fighting for democracy but easily overwhelmed by evil fundamentalists. It holds many parallels to what is happening in the US with Christian nationalism. The evil takes over by first enticing and then controlling the people. In a subplot a bee keeper fights to discover what has killed his beloved bees and finds it is Asian Murder Hornets also imported by the goods the evil fundamentalists use to entice the people. A brief but unresolved story indeed. We are all still waiting to see how it ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder