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Рецепта за пчели
Докато чака новини за обичния и зет Гейб, който в момента претърпява мозъчна операция на километри разстояние, Огъста си припомня историята на своя понякога суров, понякога приказен живот.
"Рецепта за пчели" е пъстра галерия, изпълнена с енциклопедични познания за пчелите, с картини от бита, чудесни описания на селски кухни и градини, с проникновения за радостите и болките на старостта, за семейството и приятелството. В сърцето на книгата пулсира историята за гибелта и възкръсването на един нестандартен брак, разказана неподправено и искрено, какъвто е самият живот.
"Рецепта за пчели" е пъстра галерия, изпълнена с енциклопедични познания за пчелите, с картини от бита, чудесни описания на селски кухни и градини, с проникновения за радостите и болките на старостта, за семейството и приятелството. В сърцето на книгата пулсира историята за гибелта и възкръсването на един нестандартен брак, разказана неподправено и искрено, какъвто е самият живот.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Gail Anderson-Dargatz
24 books306 followersWatch for Gail's new novel, The Almost Widow, a thriller, released May 2023.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Vancity Book Prize. Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award and the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award and short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Fiction. Her thriller, The Almost Wife was a national bestseller in 2021, and her most recent novel, The Almost Widow, is out in May 2023.
Gail also writes young adult and hi-lo books for the educational market. Her book Iggy’s World was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. The Ride Home was short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, as well as the Red Cedar Fiction Award and the Chocolate Lily Book Award.
She taught for nearly a decade in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and now mentors writers online. Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in the Shuswap region of British Columbia.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Vancity Book Prize. Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award and the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award and short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Fiction. Her thriller, The Almost Wife was a national bestseller in 2021, and her most recent novel, The Almost Widow, is out in May 2023.
Gail also writes young adult and hi-lo books for the educational market. Her book Iggy’s World was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. The Ride Home was short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, as well as the Red Cedar Fiction Award and the Chocolate Lily Book Award.
She taught for nearly a decade in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and now mentors writers online. Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in the Shuswap region of British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
October 17, 2012
When Gail Anderson-Dargatz showed the manuscript of A Recipe for Bees to her divorced parents, it caused them to reconsider their sixteen-year separation. “My parents, Eric and Irene, are models for Karl and Augusta in many ways. I set out to show them how extraordinary their seemingly ordinary lives were.” She interviewed them during the writing of the book and as they read the work in progress, they began to talk about unresolved problems(…) Her parents were remarried on Christmas Day, 1998, some fifty years after their first marriage.
This is a lovely anecdote but it doesn’t really surprise me. A Recipe for Bees is a masterful examination of relationships, primarily the one between Augusta and her husband. At its heart are the life, death, and resurrection of an extraordinary marriage. With lots of beekeeping lore, this Giller Prize nominated (1998) story is as sweet as honey.
Read this if: you believe that the bonds of marriage should hold, for better or for worse. 4 stars
This is a lovely anecdote but it doesn’t really surprise me. A Recipe for Bees is a masterful examination of relationships, primarily the one between Augusta and her husband. At its heart are the life, death, and resurrection of an extraordinary marriage. With lots of beekeeping lore, this Giller Prize nominated (1998) story is as sweet as honey.
Read this if: you believe that the bonds of marriage should hold, for better or for worse. 4 stars
January 31, 2012
It was a ho-hum book. Not good enough to recommend and not bad enough to totally diss.
August 20, 2016
Winner of Giller Prize. Duplicate review. Twenty years or so after reading "The Cure for Death by Lightening", "A Recipe for Bees" and "A Rhinestone Button" I found myself mulling over the influence that Gail Anderson-Dargatz has had on my future literary exploration.
Twenty years ago, her novel was nominated for The Giller Prize, a literary award newly established in 1994 to celebrate excellent Canadian writers. Knopf Canada had launched a program, The New Face of Fiction in 1996, to bring more Canadian authors to the attention of the country's readers and Gail's first book was among them.
Because of her novel, I became a person who paid attention to The Giller Prize process, from the nomination stage to the win. I was introduced to vast talent, who I'd never met before and a plethora of previously undiscovered serious literary styles.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Gail introduced me to magical-realism in her novels, where I smoothly absorbed myself into the magical storytelling and emerged enchanted. Isabel Allende then held no rapture for me.
Gail's books led me to try authors which I would formerly have by-passed. The gentle magical realism, slightly fantastical turns in the novels of Sarah Allen Addison and Joshilyn Jackson further increased my appreciation for the genre.
Perla by South American author Caroline de Robertis, the lauded The Snow Child and the haunting critic's favourite Wolf Winter... I owe the risk-tasking and resulting pleasure to Gail Anderson-Datgatz.
Thank you so much, Gail.
Twenty years ago, her novel was nominated for The Giller Prize, a literary award newly established in 1994 to celebrate excellent Canadian writers. Knopf Canada had launched a program, The New Face of Fiction in 1996, to bring more Canadian authors to the attention of the country's readers and Gail's first book was among them.
Because of her novel, I became a person who paid attention to The Giller Prize process, from the nomination stage to the win. I was introduced to vast talent, who I'd never met before and a plethora of previously undiscovered serious literary styles.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Gail introduced me to magical-realism in her novels, where I smoothly absorbed myself into the magical storytelling and emerged enchanted. Isabel Allende then held no rapture for me.
Gail's books led me to try authors which I would formerly have by-passed. The gentle magical realism, slightly fantastical turns in the novels of Sarah Allen Addison and Joshilyn Jackson further increased my appreciation for the genre.
Perla by South American author Caroline de Robertis, the lauded The Snow Child and the haunting critic's favourite Wolf Winter... I owe the risk-tasking and resulting pleasure to Gail Anderson-Datgatz.
Thank you so much, Gail.
Read
November 5, 2015Not interesting enough to finish, even though it is set on Vancouver Island. The minutiae of the characters’ lives was, well, a bit too minute.
Read
May 9, 2020Гейл Андерсън-Даргац - "Рецепта за пчели", изд. "ЖАР-Жанет Аргирова" 2003, прев. Весела Прошкова
Затварям бавно последната страница, поемам си въздух, после измивам лицето си. После препрочитам отново последните редове. А после... излизам. За минути. Няма значение къде и защо. По някаква измислена задача. Просто навън, за да се уверя, че светът, който оставих преди три дни, когато започнах да чета тази книга, си е все още същият.
След "Цяр за ударени от мълния" много исках да прочета и тази книга. Нищо, че ме предупредиха, че магията на "Цяр"-а я няма там. И че книгата е по-скоро автобиографична, по-тежка; че е историята на един провален брак. Нищо от това нямаше значение - аз просто исках "втора доза" от Гейл Андерсън-Даргац. И я получих.
Да, това, което ми бяха казали предварително за тази книга, е вярно. Тя наистина е по-зряла творба, с много повече "ежедневие" в нея. С проблеми, които вероятно могат да бъдат разбрани напълно единствено от човек, създал собствено семейство. Разказваща за трудности, които, погледнати през очите на необвързан човек и "пречупени" през гледната точка на нашето време, може би изглеждат трудно разбираеми. За мен не бяха такива - напротив, смятам, че разбирах Огъста и й съчувствах, усещах нейното безсилие и ме болеше при мисълта, че ако днес преживявания като нейните може би са по-скоро изключение, по времето, описано в историята, вероятно са били нещо съвсем обичайно.
"Декорът" на историята е приблизително същият, както в "Цяр за ударени от мълния", затова имах чувството, че се връщам на вече познати места. И пак, както и тогава, ми беше трудно "да си тръгна", трябваше ми - и май все още ми трябва - време, за да приема, че историята е свършила.
Макар тази книга да е в голяма степен по-реалистична от "Цяр за ударени от мълния" и магическият реализъм да не заема толкова централно място, и тук не липсват видения, предчувствия, пророчески сънища. Някои от тях ми се сториха почти зловещи - особено видението, свързано с Мани. Беше толкова реалистично описано, та наистина повярвах, че се случва още тогава, при първото споменаване.
Впечатлих се от всички описания, свързани с пчелите. И... рядко коментирам корици, но се загледах в тази - и гледайки я, си представих не друго, а килийките на пчелна пита. И усетих вкуса на пресния мед.
Нещо, което много ме впечатли в книгата, бе начинът, по който се развива действието. Защото реалното време, в което протича действието, всъщност се равнява на часове - но в тези часове, между чакането и спомените, е вместен един цял живот. Животът на няколко поколения жени. И, да, за пореден път тук именно жените са силните. Мъжете - Мани, Олаф, Карл - са отсъстващи, нерешителни, злобни - а дори злобата на Олаф като че ли е родена от несигурност или от страх.
Това е сурова и красива история. История за силата на /уж/ слабите. За силата да разчиташ на себе си, да знаеш, че можеш да се справиш, дори когато всеки и всичко около теб се опитва да те убеди в обратното.
Тази история, поне привидно, започва с едно очакване - очакването дали един човек ще оцелее. И постепенно читателят някак забравя това очакване, защото се потапя в семейната история. И когато все пак очакването приключва, изненада от изхода всъщност няма. Защото цялата книга е един суров урок по оцеляване.
Затварям бавно последната страница, поемам си въздух, после измивам лицето си. После препрочитам отново последните редове. А после... излизам. За минути. Няма значение къде и защо. По някаква измислена задача. Просто навън, за да се уверя, че светът, който оставих преди три дни, когато започнах да чета тази книга, си е все още същият.
След "Цяр за ударени от мълния" много исках да прочета и тази книга. Нищо, че ме предупредиха, че магията на "Цяр"-а я няма там. И че книгата е по-скоро автобиографична, по-тежка; че е историята на един провален брак. Нищо от това нямаше значение - аз просто исках "втора доза" от Гейл Андерсън-Даргац. И я получих.
Да, това, което ми бяха казали предварително за тази книга, е вярно. Тя наистина е по-зряла творба, с много повече "ежедневие" в нея. С проблеми, които вероятно могат да бъдат разбрани напълно единствено от човек, създал собствено семейство. Разказваща за трудности, които, погледнати през очите на необвързан човек и "пречупени" през гледната точка на нашето време, може би изглеждат трудно разбираеми. За мен не бяха такива - напротив, смятам, че разбирах Огъста и й съчувствах, усещах нейното безсилие и ме болеше при мисълта, че ако днес преживявания като нейните може би са по-скоро изключение, по времето, описано в историята, вероятно са били нещо съвсем обичайно.
"Декорът" на историята е приблизително същият, както в "Цяр за ударени от мълния", затова имах чувството, че се връщам на вече познати места. И пак, както и тогава, ми беше трудно "да си тръгна", трябваше ми - и май все още ми трябва - време, за да приема, че историята е свършила.
Макар тази книга да е в голяма степен по-реалистична от "Цяр за ударени от мълния" и магическият реализъм да не заема толкова централно място, и тук не липсват видения, предчувствия, пророчески сънища. Някои от тях ми се сториха почти зловещи - особено видението, свързано с Мани. Беше толкова реалистично описано, та наистина повярвах, че се случва още тогава, при първото споменаване.
Впечатлих се от всички описания, свързани с пчелите. И... рядко коментирам корици, но се загледах в тази - и гледайки я, си представих не друго, а килийките на пчелна пита. И усетих вкуса на пресния мед.
Нещо, което много ме впечатли в книгата, бе начинът, по който се развива действието. Защото реалното време, в което протича действието, всъщност се равнява на часове - но в тези часове, между чакането и спомените, е вместен един цял живот. Животът на няколко поколения жени. И, да, за пореден път тук именно жените са силните. Мъжете - Мани, Олаф, Карл - са отсъстващи, нерешителни, злобни - а дори злобата на Олаф като че ли е родена от несигурност или от страх.
Това е сурова и красива история. История за силата на /уж/ слабите. За силата да разчиташ на себе си, да знаеш, че можеш да се справиш, дори когато всеки и всичко около теб се опитва да те убеди в обратното.
Тази история, поне привидно, започва с едно очакване - очакването дали един човек ще оцелее. И постепенно читателят някак забравя това очакване, защото се потапя в семейната история. И когато все пак очакването приключва, изненада от изхода всъщност няма. Защото цялата книга е един суров урок по оцеляване.
January 24, 2008
Gail Anderson-Dargatz, A Recipe for Bees (Harmony, 1998)
At first, A Recipe for Bees has the look and feel of your typical dysfunctional family novel. Augusta Olsen, traveling home from the hospital where her son-in-law is being operated on after a seizure-induced stroke, ends up getting off the train at the wrong stop to use the rest room. The train goes on without her, and Augusta calls her next-door neighbor, Rose to come pick her up. While Rose is driving her home, and after they get there, Augusta tells Rose and Karl, Augusta's husband, a number of stories about Augusta and Karl's lives up to this point, interspersed with present-day events and reflections on things she'd rather not talk about aloud. While there is dysfunction in evidence all around, there are snatches of writing here and there that alert the reader that this isn't your typical novel; Anderson-Dargatz is capable of much more than the average...novel of the week.
Those moments of inspired, poetic writing are few, however, and some of them are easily missed in the greater scheme of things. A Recipe for Bees is one of the most difficult kinds of novels to read, a book with almost no pace to it that demands all the concentration the reader can give it. The first few chapters, especially, are quite difficult to get through. Once you've got a sense of the characters, the book gets more engrossing, and eventually it does give the distinct feeling that Anderson-Dargatz will eventually write the novels that will put her on a par with fellow Canadian authors...A Recipe for Bees isn't one of them, but years from now, scholars will come back to it and call it a formative novel.
I'll be looking forward to reading more of Anderson-Dargatz' work. ***
At first, A Recipe for Bees has the look and feel of your typical dysfunctional family novel. Augusta Olsen, traveling home from the hospital where her son-in-law is being operated on after a seizure-induced stroke, ends up getting off the train at the wrong stop to use the rest room. The train goes on without her, and Augusta calls her next-door neighbor, Rose to come pick her up. While Rose is driving her home, and after they get there, Augusta tells Rose and Karl, Augusta's husband, a number of stories about Augusta and Karl's lives up to this point, interspersed with present-day events and reflections on things she'd rather not talk about aloud. While there is dysfunction in evidence all around, there are snatches of writing here and there that alert the reader that this isn't your typical novel; Anderson-Dargatz is capable of much more than the average...novel of the week.
Those moments of inspired, poetic writing are few, however, and some of them are easily missed in the greater scheme of things. A Recipe for Bees is one of the most difficult kinds of novels to read, a book with almost no pace to it that demands all the concentration the reader can give it. The first few chapters, especially, are quite difficult to get through. Once you've got a sense of the characters, the book gets more engrossing, and eventually it does give the distinct feeling that Anderson-Dargatz will eventually write the novels that will put her on a par with fellow Canadian authors...A Recipe for Bees isn't one of them, but years from now, scholars will come back to it and call it a formative novel.
I'll be looking forward to reading more of Anderson-Dargatz' work. ***
September 26, 2011
The book is a multi-layered story about life, marriage, relationship, friendship, hate, anger, rural life, growing old and find love where you were not expecting it, then having it look different than you imagined it would. It is also about bees. What does one have to do with the other? That is the magic. Is Augusta's (the main character)gift from her mother a real gift or a curse or just another facet of living the life one gets? Dargatz is a Canadian writer.
I do not read many books twice - too many books;too little time - but this is one I actually could read again immediately! Don't miss reading it.
I do not read many books twice - too many books;too little time - but this is one I actually could read again immediately! Don't miss reading it.
January 23, 2011
This is a charming book. Set in a rural Canadian town, the book reflects on a life's choices, love, parenthood and marriage through the eyes of an elderly woman. It is funny in parts, sad in parts, and contemplative in parts. But the book ends with a profound sense of acceptance... for choices made, and for mistakes forgiven. But also there is a comfort in the knowledge that we continually learn about ourselves, and those we love, no matter how old we get.
June 23, 2014
The sort of book you hate to end.
I've been trying to think of how to describe this book since I finished it, and I'm still coming up blank. I enjoyed it. I found the way that time jumps around very easy to follow, and it seemed organic rather than forced. I liked the Canadian-ness of it. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
I've been trying to think of how to describe this book since I finished it, and I'm still coming up blank. I enjoyed it. I found the way that time jumps around very easy to follow, and it seemed organic rather than forced. I liked the Canadian-ness of it. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
February 14, 2023
This book got me with the title and the description that promised it was “rich with bee lore.” I needed more bees and perhaps less depressing marriages from the 40s in rural British Columbia. I also thought the main character needed to grow up.
November 26, 2018
This book was an interesting read. There were some moments I loved and were exquisite and there were other moments that seemed to drag on.
I think what got me to really enjoy it in the end was the way the author was able to capture the way we reminisce or reflect on our lives. It wasn't just a linear story. There were some slight detours and back tracks. Sometimes that can be confusing in a narrative. In this case it enhanced the story, made it more real and more believable. What a talent.
I think what got me to really enjoy it in the end was the way the author was able to capture the way we reminisce or reflect on our lives. It wasn't just a linear story. There were some slight detours and back tracks. Sometimes that can be confusing in a narrative. In this case it enhanced the story, made it more real and more believable. What a talent.
March 2, 2015
This book has a fantastic opening sentence. Here it is:
"'Have I told you the drone's penis snaps off during intercourse with the queen bee?" asked Augusta."
The story this book tells is set in the late 1990s, with most of the action happening in flashbacks. The "present" is never clearly defined, and could easily be from the 1970s to the early years of the 21st century. Only vague mentions of World War II set the book's time frame.
The main character is an old woman, but the reader learns about her childhood, teenage years, and (mostly) young adulthood through flashbacks. The woman is a bee keeper, hence the bees in the title. Information about bees is mentioned throughout the story.
I realize this review seems really dry, as if I am writing a book review for a middle school English class and I am carefully dealing with setting (oh yes, the whole book is set in Canada), characters, etc. That's not the way I usually write reviews. I guess I fell back on that style of writing since I don't have strong emotions related to this book. It's just not very exciting. I don't love it. I don't hate it.
The main themes of the book are love and growing older (death). In the present day plot line (all of which takes place in one day), the main character is waiting to find out whether or not her daughter's husband will survive brain surgery. In flashbacks, the main character's mother and unborn sister die. The main character's father dies several years later. Then her husband's much hated father dies. (Before the main character marries him, her husband's mother committed suicide.) During the main character's childhood, the son of a hired hand dies on her family farm. The preacher with whom the main characters has a much gossiped about friendship dies. The man she actually has an affair with dies. It makes sense that an old woman would have seen a lot of death during her lifetime, but these are all handled in such a way that the reader knows that death is a MAIN IDEA of the book.
Between all the death is love. There is the love between the protagonist and her husband, including the fact that he doesn't show his love the way she craves. There is mother-daughter love, father-son love, friendly love and passionate love.
There's quite a bit of sex too, but all of the sex scenes are totally PG-13, lukewarm, and yawn inducing. All of the sex is referred to as "lovemaking." If I had read this book as a young teenager hoping to learn a thing or two about sex by reading a grown-up book, I would have been sadly disappointed. This book did nothing to make me think of Canadians as a passionate people.
This is one of those books that are good for long bus rides and waiting rooms. It helps pass the time, but I don't imagine I will ever think about it much in the future, and I'm pretty sure I'll never want to read it again.
"'Have I told you the drone's penis snaps off during intercourse with the queen bee?" asked Augusta."
The story this book tells is set in the late 1990s, with most of the action happening in flashbacks. The "present" is never clearly defined, and could easily be from the 1970s to the early years of the 21st century. Only vague mentions of World War II set the book's time frame.
The main character is an old woman, but the reader learns about her childhood, teenage years, and (mostly) young adulthood through flashbacks. The woman is a bee keeper, hence the bees in the title. Information about bees is mentioned throughout the story.
I realize this review seems really dry, as if I am writing a book review for a middle school English class and I am carefully dealing with setting (oh yes, the whole book is set in Canada), characters, etc. That's not the way I usually write reviews. I guess I fell back on that style of writing since I don't have strong emotions related to this book. It's just not very exciting. I don't love it. I don't hate it.
The main themes of the book are love and growing older (death). In the present day plot line (all of which takes place in one day), the main character is waiting to find out whether or not her daughter's husband will survive brain surgery. In flashbacks, the main character's mother and unborn sister die. The main character's father dies several years later. Then her husband's much hated father dies. (Before the main character marries him, her husband's mother committed suicide.) During the main character's childhood, the son of a hired hand dies on her family farm. The preacher with whom the main characters has a much gossiped about friendship dies. The man she actually has an affair with dies. It makes sense that an old woman would have seen a lot of death during her lifetime, but these are all handled in such a way that the reader knows that death is a MAIN IDEA of the book.
Between all the death is love. There is the love between the protagonist and her husband, including the fact that he doesn't show his love the way she craves. There is mother-daughter love, father-son love, friendly love and passionate love.
There's quite a bit of sex too, but all of the sex scenes are totally PG-13, lukewarm, and yawn inducing. All of the sex is referred to as "lovemaking." If I had read this book as a young teenager hoping to learn a thing or two about sex by reading a grown-up book, I would have been sadly disappointed. This book did nothing to make me think of Canadians as a passionate people.
This is one of those books that are good for long bus rides and waiting rooms. It helps pass the time, but I don't imagine I will ever think about it much in the future, and I'm pretty sure I'll never want to read it again.
September 7, 2016
I picked up a copy of A Recipe for Bees at without knowing anything about it -- it just seemed interesting after reading the back cover. The book did indeed remind me quite a bit of The Stone Diaries, and also Drowning Ruth (both great reads, by the way). It's got that whole mid-20th century rural thing happening. The story follows the life of Augusta Olsen, now aging with a weak hip, through a series of flashbacks. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find the flashbacks too difficult to follow, although I do agree that after a while, all of Augusta's visions and sightings on one day in the present that triggered all the memories got just a little too formulaic and convenient. The novel doesn't have anything too pretty to say about growing old, either. Nevertheless, I found A Recipe for Bees to be interesting and well-written. The theme of bee-keeping was well-woven into the plot, and nicely framed the themes of marriage, children, and infidelity. Gail Anderson-Dargatz is a talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her.
July 1, 2008
This book had an odd, slow opening, almost causing me to put it down and add it to my started but never finished shelf. But, as I had already done that once that same day, I didn't relish trying to find another book on my shelf that looked interesting to me that day. So, I persevered and, I'm glad that I did.
This is an interesting story about a particular day in an elderly womans life. In going through the day, she reminisces about her past and all of the things she has gone through to get to where she is. Why the bees you ask? Simple, she is a bee keeper as was her mother, so in ways similar to "The Secret Life of Bees", the story is filled with facts about them and how they relate to her situation. The story finally dragged me in when there was more reminiscing than the current situation. The author also added pictures of her own parents throughout the book which made it feel more real to me. I really wanted to give this a 3.75, but 3 will have to do. I guess it was the present story line that kept me from adoring this book.
This is an interesting story about a particular day in an elderly womans life. In going through the day, she reminisces about her past and all of the things she has gone through to get to where she is. Why the bees you ask? Simple, she is a bee keeper as was her mother, so in ways similar to "The Secret Life of Bees", the story is filled with facts about them and how they relate to her situation. The story finally dragged me in when there was more reminiscing than the current situation. The author also added pictures of her own parents throughout the book which made it feel more real to me. I really wanted to give this a 3.75, but 3 will have to do. I guess it was the present story line that kept me from adoring this book.
April 10, 2020
Sometime in 2017, I read a snippet about this novel stating that it was a sure bet when librarians are faced with the dreaded question "Got any good books?" Kept it on the to-read shelf for that reason, but now that I have read it, I am not so sure it would appeal to everyone, but it does beautifully address a niche group.
First, this is women's fiction about a 50-60 year marriage in a western rural community where Native Americans live close by. That caught my attention because that is exactly how my own mother grew up in South Dakota and this is the same time period, early 1930s onward. We meet Augusta as a child who experiences the hard work of a sheep farm, observes her mother having an affair and then dying in childbirth, and the extreme reticence of most men in this story. Women had little power, but Augusta kept stretching the boundaries imposed upon her as she married young and lived in near squalor. She wanted something better.
Bee keeping was her mother's way of earning extra money. Augusta is in her middle years before she rediscovers the joys of bees. Bees are a metaphor for life. Each bee plays a role. There is a queen, guards, sexual contributors, and workers. The author lightly compares these roles to the hard work of life and marriage. Augusta finds simple employment, has her own affair and a child while still married, and ultimately finds peace in her marriage, but it takes a lifetime. This is also about women's sexuality both in younger and older years. It's also about racism against Native Americans and women's roles are limited and subject to their husbands' decisions.
Overall, a good read that made me think about my own mother and grandmothers during these years. Have heard so many stories from them which actually authenticate this story. You decide if it's for you.
First, this is women's fiction about a 50-60 year marriage in a western rural community where Native Americans live close by. That caught my attention because that is exactly how my own mother grew up in South Dakota and this is the same time period, early 1930s onward. We meet Augusta as a child who experiences the hard work of a sheep farm, observes her mother having an affair and then dying in childbirth, and the extreme reticence of most men in this story. Women had little power, but Augusta kept stretching the boundaries imposed upon her as she married young and lived in near squalor. She wanted something better.
Bee keeping was her mother's way of earning extra money. Augusta is in her middle years before she rediscovers the joys of bees. Bees are a metaphor for life. Each bee plays a role. There is a queen, guards, sexual contributors, and workers. The author lightly compares these roles to the hard work of life and marriage. Augusta finds simple employment, has her own affair and a child while still married, and ultimately finds peace in her marriage, but it takes a lifetime. This is also about women's sexuality both in younger and older years. It's also about racism against Native Americans and women's roles are limited and subject to their husbands' decisions.
Overall, a good read that made me think about my own mother and grandmothers during these years. Have heard so many stories from them which actually authenticate this story. You decide if it's for you.
December 26, 2017
This was a lovely tale that I read it in a couple of hours. It was just one of those books that drew me in straight away & I just wanted to keep on reading....not a bad feat for a book where, if I'm honest, nothing much seems to happen! Should appeal to those who like Anne Tyler.
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November 1, 2021Ugh can't get through this one, the recounts of Augusta's life are too much work. I picked it up because it had 'bees' in the title and i plan to learn nothing from this. The next time i see a book with 'bees' in the title i will still pick it up.
January 31, 2023
The book was somewhat interesting, but I'll forget all about it in the next few weeks.
February 2, 2021
Easy, relaxing read. But two weeks from now I will forget I read it.
August 27, 2016
The premise of this book might sound boring. An older woman living in a small town on Vancouver Island reflects on her marriage and life on a small ranch in rural Vancouver. However, it is a revelatory book in many ways, and I'm so glad that I read it.
* I learned a lot about what conditions were like in the very small towns of Canada some 50 years ago, and how tough a woman had to be to survive.
* I experienced a tiny bit of the isolation that women felt out in the boonies, especially with uncommunicative and unaffectionate husbands. It literally drove them to madness, as it did many prairie women in the US.
* I felt the tyranny of being a wife back then, with no money to call your own, no way to create a life.
* I was reminded of how gossip controls lives in small communities.
* The author describes attitudes toward Indians that surprised me given that the setting was the mid-20th century.
* Best of all, the story involved a couple re-falling in love with each other. That's what gave the book its redemptive quality. It's a plot you don't see in fiction.
* When the book started out, I disliked the toughness of the main character. As the novel went on, I could totally understand how she got that way, and found her traits very endearing.
This book is character-driven more than plot-driven, although the plot is very strong. I probably won't read it a second time, but will recommend it to members of my book club.
* I learned a lot about what conditions were like in the very small towns of Canada some 50 years ago, and how tough a woman had to be to survive.
* I experienced a tiny bit of the isolation that women felt out in the boonies, especially with uncommunicative and unaffectionate husbands. It literally drove them to madness, as it did many prairie women in the US.
* I felt the tyranny of being a wife back then, with no money to call your own, no way to create a life.
* I was reminded of how gossip controls lives in small communities.
* The author describes attitudes toward Indians that surprised me given that the setting was the mid-20th century.
* Best of all, the story involved a couple re-falling in love with each other. That's what gave the book its redemptive quality. It's a plot you don't see in fiction.
* When the book started out, I disliked the toughness of the main character. As the novel went on, I could totally understand how she got that way, and found her traits very endearing.
This book is character-driven more than plot-driven, although the plot is very strong. I probably won't read it a second time, but will recommend it to members of my book club.
December 23, 2011
Usually, when someone undergoes a life review, it’s because their life is in peril, or ending. In this case, Augusta Olsen’s review of her long life is triggered by her son-in-law’s brain surgery. In fact, as she and her husband Karl wait for news, Augusta reminisces about her difficult life on her parents’ farm and her father-in-law’s sheep ranch in rural British Columbia. There are two important things to know about Augusta. One is that she keeps bees and two, she has visions that often turn into premonitions. As Augusta reviews her disappointments, humiliations, frustrations, and regrets, the reader wonders how she managed to stay with Karl for so long. But answers are revealed and endings achieved.
A Recipe for Bees is a terrific story about survival, but not of the type found in wars or cataclysmic disasters. It’s about surviving loneliness, poverty, and the mundane. The details about farm and ranch life are so gritty they’re almost horrifying at some moments for this city dweller. The language flows easily and smoothly in an exquisite rhythm, so it’s no surprise that this is an award-winning novel. It’s a great read.
August 12, 2011
When Augusta's mother dies, she feels left without direction until she marries the first man that shows an interest. Karl is about 15 years older than Augusta and is a shy, backward son of a grouchy, stingy, mean old farmer.
She finds her life on their rustic farm too bleak and nearly unbearable. Karl doesn't want to make love to her because of his father's constant presence. She longs for affection, meaning and some beauty in her life. I found myself completely tangled in her misery and would have booted Karl, had I had the chance. So, I wasn't disapproving when another man shows an interest in Augusta. A man she met in town and thus began a tender love affair - needs that were met that her husband wasn't capable of meeting.
At the heart of this story is the life, death and resurrection of Augusta and Karl's unusual marriage, intertwined with Augusta's friendships and a gift of second sight.
She finds her life on their rustic farm too bleak and nearly unbearable. Karl doesn't want to make love to her because of his father's constant presence. She longs for affection, meaning and some beauty in her life. I found myself completely tangled in her misery and would have booted Karl, had I had the chance. So, I wasn't disapproving when another man shows an interest in Augusta. A man she met in town and thus began a tender love affair - needs that were met that her husband wasn't capable of meeting.
At the heart of this story is the life, death and resurrection of Augusta and Karl's unusual marriage, intertwined with Augusta's friendships and a gift of second sight.
December 25, 2008
The story of Augusta and Karl's marriage, and how Augusta struggles to have a life in a stifling small farm community, told during the backdrop of her son-in-law's brain surgery.
A feel-good read. Very accessible, nothing profound or amazing. Characters round enough to be likable, but not terribly captivating. The seamless transitions between the flashbacks were better than I expected (I thought I'd dislike the back and forth). I read it for the bees, and, while they are less prominent than I expected, there's enough info on them. Not really sure that the visions played a significant role, or just added an element to the story.
There's enough in this book for a ladies' book club, if they stick to more popular literature.
A feel-good read. Very accessible, nothing profound or amazing. Characters round enough to be likable, but not terribly captivating. The seamless transitions between the flashbacks were better than I expected (I thought I'd dislike the back and forth). I read it for the bees, and, while they are less prominent than I expected, there's enough info on them. Not really sure that the visions played a significant role, or just added an element to the story.
There's enough in this book for a ladies' book club, if they stick to more popular literature.
May 21, 2012
This book started out slow, but I'm really glad that I stuck with it. There were several moments in this book that made me want to cry, where people's decisions, and the attitudes of the time period become immobilizing. One of the brilliant things about this book is how gentle the transitions between time periods are. It goes back and forth in time from when Augusta is a child, an old woman, and a young married person, and the transitions are not obvious, but very followable.
One of the most heartbreaking scenes was when a teenage Augusta is trying to get a hug out of her dad, and he gets embarrassed saying the neighbors might start thinking. The whole book revolves around prudish notions and the fact that perceived inappropriate sexual behavior could ruin an entire family.
One of the most heartbreaking scenes was when a teenage Augusta is trying to get a hug out of her dad, and he gets embarrassed saying the neighbors might start thinking. The whole book revolves around prudish notions and the fact that perceived inappropriate sexual behavior could ruin an entire family.
August 27, 2014
Although a nice story, this book didn't have much in it to keep my attention. In fact, there were several times that I thought about not finishing the book.
The story is about a woman named Augusta who is married to Karl. They live in Rural BC and have a farm. The story is about their marriage, the hardships of life and inlaws all told with a bit of bee folk lore thrown in as an analogy.
The story jumped around a lot in time from past to present. In addition, Augusta has visions which are also described in the book. You had to pay close attention to whether the story was taking place in the past, present, future, or not at all.
The book was "fine" but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.
The story is about a woman named Augusta who is married to Karl. They live in Rural BC and have a farm. The story is about their marriage, the hardships of life and inlaws all told with a bit of bee folk lore thrown in as an analogy.
The story jumped around a lot in time from past to present. In addition, Augusta has visions which are also described in the book. You had to pay close attention to whether the story was taking place in the past, present, future, or not at all.
The book was "fine" but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.
May 18, 2011
I liked the slow pace of the book (usually I prefer fast paced ones but this worked for me). I enjoyed how the main character developed and came to understand herself and those around her and how she was able to forgive and be forgiven. the book really is about the characters. While it wasn't the best book i have ever read it certainly was enjoyable. the bees were not as prominent as I would have expected but you did learn some interesting bee facts.
July 7, 2013
A random choice of book with such wonderful, wonderful results, written in 1998! Yeah for established libraries which carry books from over the years. Anyone who has lived in near Chase or Vancouver Island will be able to easily recognize the locations and characters and way of life from the 1930's to 1990's ... I had moments of nostalgia reading certain passages which reminded me of people I knew/know.
February 1, 2017
This was just ok. An old woman looks back on her life as a farmer's wife in small town British Columbia. She keeps bees. I think there's supposed to be a lot of meaningful imagery relating to the bees, and possibly to Aboriginal people, but it did not come together into a coherent bigger picture for me. As this is a selection in the Amnesty International book club, I expected it to have something to do with human rights. It did not.
August 25, 2008
Loved the information about bees throughout the book and how it related to the people's lives.
June 25, 2011
Приятна и интересна книжка, но не ме впечатли толкова, колкото " Цяр за ударени от мълния".
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