I don't really know what to think of this book. For most of it, it felt like it didn't quite know where it was going. The ending was surprisingly strong and I loved how the three stories came together and everything was tied up. But there were 400 pages before that and unfortunately, they didn't convince me quite as much.
I also don't know what to think of the three main characters. None of them were particularly nice or interesting protagonists and I didn't like how some of their issues were resolved, especially with William and George. I generally didn't enjoy most of the male characters in the book. There were so many misogynistic passages that just weren't necessary at all.
Tao's story was definitely the most compelling of the three, but again, I'm not sure how much I liked it. It almost felt too easy in parts. I guess I just expected a bit more from this book. The cover is very pretty though.
Will I still read the second book? Probably. Curse you, writing that was suddenly really good at the end.

I enjoyed the topic and its relevance. Unfortunately, I was not able to connect to any of the three protagonists.

Jag greps särskilt av den del av boken som utspelade sig i en inte alltför avlägsen framtid. kanske fanns det en strimma hopp, men först efter kollaps, förödelse och misär. Ja, inte blev jag glad av att läsa denna boken, men det var väl knappast meningen.

Very good book. Really engaging for any audience. My favorite this year so far.

2.5 Sterne
Tja, was soll ich sagen. Ich bin ziemlich enttäuscht.
Ich hätte erwartet, dass die Hintergründe und möglichen Probleme des Bienensterbens noch tiefer ausgearbeitet werden würden. Außerdem fand ich die Abschnitte, die in der Vergangenheit gespielt haben, wirklich uninteressant. Sie waren für den Rest der Geschichte nicht wichtig und auch nicht sonderlich spannend oder interessant.
Insgesamt handelte es sich dann doch eher um einen Familienroman auf verschiedenen Zeitebenen, die mehr oder weniger miteinander verknüpft sind, als um ein tatsächliches Plädoyer für Umweltschutz, wie ich es ursprünglich erwartet hätte. Den nächsten Band werde ich nicht mehr lesen.

Interesting, sad, beautifully written, and ultimately hopeful.

This is the first in Maja Lunde's Climate Quartet, a group of standalone climate fiction novels which include [b:The End of the Ocean|44890094|The End of the Ocean (Climate Quartet, #2)|Maja Lunde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640538990l/44890094._SY75_.jpg|56912344] and the just released in English, [b:The Last Wild Horses|58142533|The Last Wild Horses (Climate Quartet, #3)|Maja Lunde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640538774l/58142533._SY75_.jpg|72590296].

[b:The History of Bees|40604684|The History of Bees (Klimakvartetten, #1)|Maja Lunde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529604955l/40604684._SY75_.jpg|45708705] is three interlinked stories of three different generations of people, featuring a snapshot of the state of their world. The stories are about family, specifically the relationships between parents and children, situated on a backdrop of discovery and change. Bees are the focus and also not. As in real life, they exist and are integral to our survival, but at the same time, shrink and expand in importance to our relative view depending on what crisis we currently face.

The end message is, I think, that all we hold important is reflected in the natural world, our survival as people, the survival of our families, are all interlinked with the continued survival of the environment around us.