Consumer Critique: The Death of Bees

I recently had a chance to read The Death of Bees: A Novel by Lisa O'Donnell. It's not the sort of book I typically read, and the beginning of the book wasn't my sort at all (a gruesome beginning, and I don't always care for gutter talk, but the author needs to use it for the setting of the book), but I did get into it by the end. The characters were well-developed, with enough intrigue to keep me reading, and enough depth to be realistic.

The book opens with two girls burying their parents in the backyard. It follows as they try to live alone, without notice that the parents are gone - but it's not so easy with nosy neighbors and family members. The circumstances are grim, but the book takes a realistic look at the situation, providing enough lightheartedness to keep the mood from being too dark.

To learn a little more, let's hear from the author herself:

Q.: Where did the idea for The Death of Bees comes from?  Does any of the story come from your own experiences?

 

Living on the East Side of L.A I see the same level of poverty I experienced as a child during 80’s Thatcherism. I was in my car recently when I saw this little girl maybe about seven walking in front of her mother and pushing a stroller. The mother was also pushing a stroller and holding the hand of a small toddler, but it was the young girl that caught my attention. I thought to myself “ She’s a wee mother” which later translated in THE DEATH OF BEES as “Wee Maw” when referring to Marnie raising Nelly.

 

Later, my sister sent me a docudrama about families in Scotland living with drugs and poverty, and again, the maturity of the children immersed in such a heartbreaking situation struck a chord. One child in particular was talking to the journalist about a father who might not return with the groceries for the week and go on a “bender” instead. She worried about Welfare Services getting involved in her life again. I wondered what the girl who waited for her father to return home with the groceries would do if she had had the money to go for the groceries herself, I wondered what she would do if it was in her power to get the electric bill paid, and what lengths she would go to in order to survive parents who had essentially vanished from her life. The thought then occurred to me that these children would be better off raising themselves. That’s when I came up with the idea of THE DEATH OF BEES and had two children bury their parents in the yard making them disappear forever, leaving the girls to their own devices.

 

Q.: It seems that in Marnie and Nelly’s world, the adults are the children and the children are the adults – the roles are switched.  Except for their neighbor Lennie who is a deeply flawed character with secrets of his own, there aren’t many real adult role models for the two girls. What were you trying to say here?  And how does this bode for Marnie and Nellie’s future?

 

It’s a sad truth but lots of children out there are left to take care of themselves and if you pay attention you’ll see it all around you. The sin is not paying attention. These children possess a level of maturity that’s almost obscene and it’s thrust upon them if they are to survive the abuses of the people who are supposed to take care of them, but I wanted these girls to survive it. I wanted to illuminate the reliance, the strength, and the character it requires to endure what these girls are put through. I created adults as a device to bring love and protection back in their lives but when I wrote their grandfather it was to illuminate how little they were willing to tolerate and to underline how strong these girls have become.

 

 

Q.: There’s a lot of humor in the book – readers will especially enjoy the scenes when Lennie’s dog keeps digging up the bones of the dead parents – did you have fun writing these scenes?  What other scenes and characters are your favorites?

 

In Macbeth to relieve tension Shakespeare creates comedy through the Porter. The dog is my Porter. I find people are more willing to pay attention to intense subject matter if they know they’re going to be relieved with a bit of humor. It would have been too bleak a story if I hadn’t peppered it with comedy. I like the scenes with the dog but I also enjoyed writing the scenes where Nelly and Marnie are burying their parents. That was comic to me and I got away with a lot, but at this stage of the material, though a grueling read, the reader knows that laughs are expected and forthcoming and give themselves permission to read on. 

 

 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Death of Bees to facilitate this review.