Time to catch up with reviews I've been putting off. I'm bad at keeping up with reviews, almost as soon as I put a book down, I pick up another. Reading is much more fun than reviewing.
From description: A heartwarming debut novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.
I mentioned Letters from Tove earlier on my other blog with more detail, but after about 300 pages, I paused and read a bunch of fiction before coming back to it.
Maybe I simply fell in love with the characters, but my cousin is also a beekeeper, so I had an additional interest. My garden is alive with bees when the herbs come to flower, and I always give some of the plants a chance to flower, while keeping a few (especially basil) pinched back to continue producing. The bees like other plants, too, but the idea of that hint of basil, lemon verbena, lemon balm, and rosemary in the honey...sounds so delicious.
The Music of Bees has characters you want to know, fascinating information about bees, and warnings about the dangers of pesticides rolled into a sensitive and heart-warming mix. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it at a time when I needed exactly that book.
Sam has a better review of this, so check it out. Anyway, it was a book that left me feeling lighter, more positive, and better informed.
NetGalley/Penguin Group
Friendship. April 27, 2011. Print length: 336 pages.
from description: Tove Jansson’s works, even her famed Moomin books, fairly teem with letters of one kind or another, from messages bobbing in bottles to whole epistolary novels. Fortunately for her countless readers, her life was no different, unfolding as it did in the letters to family, friends, and lovers that make up this volume, a veritable autobiography over the course of six decades—and the only one Jansson ever wrote. And just as letters carry a weight of significance in Jansson’s writing, those she wrote throughout her life reflect the gravity of her circumstances, the depth of her thoughts and feelings, and the critical moments of humor, sadness, and grace that mark an artist’s days.
Letters from Tove is a compelling look at the artist and author and the times in which she lived. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
"Tove Jansson is one of the greatest children’s writers there has ever been."—Sir Terry Pratchett
She also wrote wonderful letters.
Purchased
Letters. 2014; 2020. 496 pages.
I'm congratulating myself for getting two reviews out of the way. :)
Glad you enjoyed The Music of Bees. That's one I want to read, too. And I know what you mean about reading books being more enjoyable than reviewing them. I think that's why my reviews keep getting shorter and shorter. ;D
ReplyDeleteIt was one of those books that lift the spirits! I think you'd really like it, Lark!
DeleteThe Music of Bees sounds like a winner! The setting (in Oregon) appeals to me and I loved Eleanor Oliphant, so I'm going to look for this one at my library!
ReplyDeleteIt was just what I needed at the time--loved the characters!
DeleteI'm so relieved that you seem to have enjoyed The Music of Bees so much. Sometimes I wonder if it's just me...
ReplyDelete:) No, Sam, it isn't just you. I found The Music of Bees delightful and will be looking for more from Eileen Garvin!
DeleteThe Music of Bees sounds good to me! Will add this onto my wishlist. Thanks, Jenclair!
ReplyDeleteIt also had a hint of synesthesia in it, but I loved the information about the bees almost as much as the characters. :)
DeleteI really want to read The Music of Bees. It sounds like just the kind of thing I'd like. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you would like it, Ashley. It is a character-driven book about friendships between humans and nature.
DeleteI can't wait to read The Music of Bees after your review and Sams. I also know I own at least one book by Tove Jansson, The Summer Book that I'm planning to get to this year and I have another, Fair Play, on my wish list. Happy March
ReplyDeleteI hope you love The Music of Bees as much as Sam and I did! The Summer Book is on my list, and maybe a biography of Tove. :)
DeleteBooth of these sound delightful! I read The Summer Book by Tove Jansson several years ago and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI added The Summer Book to my list after you mentioned it on my other blog. Such an interesting woman!
DeleteI would rather read than write reviews also. LOL The Music of Bees sounds wonderful. I will have to give that one a try. I am glad you enjoyed Letters from Tove.
ReplyDeleteThe old problem of read or review. :) Add procrastinate to the mix in my case.
DeleteI totally agree-reading is much more fun! The music of bees sounds so unusual -but fun!
ReplyDeleteThe Music of Bees was a good book for me. I worry about the way pesticides affect colonies and that people have to ship bees in order to pollinate crops because local bee hives have died. The book is informative about the importance of bees and has a character-driven plot. :)
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