Grey Bees [B2028]

2022 PB in gift-worthy condition. 2022 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER FOR TRANSLATED FICTION. With a warm yet political humor, Ukraine's most famous novelist presents a balanced and illuminating portrait of modern conflict. Little Starhorodivka, a village of three streets, lies in Ukraine's Grey Zone, the no-man's-land between loyalist and separatist forces. Thanks to the lukewarm war of sporadic violence and constant propaganda that has been dragging on for years, only two residents remain: retired safety inspector turned beekeeper Sergey Sergeyich and Pashka, a rival from his schooldays. With little food and no electricity, under constant threat of bombardment, Sergey Sergeich, wants little more than to help his bees collect their pollen. As spring approaches, he knows he must take them far from the Grey Zone so they can collect their pollen in peace. This simple mission on their behalf introduces him to combatants and civilians on both sides of the battle lines: loyalists, separatists, Russian occupiers and Crimean Tatars. Wherever he goes, Sergeyich's childlike simplicity and strong moral compass disarm everyone he meets. But could these qualities be manipulated to serve an unworthy cause, spelling disaster for him, his bees and his country?

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Wonderful read! So glad I picked this book. It has given me valuable insight into the war in Ukraine. The story is fascinating and poignant."; "So painfully yet quietly moving, and at the same time brutally beautiful and at times oddly funny. Of course the topic of living in an active war zone is extremely difficult and so hard to understand from an outside perspective. But the author masterfully describes not only the physical and emotional day-to-day living of the people in the grey zones, but also one's identity, belonging to a place, the system, the higher struggle, and dealing with authorities, when in the end we are all human in our essence. This one was a slower read for me, but I did really deeply enjoy it. It touched something very familiar for me, yet very distant. "; "A meandering journey across Ukraine and Crimea. Through war and conflict, helped along by small acts of kindness and fleeting friendships. I didn't realize how much variety in identity/culture/language there was in just small pockets of Russia and Ukraine. Despite the confusion, bitterness and division, life flows on. Inexorably. Sergey, and (most obviously) his bees, keep on getting up, dusting themselves off and simply getting on with life, one day at a time."; "If only humans could act more like bees . . "