LIVING
THROUGH
Horace, a male bee, lives in a bee society where drones have taken over and banished their queen – the symbol of femininity.
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https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sf9VZeckApI‘Okay, Do you really like me in this new blouse?’ – Here Pola coquettishly corrected the spaghetti shoulder strap that had slipped down a bit.
That next unexpected question triggered Horace’s first thought – ‘she is unpredictable!’ – but the thought was immediately followed by another one – ‘damn, I like her!’
Reviews
Beata WilliamsonGoodReads Read MoreHorace the drone has “two large insect eyes,” which he can rub “with his forepaws.” He flies, though not often. In restaurants he orders his favorite dish “made of honey and concentrated nectars of field and medicinal marigolds.” Although I’m not a fan of allegories about animals, I warmed up to Horace. Sure, he is a clumsy drone and moves awkwardly in this strangely compelling novel, but the book’s landscape, world, and language—its very oddity—spoke to me.
“Living Through” is an all-purpose protest novel: in it, none go unscathed—capitalists, revolutionaries, feminists, gay, or “true men.” Horace is a true man, despite his wings. He is civilized and can stand “queers,” if only they don’t “make passes . . . too insistently [nor] flaunt their sexual orientation too much.” He loves to rule over his young secretary, Pola. He’s by no means perfect.
A lot happens here, confusing the reader artfully: in dreams, video games, internet blogs. The characters proclaim and live out their philosophies, as does the narrator. The setting resembles the world of nineteen eighties, but there is AI. For the informed reader, learned references abound. Crucially, Horace is an insurance agent, whose fears we recognize. The book’s image of corporate life is chilling.
It is Horace and Pola’s relationship that holds the book together. Although Horace and Pola misunderstand each other, they share the same dreams and jointly indulge in medicinal marigolds. Pola the bee is a good bee, a good woman.
“Living Through” is, certainly, an allegory of our present world, and it even provides a solution to humanity’s problems. Spoiler alert: The rule of queen bee is the solution. Enlightened monarchy is the ultimate social system! Buzz buzz, enter!
Wiesia Zelek Read More
This is an extraordinary book; it has layers like an onion. If one reads it with the heart, underneath the outer layer are layers of content that pour joy and optimism into a person.
The reader is overwhelmed with inner peace and the fear of the current unpredictable world
goes away.
Marzena Szweda Read More
A thoughtful and ambitious book. It draws the reader deep into reflections on society, the stranded human within it, and relationships; a mental remaking of the world of bees into the world of modern Western society; an experience of loneliness but also a chance to find
oneself in the relationship of I and YOU.
Helena Bugaj Read More
A remarkable book that initially seems easy but calls for deeper thinking. In my opinion, the book is imbued with introspective individual life experience. For me, it is an insightful socio-psychological analysis of contemporary America. It brings to mind Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’.
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About the author
I was born in Poland in Eastern Europe, behind the Iron Curtain which made me see America as a model of excellence. Later, as a grown-up, I married an American woman and lived in the US as a Connecticut resident. Living with Americans and traveling around my new country, I got to know the American reality that was different from my ideals.
It seemed to me that the American society valued masculine qualities so much that most women, under pressure from men, had lost much of their femininity – they wanted to be like them. This idea inspired me to write a book about a bee society where drones had taken over power and drove out their queen – the symbol of femininity.