The Music of Bees

In Chapter 17, Alice still can’t control the sudden upswell of upsetting memories from the past. Aware of how she tends to push other people away, she refers to herself, not for the first time, as “Alice Island” (200). However, she’s now aware of the irony of the label, as in Chapter 17 she finds herself with no less than three young men—Jake, Harry, and her nephew, Ronnie—as dinner guests. They help bring her out of herself and support her when she has one of her emotional meltdowns. The narrative point of view in Chapter 17 alternates among the three main characters rather than focusing on just one, as was the case up to this chapter. This helps convey a growing closeness among the three characters, as if they’re able to understand each other better. Alice, of course, must be strong because the crisis with her declining bee population continues to escalate, driving the theme of Environmental Activism and Personal Responsibility, and momentous events and decisions lie ahead of her.

For Jake and Harry, though, their paths in life are looking smoother. At the beginning of Chapter 16, Jake again brings up a recurring motif in the novel: the comparison of bees and humans. He observes how the bees all cooperate in the smooth operation of the colony, and he likens this to how he feels as a productive member of Alice’s household. It’s quite different from what he experienced in his own family and is an entirely positive change.

Jake’s observation about bee cooperation is one of the many ways that the novel weaves in opportunities to expound on the intricacies of bee life, carrying the theme of Beauty and the Bees. Since this is a work of fiction, it must present the information about bees in the context of the story’s characters and events, rather than in long descriptive passages that would interfere with the story. Chapter 16, for example, makes the information interesting by having Jake show Celia the hives and explain what’s going on. The text thus conveys much about bees through the combination of Jake’s knowledge and Celia’s enthusiasm. For example, he points to a bee that has yellow back legs and explains, “That’s called the corbicula. It’s a little compartment she can stash the pollen in. She’ll go in and hand it off to another bee that will pack it away to feed to the babies later” (182). Celia’s excitement and interest prompt her to ask questions, allowing the text to continue in this vein.

Jake now goes from strength to strength, as he discovers his talent for beekeeping and unexpectedly reunites with Cheney, his dog. He even has the good fortune to meet a nice girl, Amri, and it’s immediately obvious that she’ll become his romantic interest. After they’ve interacted at the beach for only a few minutes, and she has just left, Chapter 20 closes: “He thought of Amri’s green eyes, which grew dark when she smiled” (241). This is one sign that The Music of Bees is a “feel-good” novel and that it will have positive, uplifting outcomes for all strands of the plot and all the main characters.

This reader-pleasing approach is likewise apparent in the simplistic nature of some characters as one-dimensional (i.e., “good” or “bad”). Yogi, the good-natured kiteboarder, and Stan, the environmental group leader, fall into the former category. One “bad” guy, Ed Stevenson, is so unremittingly evil that he’s more a caricature than a believable character, and two others, Bill Chenowith and Rich Carlson at the county planning office, have already been introduced (in Chapters 9 and 15) and presented in a negative light. The use of flat, static characters as villains and flat, dynamic characters as heroes allows readers to easily identify heroes to root for and villains to scorn.

As for Harry, the novel’s third protagonist, in these chapters he’s at a crossroads in his life. Life is “rushing at him” (192), and he’s unsure of how to handle himself as he arrives for his first day of work at Alice’s farm. As when the social services came for his uncle, he just wants to run away. He manages to overcome his worst fears, however, and although he still stumbles during his interactions with Alice (in Chapters 17 and 18), he also starts to discover ways of putting his considerable practical talents and ingenuity to use on the farm, supporting the theme of Restoring Mental Health and Creating Community.