The History of Bees and The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde

During the second week of AnnaBookBel's Nordic FINDS challenge I have read two book by the Norwegian author Maja Lunde. These are part 1 and 2 of her Climate Quartet series, with Przewalskis Horse as part 3 (not yet read, but a must read). I think part 4 is still to be published. They can be read individually as well. 

The History of Bees

This is the most wonderful cover, don't you think?

"In the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this dazzling and ambitious literary debut follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the bees, to their children, and to one another against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis.

England, 1852. William is a biologist and seed merchant who sets out to build a new type of beehive, one that will give both him and his children honor and fame.

United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper fighting an uphill battle against modern farming, but he hopes that his son can be their salvation.

China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Tao's young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident, she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him.

Haunting, illuminating, and deftly written, The History of Bees joins these three very different narratives into one gripping and thought-provoking story that is just as much about the powerful bond between children and parents as it is about our very relationship to nature and humanity."

An absolutely wonderful story of a past we know and a disastrous future we don't know. A dystopian novel, one could say, but still fixed in our own world. All of the three stories, which run parallell along the book, are about human beings, fathers and mothers and their relationship to their children, nature and the world around them. There are expectations and disappointments, but all through the stories run the love of bees. They become a symbol for a world that is disappearing and when they go, what is left of mankind?

Beautifully written with wonderful characters with which you can bond. Life does not always go as you expect and sometimes you have to let children decide for themselves what they want to do. The relationships are described in such a personal and human way, and there will be something for all of us to adhere to. 

The End of the Ocean

"In 2019, seventy-year-old Signe sets out on a hazardous voyage to cross an entire ocean in only a sailboat. She is haunted by the loss of the love of her life, and is driven by a singular and all-consuming mission to make it back to him.

In 2041, David flees with his young daughter, Lou, from a war-torn Southern Europe plagued by drought. They have been separated from their rest of their family and are on a desperate search to reunite with them once again, when they find Signe's abandoned sailboat in a parched French garden, miles away from the nearest shore.

As David and Lou discover personal effects from Signe's travels, their journey of survival and hope weaves together with Signe's, forming a heartbreaking, inspiring story about the power of nature and the human spirit."

It you think that a second book in the series cannot be better than the first, you are wrong. This is another great instalment in the Climate Quartet series. Again we meet a present world in parallell with the future. Signe on a final quest to save the Norwegian nature and take revenge on the man she once loved. He is taking ice from a Norwegian glacier, selling it to warmer countries in need of it. She destroys a shipment and sets off to France to face her former lover, and what she considers his betrayal to nature. 

In the future David and his daughter Lou are fleeing from war and drought to the northern part of France. Life is harsh and they have to stay in a refugee camp. As they venture out from the camp, discovering a small deserted village nearby, they find an old sailboat. It becomes their secret get away. They meet and befriend Margaret from the camp and let her in on their secret. It leads to unexpected dreams popping up.

Once again, this is a story about relationships; between parents and children, between lovers and friends. Wonderful story and once again fantastic characters that stay with you long after you have finished the book. The future is 2041, not that far ahead from our time. I think that is why you can easily picture yourself in the situations that occur. 

"Time is elastic. Time and the memories that bind it are two sides of the same coin. Magnus and I, Mommy and Daddy, the glacier and the river, the Sister Falls, and there's so much I don't remember."

Although, in both books, you have a story about a future where something went wrong, we are not given the extent of a possible disaster. Maybe that is how it will be. We slowly destroy our world and one day we find ourselves in unexpected circumstances, in a surrounding where nothing is the same as it was. And, does she leave some hope for us and the future?

Maja Lunde is an expert in story telling. She goes into the nitty, gritty daily life of people, and it is so exciting, insightful and scaring at the same time, and beautifully written. 

I am sure these two books will end up as my best read books for this year. If you have not read them yet, it is time to do so. In the meantime, I can't wait to dive into the third part of the series, and eagerly awaiting part four.