Book #9: Recipe for Bees

I love a light read! And this one was absolutely perfect for a lazy afternoon. I avoided all housework, all email communication and my growing 'to-do' list to curl up with Recipe for Bees  – thoroughly indulgent and thoroughly enjoyable! 

A soft story – Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz is nothing really to write home about, nor one that will imprint itself on the memory in years to come – but unlike my previous reading material, Recipe for Bees came along at just the right moment.

It’s the story of Augusta, told as her son-in-law is undergoing an operation for a brain tumour, yet what this side story has to do with the actual plot is anybody’s guess. It doesn’t provide any addition to the main theme, nor is there any connection to be made in a twist at the end, but its harmless none-the-less. The same could be said about the bees in the story. Why there’s this added element to the book, I’m not sure. There are very few mentions of it – other than the first opening paragraph – and as you delve into Augusta’s story, one forgets honeybees are even buzzing around.

Yet, I love a good historical novel, which this had elements of. Augusta went back in time, recalling life as a girl, a young married woman, gossip in the town, affairs, relationships, and growing old with her husband. A sweet story but nothing mindblowing, memorable, or magical about it – just sweet enough to go with a cup of tea.