I wish i could have enjoyed this book more but we just didn't mesh well. I felt confused for a big portion of the book. I wasn't able to tell the flow of time and sometimes even the purpose of following certain characters. That said, I think the storytelling is very interesting. I think there was purpose behind every story (even when I personally wasn't able to identify them all) and I liked the parallels between Sidi's bees and the shifting political/religious landscape of Nawa. I think that this specific background is what I was missing to fully appreciate this book.

Yamen Mana introduces us to a thoughtful beekeeper Sidi who patiently tends to his bees. Through Sidi we learn about the impact of an Islamic revolution, being able to vote in a highly political supposedly democratic election to this North African country an allegory of Tunisia and the Spring Uprising. That means we meet characters who live humbly, or live wantonly abusing money and women, either sexually or to keep them completely covered up. We see the impact of religious fundamentalism also.

5 "moving, miraculous, multilayered" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and translator and Amazon Crossing. This novel won Prix Comar d'Or and Prix des cinq continents awards. The French version was originally published in 2017 and this English version was released in February 2021.

"If the company of men could bring about doubt in God and the meaning of His designs, the company of bees led Sidi to quite different conclusions. He floated with them in a world of petals and pollen, of rapture and labor, rejoicing in an existence united by the elements, given rhythm by the seasons, laced with rewards. He venerated the God of his bees, unknown to many humans. He admired the beauty and precision of His work in the most concrete way possible and had made himself a place in an ancient wheel moved by divine inspiration....."

Tunisia. Contemporary times. After Arab Spring. Corruption after revolution. Move towards fundamentalism. The fear of moderates throughout the ancient land. A mostly abandoned village, a beekeeper, two poor best friends on different paths, the cunning of strangers, the support of brethren. Bees, bees and more bees with honey to please the sheikh and all his dancing girls. Modesty, intelligence, hypocrisy and intrigue.

This is a short novel that covers an immense amount of ground. Initially you feel that you may be reading a thriller, then to a pastoral drama with comic undertones, then to a lament on the state of the volatility and misguidedness of fundamentalist regimes, then to Japan to idealize what one does not truly know.

To discover that to protect your neighborhood honey is priority. To make peace with all of the literal and figurative hornets that exist in your present so that you have a small chance to enjoy whatever sweetness lies in the moment.

A multilayered little novel that is moving, humorous and important. Simple in its prose but with complex undertones and overtones that stoke the intellect and unsettle the soul.

Allegory, parable, fable – or simply a story about a beekeeper and his bees. This short beautifully written Tunisian novel can be read in many ways and on many levels, that’s up to the reader, but however you choose to read it it’s a thought-provoking, engaging and often moving tale of revolution, dictatorship and religious fundamentalism, weighty themes but ones accessibly dealt with by focussing on a simple man and his love for his bees. It adds depth to the reading if you know at least something about Tunisia's recent history and politics, but the success of the novel lies in not needing to know the background to find heart in the human story and rich imagery in the writing.

Part allegorical and part satirical, *The Ardent Swarm* follows various citizens of a fictional Arab country, where religious extremists and foreign hornets are taking over. Sidi is a beekeeper in Nawa, a small village where children who want to attend school must travel ten kilometers over the steppe and a young man gathers fallen fruit to trade for fish in the next village over. As world politics begin to encroach on the country's natural resources, Sidi discovers that every bee in one of his hives has been viciously murdered.

Like a lot of African literature, this is a different taste from typical Western novels. For the first half, Yamen Manai takes his time to set the scene. He introduces the different forces at work in in the countryside, and the connections between the residents of Nawa. He tells of Sidi's past, and describes him interacting lovingly with his "girls," the honeybees he keeps. Like a bee, Manai flits in and around the inciting incident of the novel—the murder of Sidi's precious bees. Finally, around the halfway mark, the action ramps up as Sidi tries to discover the killer and a young man in the village goes missing.

Although the stakes are raised, Manai never loses sight of his soft, lyrical storytelling. Every sentence is as gentle with the reader as Sidi is with his bees, carrying you softly over the rolling hills of the countryside to your destination. There is violence, and death, but Manai manages to keep it at arm's length even while describing the details.

*The Ardent Swarm*'s greatest fault, perhaps, is that it is precisely on the nose. Manai does not allow you to remain ignorant of the allegorical meaning: he places the symbols directly next to the symbolized, and in the end brings them crashing together. This book is not subtle in its messaging, despite being abundantly so in its prose.

The translation—from French, by Lara Vergnaud—is impeccable. There have been a few times, most recently with *Black Moses* by Alain Mabanckou, where I regretted reading a translated work and wished I had read it in its original language, but I never felt that way with *The Ardent Swarm*. Vergnaud does an excellent job capturing Manai's voice and expressing his style, without any translations that felt clumsy or out of place.

This was a really fun little read and I'd recommend it if you enjoy world fiction, commentary on religious extremism, or, of course, bees. Thoroughly grounded in reality, Manai weaves a tale that gives you a small glimpse into a small Arab village, where enemies abound but good people ultimately hold the fort.

***Review will be posted at link provided at 7am EST Feb 2

Not what I was expecting but I'm very glad to have read this satire/parable about a man, his bees, and a democratic election in a fictional country in the Middle East. Sidi wants nothing more than to protect his bees, which have been attacked by hornets but it's not that easy. I suspect I missed some of the points Manai was making (and I might argue with others). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a worthwhile read for fans of literary fiction.

Parable, allegory, oral tradition - call it what you will, The Ardent Swarm in its English translation is simply a beautiful story. The contrast between sociopolitical constructs and nature’s designs provides commentary, but also creates an engaging sense of pathos, Sidi is a poor country beekeeper who wants nothing more than to nurture and protect “his girls,” the honeybees that provide his livelihood and his sense of purpose. Sidi’s girls are faced with a sudden and horrific threat to their existence. The origin and nature of the threat along with Sidi’s and his friends’ responses make for a memorable and thoughtful tale.

Thank you to Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent [and timely] read. I will admit it was...odd? to read this alongside The Plague by Albert Camus and Les Miserable by Victor Hugo. All three are so relevant to today [and truly for 2020 as a whole], but none more than this really well-written book. Enemies attack from the most innocuous and unexpected places and when they are unknown AND known [enemies that attack in the name of "God" {and you can insert whatever God you believe or don't believe in here - when war is being raged, it doesn't matter which God it is apparently} ] are the most viscous of attackers and the imagery here is spectacular. The story flows well and I can say that the last half hour of the book had my heart racing and took me some time to come down from it all when I finished. The author tells an amazing story [I learned things I never thought I wanted to learn] and again, the imagery is spectacular.
The trouble with trying to write a review for a book like this is this - you really need to go into this as cold as possible, with as little information as possible [and even as I look at what I have written, I am wondering if I have given too much away] and then you need to make your own assessments and decisions about what you believe - what you believe is right, wrong and ultimately, acceptable. This is that kind of book. So, there will not be anything given away here - not even the reason I gave it four stars instead of five. These reasons you need to figure out on your own. And you really should. This is a book that should not be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Yamen Manai, the translator Lara Vergnaud [who does a spectacular job here IMO] and AmazonCrossing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The writing is excellent, the translation is beautiful, and the story is so unique and goes unexpected places.
Including - murder hornets!! When I realized this was happening I was extra intrigued because they recently appeared where I live (Washington state) and there was a lot of news about it.
The writing about the bees is so good. There is a battle between the honeybees and the murder hornets (technically Giant Asian Hornets) that had me holding my breath.

I was also completely intrigued by the rest of the book as it was based on the Tunisian revolution and the aftermath. I went to Tunisia in 2003 and traveled around the country so I could picture a lot of the setting.

Honestly, I loved this book and I'd be surprised if it didn't win some awards next year. It already won awards for the original publication which is in French.

I tried to find the allegory in this novel between the bees and the religio-political tension in the plot, but I wasn’t able to find it. It was no less beautiful for this. The exploration of culture is brief but still has depth. I enjoyed all of the interpersonal relationships and the evolution of thought that comes from exposure to the wider world.

I suppose if there is a lesson from the bees it might be that we shouldn’t shut ourselves off from influence and change. We become all the richer for each spice we include.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Yesterday we feared amnesia and abandonment; today we dread fire and destruction. Now they’re telling us how to talk and dress, but soon they’ll tell us how to think.”

Wonderful book from so many aspects! First of all author is using a lot of allegories in his book, hidden meanings, that’s why in my opinion it will be difficult to understand this book without knowing basic Arabic history.

Sufi lives in a small village, located in the North Africa. He’s a beekeeper and had dedicated all his life to these beautiful creatures. One day he discovers that his bee hives have been threatened by the hornets, and he starts his journey into finding the cure. Alongside beekeeping events, author shows the political and religious struggles between big cities and their affect on their village.

I loved this book, because it was written with the heart. With a beautiful story of the bees, author has also stressed attention to people that are fanatically believing in the cause that they were made to believe. That it’s so easy to manipulate people by promising them what they want.

Only one nuance... I would’ve loved more political information and events happening. But then again, it’s only a short novel. Can’t have it all.

The Ardent Swarm opens with a decadent scene of a Prince living in luxury. This picture of excess is juxtaposed with a tiny village and a passionate beekeeper fighting a threat to his bees. The best parts of the novel are detailed and compelling descriptions of beekeeping.

Great book for those who love YA and want to learn more about bees, along with a wonderful story about the sea and an artist’s spiritual journey. Definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Sadly I am unable to review appropriately as I was unable to finish this book. It just did not interest me or pull me in.

The Ardent Swarm

Like a beehive, this small novel has a lot going on inside.

The Ardent Swarm is both the story of the beekeeper Sidi and the story of political and cultural changes in Tunisia. Each step in Sidi's journey can be seen as mirror for the changes going on around him. Yamen Manai does a great job of contextualizing his story and simultaneously making us feel empathy for his characters.

Choosing to begin the novel with a prologue was not my favorite choice, but in the context of the story, I was glad to have some political background. I think the choice to anchor the story in a small village helps illustrate the way democracy is bought and the effects of religious fundamentalist movements. Manai tackles a lot of enormous topics but keeps the tale brief and focused. After several chapters I found myself drawn back to the book whenever I set it down.

Manai paints the natural features of Tunisia with a lush and descriptive prose. I appreciate the excellent job Lara Vergnaud did with the translation. Everything felt smooth and easy to read. The novel in many ways feels like a collection of short episodes revolving around rural Tunisian life during a moment of political change. The supporting cast and their impressions of these events provided additional layers to the story.

I'd recommend The Ardent Swarm to readers interested in learning about Tunisia and those interested in a small story about big events.

On a side note I love the beautiful cover art!

Disclaimer: ARC provided by AmazonCrossing via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Overall, I found The Ardent Swarm enjoyable. I was instantly captivated by Sidi's story as he fought to protect his bees from danger. These bees and their problems were an allegory for the conflict taking place around him, and I could see that in its broadest strokes; however, a reader with greater knowledge of the real-life events might see additional nuances that I missed with only my faint understanding of what took place. So, in reading this book I learnt a little more about life for people post-Arab Spring, along with new facts about the art of beekeeping, making it an educational (as well as entertaining) read. Worth checking out.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is heavily laden with metaphor and a lot of material that may not appeal to the average reader in that it does draw in a lot of cultural references that many people may not recognise. The language is beautiful, and I applaud the translator for putting forth such a wonderful and true translation- it is not an easy thing to do. The story is not linear, instead opting to focus on small fragments of time and aspects of people's lives. I think the most effective part of the book was the travel through the airport and the terrifying situation that manifests when the main character is detained. How horrible it must have been for those poor bees!

There's a lot of context that seems to go missing in this book if you're not well informed about the situation that Tunisia has found itself in over the course of recent history- however, if you're willing to do a little extrinsic reading, this book carries a powerful metaphor for times of revolution, and is a timely read at the moment especially.

The short novel by Tunisian authors Yamen Manai is about bees and how bees connect the characters he presents to his readers. The language is engaging and the story is as fast-paced as it's very slow - a sort of weird allegory of how time goes by and even though we try to shape time after ourselves, it's really time that shape us.

I did like the language, and I feel like the translator, Lara Vergnaud, did a really good job with conveying feeling. Now - I don't speak or read French so I can't check out the original - but sometimes you can just feel if a translation is good or not, and this felt like one of the good ones.

However, I got confused with the allegories the bees were supposed to represent because I don't really know much about Tunisia, even though the Jasmine revolution (I had to look this up) only took place ten years ago. This made it sort of hard for me to relate to the struggles and the overhanging threat the characters were put under during the story due to the post-revolutionary setting.