Book Review: "The Enlightenment of Bees" by Rachel Linden
“The Enlightenment of Bees” by Rachel Linden
Synopsis: Sometimes a shattered dream leads to an amazing journey.
At twenty-six, apprentice baker Mia West has her entire life planned out: a Craftsman cottage in Seattle, a job baking at The Butter Emporium, and her first love—her boyfriend, Ethan—by her side. But when Ethan declares he “needs some space,” Mia’s carefully planned future crumbles.
Feeling adrift, Mia joins her vivacious housemate Rosie on a humanitarian trip around the world funded by a reclusive billionaire. Along with a famous grunge rock star, a Rwandan immigrant, and an unsettlingly attractive Hawaiian urban farmer named Kai, Mia and Rosie embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
From the slums of Mumbai to a Hungarian border camp during the refugee crisis, Mia’s heart is challenged and changed in astonishing ways—ways she never could have imagined. As she grapples with how to make a difference in a complicated world, Mia realizes she must choose between the life she thought she wanted and the life unfolding before her.
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Trigger Warnings: refugee issues, slums, men with hero complexes, cancer
Note: I did discover that this one falls into the rather broad category of “Christian fiction” and I did want to share that with potential readers. The only thing especially overt is the frequent mentions of Mother Theresa and Saint Mia (unless you count a man with a real savior complex), but I did want to raise it in case that isn’t your thing.
Review: Mia has always wanted to make a difference in the world; she had a Mother Theresa coloring book as a kid and that was her favorite thing (you will hear this a few times). However, her cool Aunt Frannie made her feel like she had to do great big things in order to make a difference, and so she constantly made herself feel like her aspirations and favorite things were small. So when her life is thrown for a loop (wow, is Ethan a douchebag), she jumps at the chance to join her roommate and friend, Rosie, on an around-the-world humanitarian adventure.
In my mind, Lars Lundquist, the mysterious benefactor behind this trip and this mission, is like a younger Bono — he wants to help, but he is going about in a way that’s public and splashy. The missions of the other individuals on the teams seem to be poking fun at millennial culture a little bit, but at least they feel like they have a passion. Mia loves to bake, but her official story to Humanitas is that she wants to provide health care to women and girls — she thinks that sounds like a better goal, even though she hates it. The premise of the trip is that these teams will go and change the world! while filming it all for a documentary and Instagram! with good photo opportunities in India, Thailand, and Mexico!
I used to work in global public health, so I have spent time in more third-world countries (I know, I know - I hate that term, too) than a fair few of my peers. The type of HUmanitas Foundation “do it for the ‘gram” poverty tourism described is one of my life’s biggest pet peeves, and so I found myself grinding my teeth at some of the activities described in this book. This changed when they went to the refugee camp — the book felt on surer footing, we were able to get into Mia’s brain, and she learned how to best help people, in her own way. I went to law school with the hope I would figure out how to help people — I initially thought I would be an environmental lawyers, which lol @ that dream now. Mia comes to that realization a little late, but her needed dose of tough love is my favorite part of the novel:
Remember, Mia, your place in the world is the space where your greatest passion meets the world’s great pain. Go now and find that place.
That’s when I could tell the author used to be an international aid worker — this is an essential lesson you learn in that course of work. Coming from my old job, I also appreciated her candor when expressing Mia’s misgivings about the exploitative work the Humanitas Foundation is doing. I enjoyed Shreya’s character in India, and I actually wrote down this quote: “If we want to help people, we cannot focus on their problems, on what we can see just on the outside, the garbage and the poverty. We must enter into their lives, be a part of their community. That is where real change happens, person to person, day by day, when we live life together.” As a central tenet of a book widely billed as a buzzed-about beach read (I’m sorry, I couldn’t not do it), this is surprisingly heavy. With that said, it’s also an important lesson for all of us to remember: do the best you can, in your community, to help people.
The feelings that it invoked in me was like how I feel when I have time to have a leisurely coffee and breakfast on the weekend — small delight, unhurried comfort. It’s predictable in that you know Mia is going to get a happy ending, and you know that she’s going to find herself; however, the path that she takes to get there has a few twists in it.
I liked this one, but it at times felt quite uneven. I read the author’s bio — she drew from life in a fair amount of circumstances (yes, she was even chased by a shark) — and it felt like she was more comfortable writing about the “international aid worker” moments than the character building moments. Maybe I just wanted more depth from the other Caritas members — Rachel was fabulous at telling the stories of the refugees in a way that made me tear up. I’m from the South, and I’ve never been called “Sugar” by a peer, much less 1/3 of the times we talked; Lars’ story seemed a little nutty, and the Humanitas Foundation’s mission was eye-rolly to me. I would have much rather read Mia’s story without those extras, but I could also have done without the constant “I want to be Saint Mia” refrain.
That said, it is a great coming-of-age novel; I greatly appreciated Mia’s character growth as the story progressed. To me, the best message was to use your individual skills to make the world a better place. Not everyone can work for Doctors Without Borders, nor should they. We all bring different gifts to the table, which should be recognized. The end was a little schmaltzy, but y’all know I love a good movie ending, so no complaints on my end.
TL;DR: A charming novel about finding yourself and your greatest passion, big or small, that goes best with a cup of tea and a baked good. It’s uneven at times, but all in all, still a good read for a cozy Saturday morning.
If you liked this, try these:
"Beyond the Point" by Claire Gibson (my review here!)
FYI: When you click links in this post to purchase a product, SFOL might get a cut of your purchase - it doesn’t add anything to the price for you. We promise. Thanks in advance!
