Ordinarily, I want this blog to be about my authors, but this book was so exceptional that I wanted to share it. You will want to read this book for its satisfying story and its lush prose.

The Ardent Swarm
Yamen Manai, translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud
Amazon Crossing. 2021.

I have just finished reading an amazing book and wanted to share it. It reminds me of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, a book startling in his brilliance.

The Ardent Swarm is a parable about a solitary beekeeper who loves his bees and goes out of his way to protect them from the onslaught of the Taliban in Tunisia. Substitute the Taliban for any corrupt form of government that buys votes and overtakes the electorate through bribery and chicanery, imposing their misguided direction that elevates their lopsided fanaticism, ignorance, and group loyalty against all others.

When the bees are attacked by killer hornets, [substitute commercialization or misapplied technology for the hornets], the beekeeper must find a way to preserve his bees [elements of nature] against the ravages of the hornets, unwittingly brought to their country by the new politicians. The beekeeper, a principled man, is a hero and represents freedom and science.

Everyone knew that Sidi would give his life for his girls [the bees] and do so without the slightest hesitation. His love was such that he was capable of anything. Hadn’t he devoted his life to them, building them citadel upon citadel? Hadn’t he confronted a Numidian bear just to bring them the most beautiful flowers? Hadn’t he defied princes and renounced love to dedicate himself entirely to them? And so, when news that many of them had died under troubling circumstances spread from mouth to mouth, a reaction seemed inevitable.

The prince helicopters into the small town to meet the villagers and gain their votes.

The prince wasn’t the first to covet this country. Even before its current borders existed, it had been the object of great desire and numerous conquests. Originally a land of Berber tribes, it became, in succession, a shelter for Phoenicians, a breadbasket for the Romans, spoils for the Vandals, a port for the Byzantines, a paradise for the Arabs, an annex for the Turks, a colony for the Franks…Now, it was Qafa’s turn to take the reins, he thought, rubbing his hands together. Because while the endangered greenery and polluted beaches of this former haven were far from the stuff of dreams, its geostrategic position were still enticing: to both the east and the west were two vast expanses of hydrocarbon that the world’s leaders, without exception had in their sights.

What makes this novel so compelling is the richness of the prose. All pages resonate with beautiful writing, and the author has a sense of humor. The book reads quickly but leaves a lasting wallop.