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Napoleon's Beekeeper
May 1814. On the island of Elba, the beekeeper Andrea Pasolini awaits the arrival of the defeated, exiled emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. Pasolini is a self-taught disciple of the Enlightenment, whose first love is reading books on philosophy and apiculture - a secret, illicit activity he undertakes in his cellar at night. The defeated emperor is likewise fascinated, with the swarming of bees and the beauty of honey. From a distance, an obsessive interest develops between the two men, as anticipation builds around a visit by the emperor to inspect Pasolini's beehives.
In his novella, Jose Luis de Juan meticulously interweaves historical sources with an imagining of the lives of two very different men, one a humble apiarist on an island, the other - also born on an island - who aspires to be the ruler of the universe. Amid an atmosphere of exchangeable identities, powerful dreams, furtive plots and deferred uprisings, in favour of Napoleon or against him, each man carries the conviction that the social organisation of bees holds the key to how the future will unfold.
In his novella, Jose Luis de Juan meticulously interweaves historical sources with an imagining of the lives of two very different men, one a humble apiarist on an island, the other - also born on an island - who aspires to be the ruler of the universe. Amid an atmosphere of exchangeable identities, powerful dreams, furtive plots and deferred uprisings, in favour of Napoleon or against him, each man carries the conviction that the social organisation of bees holds the key to how the future will unfold.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 7, 2021
Como ejercicio de estilo, esta novelita de José Luis de Juan es muy interesante. Sin embargo, no acaba de culminar en una narración efectiva: son menos de doscientas páginas que podrían haber sido cincuenta, o trescientas, porque da la sensación (a mí, por lo menos) que el autor no tiene una historia potente que contar, más allá que un contexto y un tono bastante conseguidos.
April 8, 2020
This curious novella was an interesting diversion: it transported me back to 1814 on the island of Elba — famous as the island where Napoleon was exiled at the end of the Napoleonic Wars by the Treaty of Fontainebleau because the island was in French hands at the time. (Elba did not become part of the newly unified Italy until 1860.)
De Juan's novella reminded me immediately of Thomas Keneally's Napoleon's Last Island, which I thought could have been a better book entirely if Keneally had focused his attention on the men guarding the Emperor on Elba instead of on Napoleon's 14-year-old neighbour. (Hark at me, *chuckle* telling one of Australia's most successful novelists what he should write about! You can read my review here if you want to know why I had the temerity to say so.)
But more pertinently, once I started reading it,Napoleon's Beekeeper reminded me of another short but significant work: Ransom by David Malouf, which I reviewed here. In Ransom, Malouf brings together King Priam, a very powerful man, with Somax, a peasant carter, with whom the king would normally have no contact if not for his poignant quest to reclaim the body of his son, killed in the Trojan Wars. And so it is in De Juan's novella: a man who seems, superficially, to be an ordinary man, a simple beekeeper on the island of Elba, is brought into contact with the man who had been the most powerful in Europe, the Emperor Napoleon, who aspired to be ruler of the world. Now brought low by his own ambition and the coalition of powers who defeated him, Napoleon as captive rules only this small island. What these men share is a preoccupation with bees...
Now there are lots of websites about Napoleon and his interest in bees, but the most concise is at the NGV (which some years ago ran a splendid exhibition of artworks about Napoleon). But the thing about bees is this: much as I love the bees that fertilise my vegetable patch, the fact is that they operate on a ruthless, exploitative system, and an apiarist has to be ok with that. (Substitute any livestock animal you like for the bee, and contemplate what kind of farmer would be ok with the animals behaving in a similar way, eh?*) For all the gumpf about the symbolism of bees for Napoleon...
... the truth is that Napoleon shared bees' ruthlessness and exploitation of underlings. He was the Emperor whose ambitions caused 65000 casualties at the Battle of Waterloo alone, 17000 of whom were British. Wikipedia suggests that military casualties in Europe totalled 2.5million and then there were a further million civilian casualties. Of course he admired bees!
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/04/08/n...
De Juan's novella reminded me immediately of Thomas Keneally's Napoleon's Last Island, which I thought could have been a better book entirely if Keneally had focused his attention on the men guarding the Emperor on Elba instead of on Napoleon's 14-year-old neighbour. (Hark at me, *chuckle* telling one of Australia's most successful novelists what he should write about! You can read my review here if you want to know why I had the temerity to say so.)
But more pertinently, once I started reading it,Napoleon's Beekeeper reminded me of another short but significant work: Ransom by David Malouf, which I reviewed here. In Ransom, Malouf brings together King Priam, a very powerful man, with Somax, a peasant carter, with whom the king would normally have no contact if not for his poignant quest to reclaim the body of his son, killed in the Trojan Wars. And so it is in De Juan's novella: a man who seems, superficially, to be an ordinary man, a simple beekeeper on the island of Elba, is brought into contact with the man who had been the most powerful in Europe, the Emperor Napoleon, who aspired to be ruler of the world. Now brought low by his own ambition and the coalition of powers who defeated him, Napoleon as captive rules only this small island. What these men share is a preoccupation with bees...
Now there are lots of websites about Napoleon and his interest in bees, but the most concise is at the NGV (which some years ago ran a splendid exhibition of artworks about Napoleon). But the thing about bees is this: much as I love the bees that fertilise my vegetable patch, the fact is that they operate on a ruthless, exploitative system, and an apiarist has to be ok with that. (Substitute any livestock animal you like for the bee, and contemplate what kind of farmer would be ok with the animals behaving in a similar way, eh?*) For all the gumpf about the symbolism of bees for Napoleon...
Due to its industrious habits the bee has come to symbolise hard work, diligence, industriousness and orderliness. Because it is also the producer of honey, the bee also symbolises sweetness and benevolence. ('Napoleon and the Bee, NGV, viewed 8/4/20)
... the truth is that Napoleon shared bees' ruthlessness and exploitation of underlings. He was the Emperor whose ambitions caused 65000 casualties at the Battle of Waterloo alone, 17000 of whom were British. Wikipedia suggests that military casualties in Europe totalled 2.5million and then there were a further million civilian casualties. Of course he admired bees!
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/04/08/n...
March 1, 2016
http://lesangdeslivres.blogspot.fr/20...
La couverture est très représentative de l'histoire.
Quand nous commençons ce livre, nous partons dans le monde des abeilles. L'écriture de l'auteur peut paraître un brin compliquée au début, mais nous nous familiarisons avec au fur et à mesure que nous avançons dans l'histoire.
Nous en apprenons beaucoup sur Bonaparte et Pasolini. Au premier abord, nous pensons que le second personnage est quelqu'un de simple et d'aimant. Nous nous posons beaucoup de questions sur lui et Bonaparte, car certains passages sont assez ambigus et nous avons les réponses un peu plus tard dans cette histoire.
Pour ceux qui ne s'intéressaient pas forcément à l'histoire auparavant, ce livre est une vraie petite merveille pour les connaisseurs de Bonaparte. Nous le retrouvons sur l'île d'Elbe et nous comprenons qu'il était très attaché aux abeilles.
Hormis cela, nous comprenons que c'est une stratégie et un pouvoir de les montrer à l'ancien empereur. Bien évidemment, nous nous creusons quand même pas mal la cervelle là-dessus vu que l'auteur a une écriture assez difficile, mais nous arrivons à comprendre où il veut réellement aller.
La fin est très surprenante. Nous sommes heureux de voir que nous nous étions trompés sur une personne de ce roman et nous sommes stupéfaits de voir ce qu'il fait réellement.
Est-ce que j'ai aimé ce livre ?
L'histoire est vraiment originale. Je ne suis pas une fervente assidue d'histoire en général, mais j'ai trouvé très intéressant de voir le rapport entre Bonaparte et les abeilles.
J'ai trouvé l'écriture de l'auteur assez compliquée, mais très poétique.
Pour les amateurs d'histoire, ce livre est fait pour vous.
La couverture est très représentative de l'histoire.
Quand nous commençons ce livre, nous partons dans le monde des abeilles. L'écriture de l'auteur peut paraître un brin compliquée au début, mais nous nous familiarisons avec au fur et à mesure que nous avançons dans l'histoire.
Nous en apprenons beaucoup sur Bonaparte et Pasolini. Au premier abord, nous pensons que le second personnage est quelqu'un de simple et d'aimant. Nous nous posons beaucoup de questions sur lui et Bonaparte, car certains passages sont assez ambigus et nous avons les réponses un peu plus tard dans cette histoire.
Pour ceux qui ne s'intéressaient pas forcément à l'histoire auparavant, ce livre est une vraie petite merveille pour les connaisseurs de Bonaparte. Nous le retrouvons sur l'île d'Elbe et nous comprenons qu'il était très attaché aux abeilles.
Hormis cela, nous comprenons que c'est une stratégie et un pouvoir de les montrer à l'ancien empereur. Bien évidemment, nous nous creusons quand même pas mal la cervelle là-dessus vu que l'auteur a une écriture assez difficile, mais nous arrivons à comprendre où il veut réellement aller.
La fin est très surprenante. Nous sommes heureux de voir que nous nous étions trompés sur une personne de ce roman et nous sommes stupéfaits de voir ce qu'il fait réellement.
Est-ce que j'ai aimé ce livre ?
L'histoire est vraiment originale. Je ne suis pas une fervente assidue d'histoire en général, mais j'ai trouvé très intéressant de voir le rapport entre Bonaparte et les abeilles.
J'ai trouvé l'écriture de l'auteur assez compliquée, mais très poétique.
Pour les amateurs d'histoire, ce livre est fait pour vous.
May 13, 2020
Fanciful novella imagines Napoleon’s exile on Elba, his fascination with bees and a bee keeper who understands his secret and sees a connection between the behaviour of bees and military engagement. Spun with a light hand, this inventive work takes pieces of historical and scientific fact and weaves them into an entertaining tale.
A longer review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2020/05/12/of...
A longer review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2020/05/12/of...
April 21, 2025
Nothing really happens and I don’t particularly see the point of this book, but the writing is beautiful and pleasant to read.
January 14, 2021
Very beautifully written with poetic language. However, not really sure I understood the story and it felt it was a bit all over the place.
February 5, 2022
Pasolini is a humble beekeeper who has never left Elba, the island in which Napoleon is exiled. Under the fabricated appearance of a lowly, family-business apiarist, Pasolini is a brilliant intellectual who reads and writes about Napoleon’s political campaigns.
He exhibits a clairvoyant ability to predict Napoleon’s political outcomes by watching his bees. Throughout the book, the bee’s interactions symbolise a microcosm of European politics. On that tiny island of Elba - “from that minuscule perspective…no larger than a honeycomb cell” (p. 69) - Pasolini observes Napoleon’s every move and even predicts his defeat in Russia and Fontainebleau.
However, Pasolini's political insight is rather futile given he never warns Bonaparte before the tragedies occur and have only successfully sent one letter. When Napoleon tries to visit his apiary, Pasolini flees Elba and commits suicide on a boat via alcohol intoxication, leaving in his will one final letter to Napoleon outlining how he can unite Italy and colonise North America (though whether the Emperor actually receives this letter is unknown).
This historical fiction is set during Napoleon’s exile in Elba and often reflects on Napoleon’s past military feats. While historical sources unanimously confirm Napoleon’s fascination with bees, his affiliation with a certain beekeeper/political adviser - that is, whether Pasolini was a real person - is uncertain.
Elizabeth Bryer’s translation is artful and poetic, but I often wished the syntax was more simple and direct; there is too much symbolism and metaphorical innuendo for the modern reader to decipher. I may have enjoyed this novella more if I was a native Spanish speaker who read it in its original language or had prior in-depth knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars.
He exhibits a clairvoyant ability to predict Napoleon’s political outcomes by watching his bees. Throughout the book, the bee’s interactions symbolise a microcosm of European politics. On that tiny island of Elba - “from that minuscule perspective…no larger than a honeycomb cell” (p. 69) - Pasolini observes Napoleon’s every move and even predicts his defeat in Russia and Fontainebleau.
However, Pasolini's political insight is rather futile given he never warns Bonaparte before the tragedies occur and have only successfully sent one letter. When Napoleon tries to visit his apiary, Pasolini flees Elba and commits suicide on a boat via alcohol intoxication, leaving in his will one final letter to Napoleon outlining how he can unite Italy and colonise North America (though whether the Emperor actually receives this letter is unknown).
This historical fiction is set during Napoleon’s exile in Elba and often reflects on Napoleon’s past military feats. While historical sources unanimously confirm Napoleon’s fascination with bees, his affiliation with a certain beekeeper/political adviser - that is, whether Pasolini was a real person - is uncertain.
Elizabeth Bryer’s translation is artful and poetic, but I often wished the syntax was more simple and direct; there is too much symbolism and metaphorical innuendo for the modern reader to decipher. I may have enjoyed this novella more if I was a native Spanish speaker who read it in its original language or had prior in-depth knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars.
November 8, 2020
Interesting concept but I just couldn't get into it. I feel like perhaps this would have been better as a longer novel, as it just went too fast and I found myself getting lost at multiple points. In saying this, there were some beautiful passages in this book, and the characters (and how different they were to one another) were very interesting. However, as I said, I just wasn't immersed in it, and my confusion around what was actually happening didn't make it that enjoyable to read.
January 21, 2022
Based on a fascinating idea with great potential, the book starts well, does have some high points, but it is not resolved in a satisfying manner. A bit of a let down.
December 8, 2022
Unusual novella
December 30, 2023
didn't quite understand it (probably because i'm sick and my mind feels stuffy) but i found the writing style pretty nice and fluid. loved the bee imageries, anyway
February 21, 2022
I might not know enough about Napoleon or bees to enjoy this properly, but it was a nice little rendering of island life.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews