Wasp Season

by Jennifer Scoullar

You'll never see a wasp in the same way again …

When Beth’s marriage ends, she’s determined to build a new life in the country for herself and her children. A quiet life lived closer to nature. She thinks she’s achieved the impossible – a civilised separation, a happy home and a cordial relationship with her estranged husband, Mark. There's even the promise of new love on the horizon. But when Mark tries to change the rules, Beth’s peaceful world is turned upside down.

Disturbingly, she also discovers that European wasps have invaded her garden. Beth’s obsession with them and their queen holds up a distorted mirror to the human drama. As the chaos in Beth’s life gathers momentum, connections between the two worlds come sharply into focus. The lives of Beth and the others are neither separate to, nor safe from, the natural world.

AUTHOR’S NOTE
In this series of Wild Australia Stories I tell tales of the people, wildlife and land that I love. But there is more to wild Australia than brumbies, dingoes, dolphins and the magnificent outback.

As a passionate conservationist and amateur naturalist, I’m interested in all aspects of nature. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s not always about the big things. Little creatures have a surprising impact on our lives. If you’re squeamish about insects, look away now. If you’re fascinated by the Australian bush and the way all creatures great and small are connected, then Beth’s story is for you.

- Praise for Wasp Season –

-There is an ironic twist to this tale, a violent and sudden twist that will leave the reader gasping. Wasp Season is a fascinating study of nature and humans.– Wendy O’Hanlon, Acres Australia

- ‘A thrilling story that describes both human and insect life in detail as they become intertwined … an unforgettable, unputdownable trip into a garden that, on the surface, seems like a quiet refuge.’ - John Morrow, World of Books and Music

- ‘Scoullar, it turns out, is a writer of documentary calibre.’ Australian Literary Review

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2020

About the author

Jennifer Scoullar Bio

Jennifer has always harboured a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world. Her house is on a hill-top, overlooking valleys of messmate and mountain ash. A pair of old eagles live there too. Black-shouldered wallabies graze by the creek. Eastern Spinebills hover among the callistemon. Jennifer lives with her family on a beautiful property in the mountains, that was left to her by her father. Horses have always been her passion. She grew up on the books of Elyne Mitchell, and all her life she’s ridden and bred horses, in particular Australian Stock Horses. She has nine published novels. Brumby’s Run (Penguin 2012), Currawong Creek (Penguin 2013), Billabong Bend (Penguin 2014), Turtle Reef (Penguin 2015), Journey's End (Penguin 2016), Fortune's Son (Penguin 2017), The Lost Valley (Pilyara Press 2018), The Memory Tree (Pilyara Press 2019) and Wasp Season (Pilyara Press 2020)

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in the country had its advantages and for Beth one of those things was to have many animals, as well as have her two beautiful children, Sarah and Rick by her side. Apart from the usual animals, Beth also had European Wasps on her property, but they were beginning to get out of hand which was starting to worry Beth.

Beth's former husband, Mark left her to be with his former secretary, Helen. They appeared like a happy and in love couple, but as time passed the cracks began to appear in the relationship.

I must admit I actually thought I wouldn't enjoy this book, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I did enjoy it. Reading about how the European Wasps went about their daily routines was quite interesting. Recommended.

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jennifer Scoullar's love and reverence of the nature that surrounds us shines through in her writing, making the daily lives of the wasps and other insects fascinating and evocative reading.

Wasp Season is narrated in multiple points of view. Scoullar anthropomorphises the wasps and bees thus invoking sympathy. Naming the insects and giving their POV brings the reader right into their lives and thoughts and gives a perspective I'd never contemplated before.
Fairy wrens, potter wasps, paper wasps, assassin flys, black cockatoos, European wasps, platypus, wombats, wallabies, kookaburras, dragonflies, eastern spinebill, hummingbird, cicadas, spiders; all this beautiful and diverse fauna of Australia is seamlessly spread throughout the story without being one bit contrived.

The humans are just as fascinating as the insects. Mark, a delusional narcissist, separated from wife Beth and now living with girlfriend Lena and their baby son, has a life is always greener on the other side attitude. Bored with his young girlfriend he decides he wants his wife back.

Lena feeling alone and worthless turns to the allure and bright lights of poker machines to get her highs. Predators are lurking to pounce on the weak and unwary.
Beth and her two children have settled into a tranquil life on a property in the mountains. However there is a European Wasp colony developing that will threaten them and the whole surrounding ecosystem.

With themes of the natural balance of the ecosystem, introduced pests, regrets, narcissism, gambling addiction and befriending strangers, Wasp Season is fascinating and emotional. As human lives and insect lives cross over and intertwine Scoullar builds the story to a suspense filled conclusion.
*I received a copy from the author

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Wasp Season, by Australian author Jennifer Scoullar, Beth has built a comfortable life for herself and her two children on a small property in rural Australia. She’s come to terms with the end of her marriage to her ex-husband, Mark, and is even considering starting a new relationship.

Though Mark now has a much younger girlfriend and new baby son, he is beginning to regret his decision to leave Beth. Lena is either too busy with baby, or shopping, to pay him much attention, and their relationship is increasingly strained.

Meanwhile, In a downed tree on Beth’s property, a European Wasp queen is building a nest, nurturing the beginnings of a new colony. As the hive begins to grow, and then thrive, the imported species takes a destructive toll on the environment.

A passionate conservationist and amateur naturalist, Jennifer Scoullar novels often feature environmental themes. In Wasp Season the author draws some parallels between the development of the European Wasp nest, and the human drama that escalates as Mark’s mental health deteriorates.

In the main I found the detail related to the wasps to be fascinating. Though I know bees have a vital role in our environment, I’ve never given much thought to wasps. I certainly had no idea how destructive European wasps are to the Australian bush. I thought it was quite remarkable that Scoullar was able to inject suspense into these chapters as the wasps slowly decimated the ecological stability of Beth’s property.

I found the pace of the ‘human’ story fairly sluggish to begin with. To be honest I didn’t really warm to Beth, I thought her to be quite a stiff and uptight character, even her internal dialogue is quite formal. The pace and the drama picks up as Mark and Lena’s troubles worsen though, spilling over to disrupt Beth’s more ordered world. The climatic events were quite shocking and more dramatic than I expecting.

Though I’m not sure it is entirely successful as a cohesive story, Wasp Season is an interesting and entertaining read with a unique structure and premise.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Scoullar is one of my favourite Australian Authors and I’ve adored every one of her books, including this one. Scoullar is, in her own words, “a passionate conservationist and amateur naturalist” and this is strongly reflected in all her works. But it’s not always about the big things, Tasmanian Tigers, Brumbies, Dolphins, etc. the little things also have an amazing impact on our world. In this part documentary, part suspense, part horror, but all brilliant book you will learn more about our Australian types of wasps, and the impact of the European Wasp on our environment than you ever knew before

Wasp Season is written as a very different dual timeline. Firstly we have Beth, 35, separated for the last two years from her husband Mark, and their two children, Sarah 12 and Rick, 10, plus Mark’s new family, Lena (short for Helena), 25 and their new baby Chance.

After the separation Beth and the children have moved to the country property she and Mark bought together, with Mark having regular weekend access. Beth is pleased that despite the messy and painful breakup she and Mark appear to have reached a level of cordial relationship and she’s loving being closer to nature in the home she’s named Benbullen.

The only downside to her idyllic home is the discovery of a European Wasp in the garden, complete with a struggling caterpillar in its strong jaws. Rushing outside to try and rescue the caterpillar Beth is horrified to see 2 more wasps. Clearly she doesn’t want her home overtaken by European Wasps, so after doing some research she heads down to the local hardware store to purchase a wasp trap.

As a lover of all forms of nature, Beth struggles with watching the caught wasps die in their traps, torn between knowing of the need to remove the wasps from her home, and her distress at causing death.

The more research Beth does about European Wasps the more fascinated she becomes by the life of the wasp queen, her struggles and sacrifices to survive and birth a new queen to ensure the future of the species.

And so we move to the European wasp queen, Zenandra, as she builds her nest in a fallen log in Benbullen’s garden. The efforts she goes to in creating the perfect home, laying her eggs, taking care of her babies as they grow, then the emergence of her first born, Sabrina, followed shortly thereafter by the emergence of further sisters. The European Wasp population explosion is beginning.

Meanwhile things don’t seem to be going so well with Mark and Lena, Mark is beginning to realise that trading Beth in for a younger model is not everything it’s cracked up to be. But in his arrogance he seems to believe that Beth would welcome him back with open arms. Beth however has moved on, she is happy to have a cordial relationship with Mark, but has no desire to reconnect with him on any other level. As Mark’s behaviours become increasingly erratic and frightening, so too do the activities in the wasp world escalate. The Increasing suspense in both worlds leads to a dramatic and traumatic conclusion.

“You’ll never see a wasp in the same way again”.

I know I said it before, but I reiterate, this is a brilliantly amazing book. I learnt more about some of our insect population in this one read then I have learnt in my entire life before, and all in the context of a fabulous story of human drama.

Many thanks to Jennifer Scoullar and Pilyara Press for providing this book for me to read, in return for an honest review. A definite 5 star read from me.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beth and her children, Sarah and Rick, lived on a country property with their two dogs and a huge number of animals and insects, as is usual with the Australian bush. Beth loved nature, and had studied her resident creatures extensively. But when the European wasps invaded her territory, things were bound to change.

Mark, Beth’s estranged husband, had left her to live with Helen, who was previously his secretary. Helen and Mark were happy at first, and when Helen gave birth to Chance, she thought her future was secure. But Helen was a very insecure person, and while Mark was a partner in the business he was in, and therefore had a reasonable amount of money, and was able to have them live in luxury, once Helen began to spend crazily day in and day out, their relationship became strained. Mark was not happy anymore, and wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Back with Beth and the children, the wasps were multiplying…their queen and her workers had built a massive nest in a fallen tree not far from the house. With the happenings going on in Beth’s life, plus the wasps and their industrious work to build a future in Beth’s back yard, remarkable events were on a parallel course. What was going to happen? Tensions were rising in both worlds…

The incredible research about the lives of the European wasps and many of the other creatures depicted in this story was extremely interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the build-up as we moved toward the climax….I knew something would happen, but when the twist occurred I was shocked!

But don’t think this book is only about the creatures, it’s not. It’s done in an interesting way, with the human story captivating and gripping.

[Judith Yeabsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book in two parts. One followed the insects in an Australian bush garden like wasps, bees & cicadas and the other the family from the house. I was not looking forward to the insect chapters but actually they were brilliant. Fascinating and written in a way that made them more so. The human story was the opposite - boring, unrealistic, one dimensional characters - yawn. The insect part was a 4.5 the human part 2.5.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very different story, told in two parts. I enjoyed both the human & insect story lines, much more than I expected to. However, the ending did leave me wanting to know what happened next. I strongly recommend this book if you are looking for something different to read. I couldn't decide whether to give it 4 or 5 stars, and ended up giving it 5.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it. I didn’t know much about wasps and bees, but after reading this fantastic book I have learnt more about them. I was on the edge of my seat near the end and I had to keep reading to find out what happened.

[Sheree Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I have a new appreciation of insects in my garden.

And the best ending to a book since ‘The Dressmaker’

[Karan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous information on wasps and other bugs and insect life rolled into a tale of human misdemeanours.
Love Jennifers writing and this is another ripper

[Christine Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel revolves around two families, Beth and her 2 children, her ex husband Mark and his girlfriend and their baby. It also delves into the insect world, especially the European Wasp and the impact they have on Beth and the community at large.

Beth moves to the country for a better life with their kids while Mark lives in the city with his new family and has visitation rights with his children, Sarah and Rick. Everything seems fine, until, the children don't want to stay with their dad as he has become abrupt and distant and gets angry a lot. Beth is concerned that something is very wrong and when he comes for visits, he starts to think that he made a massive mistake in leaving. He is still in love with Beth and makes plans to return. He becomes obsessive and melodramatic and lives in a fantasy world of reconciliation.

Whilst all this bedlam is happening, Beth encounters European Wasps building their nests and becomes fascinated with the way they communicate, how they know where to get the best nectar and how they all look after the Queen. She is the most important in their nest as she is the only one who can lay eggs and reproduce. European Wasps are very destructive, and swarm on or over anything to invade and fight for as many nests as they can produce. This was becoming quite frightening for the whole community who lost some animals to these wasps and humans can be attacked and stung very badly, but she still can't seem to destroy them. She has become obsessive about them.

The home life of the European Wasps mirrors her own and the outcome is both tragic and at times hard but she knows that for the safety of her family and community they must be destroyed. And for herself she needs for Mark to let her go before she is destroyed. Some dramatic events occur and life changes for them all.

This novel is so different to what I have read of Jennifer Scoullar's other novels. The amount of fascinating information in the Wasp Season and how much I learnt about the insect world was amazing. I never knew insects could be so intelligent. Her knowledge of The European Wasp was in depth and well written.
I love the way Jennifer parallels the lives of the insect world and the human race in to one amazing novel. A must read.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much Beauty and lace and a special thank you to Jennifer Scoullar for my signed copy of Wasp Season, a lesson in love intertwined with a valuable wildlife lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, unlike any book I’ve ever read before, with just the perfect balance of nature and nurture. I had no idea of the destructive havoc caused by European wasps on our vitally important native wasp and bee population, and I certainly learnt a lot from Jennifer’s extremely thorough research, and her love for our native environment.

I loved the parallel story-lines and multifaceted characters, Mark with his money and wealth priority above everything else, Lena with her selfish spend it all now mantra, Beth vainly trying to hold her crumbling deteriorating relationship together with the father of her children, and hunks Jason and Noah thrown in the mix assisting both women they care about. Beth’s property Benbullen sounds idyllic, bordered by State Forest and babbling brook, with a rural slower pace of life complete with magnificent garden and horses grazing in the paddocks, and a secret nest hidden away in a fallen log with a complex hierarchy of inhabitants, who’s lives mirror the human lives unraveling around them.

This story touches on gambling addiction, spousal abuse, violence, trust issues, greed, fraud, isolation, materialism, and maternal instinct with the story ratcheting up to a shattering conclusion I did not see coming.

I thoroughly recommend this book to readers who enjoy delving into human relationship stories with a sprinkling of mother nature, a controlling force affecting both the mortal and natural worlds.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece from Jennifer Scoullar, this one set in what one might think is a tranquil rural property with a nature lover rebuilding her life as the main character. The natural violence of the lives of wasps and other insects though, interspaced into the human dramas, hints at what is to come. The last quarter of the book flings itself bodily into action and drama. To my surprise, as somebody who isn't a huge fan of the finer details on inscet life, the wasp and bee portion of the story was fascinating. Such is Scoullar's prowess, as usual shining when she writes of the natural world, her passion always showing through. A page turner you will not wish to put down.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The tagline for the sixth Wild Australia story by Jennifer Scoullar is right, 100% right: "You'll never see a wasp in the same way again..." And, after 200-odd pages, I surely won't.

A fantastic piece of Australian fiction, set in the Victorian countryside, where nature provides characters that are as much a part of the story as Beth or Mark or Lena or any of the other humans.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Beauty & Lace, Jennifer Scoullar and Pilyara Press for providing this book.

Wasp Season is a wonderful story detailing the life of Beth while also telling the stories of the wasps in her garden.

The storytelling was beautifully written and the detail of the wasps and other insects was very interesting.

A lovely, subtle story with a twist of an ending.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters were actually about wasps and if you skip those like I did due to boredom it actually wasn't a bad book .