The ardent swarm A novel

Manai's vibrant English-language debut turns on rising political instability and religious populism in Sidi Bou, a fictional country that closely resembles Tunisia after the Arab Spring. In the village of Nawa, ascetic beekeeper Sidi wakes to find colonies of his beloved "girls" destroyed by hornets. Meanwhile, the nation's first "truly" democratic elections are imminent and fundamentalist benefactors hailing from the Party of God have descended upon Nawa to ply the villagers with food and clothes in a bid to win their votes. As increasingly radical fundamentalist Islam infiltrates the once peaceful village, Sidi discovers the Party of God members were behind the death of his bees. Determined to learn how to protect his bees, Sidi leaves them in the care of sympathetic neighbors to visit the capital, where he can find books to help him battle the hornets. Though the parallels are occasionally heavy-handed, such as a bee-ravaging parasite as metaphor for colonial invasion, lyrical prose and layered insights transform what might have been a predictable fable into a vivid meditation on societal discord and harmony. This elegant allegory of globalization's insidious nature finds rich drama in the tense, turbulent reckoning with questions of modernity versus tradition. Agent: Pierre Astier, Astier-Pécher Film & Literary. (Jan.)

In this masterly novel, a small fundamentalist group arising after the Arab Spring commits atrocities in the name of God just as giant "murder" hornets kill the bees that are so necessary for crop fertilization and the production of honey. Beekeeper Sidi lives in the small, underdeveloped village of Nawa in Tunisia and is alarmed at the killing power of these giant hornets, new to his area. (The title comes from the way Japanese bees defend against these hornets by encircling a "scout" hornet, vibrating their wings to create an intense heat the hornet cannot endure.) As Sidi seeks protection from the hornets, Manai illustrates how the lives of the villagers are "managed" in a similar way by the extremist religious forces they endure. It's an excellent comparison. VERDICT Winner of the prestigious Prix de la Francophonie, Tunisian-born, Paris-based Manai's first book to be translated into English is a fascinating account of parallel conflicts between bees and hornets and between villagers and fanatics. The enormous talent on display here recommends a second reading to relish the author's storytelling ability.--Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH

Past and present clash in North Africa in this surprising parable of a man and his bees by Tunisian author Manai, his first to be translated into English. In the tiny kingdom of Qafar, Sidi is a humble beekeeper who lives alone and cares only for his bees and their lovely honey. One day, he checks his hives and finds "countless mutilated bodies" ripped apart by a mysterious evil force. All of the nearby village of Nawa is outraged, because they know of his devotion to what he calls his "girls." Meanwhile, he knows little about the forces that are changing Qafar forever. Once a land of roaming Bedouins, the country became ripe for exploitation after the discovery of natural gas underneath its sands. Qafari elders said the age-old custom of sitting on the sand and the locals' propensity to fart were responsible for the country's rich supply of underground natural gas. The country fell under decades of dictatorship until Qafaris recently rose up and opted for democracy. Great, thinks the cynical narrator. "What was easier to hijack than democracy?" An electoral caravan wows people in villages like Nawa, and victory goes to the Party of God. With help from friends, Sidi searches in the meantime for the source of the destruction of so many of his bees, and the answer he discovers becomes a useful tool when he encounters a group of murderers standing over their victims and shouting "War in the name of God!" Translated from the French, this short novel shows warmth, compassion, and humanity, with here-and-there touches of sarcasm and humor. A well-told tale showing that modernity isn't always a blessing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.