THE ARDENT SWARM

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.