There’s a certain sense of calm that defines Olivia McAfee, the protagonist of Mad Honey. So much so, you envy it. How does this woman not break up into a million pieces? Maybe it’s to do with her beekeeping business. Or it is to do with raising her son, Asher, single-handedly, having fled an abusive marriage when he was just six years old. Olivia sure knows what it means to be calm in the wake of a storm. Even when the storm is as wrecking as her teenage son getting arrested for the murder of his girlfriend Lily Campanello, a promising cello player from their school.
Olivia and her son turn the otherwise sleepy town of New Hampshire into a media-frenzy arena, where the trial takes centre stage and secrets tumble out of closets like bees falling out of her wooden hives, dismantling the perfect colony built over a season. Olivia endures the long and painful trial of her son, oscillating between her own suspicions towards his role in Lily’s death and her brother’s ability as the counsel defending Asher. By the end of chapter one, we know where the tale is headed—it’s not just going to be a murder mystery. Rather, it will be a riveting tale of abusive relationships and insecurities, gender identities and trial by media, and finally how preconceived notions belittle facts in the modern world.
That’s Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan’s novel for you in a nutshell. It’sclassic Picoult writing—a cocktail of contemporary issues and courtroom drama. But both authors’ perspectives balance each other out through Olivia and Lily’s narration, and present one cohesive voice. The craft is impeccable with storytelling that moves in patches of flashbacks, allowing the reader to be immersed in the tale, and not rushing through the pages to uncover the truth, which has several layers.
Olivia’s bees occupy a special place in this tale, and no, the reader won’t be complaining over being fed too much knowledge about the ubiquitous honey, which is everywhere from kitchen to medicine cabinets. Even when a large part of the book is dedicated to beekeeping, it’s an enjoyable read, one that weaves seamlessly into the narrative. In Mad Honey, bees offer a multitude of metaphors that one can relate to. Their ability to adjust their behaviour, foraging patterns, coping mechanisms and even hive structure to suit varying environmental conditions impart several fundamental lessons for humans.
Picoult mentions in an interview how she apprenticed with a beekeeper in Vermont to give shape to Olivia’s character. With her helmet firmly in place, Picoult was a judicious mentee, who tended to bees every weekend and did everything that Olivia does in the book. Undoubtedly, the hard work the author put in has made its way evocatively into the passages that she has written.
Boylan, also a well-known trans activist, brings to the novel Lily’s life preceding her mysterious death. When Lily and her mother relocate to New Hampshire for her final year of high school, both hope it will be a fresh start. But fate had other plans, and Boylan is no miser with words when it comes to depicting the teenager’s struggles as she tries to fit in into the new school.
The book leaves the reader with several thought-provoking passages. Consider this: “If you want to understand something, you first need to accept the fact of your own ignorance. And then, you need to talk to people who know more than you do, people who have not just thought about the facts, but lived them.” How trans identity is misconstrued comes through this statement: “Being gay or straight… is about who you want to go to bed with. Being trans—or cis—is about who you want to go to bed as.” A reminder on how society often perceives gender and sexuality as one and the same thing.
From teenage love to jealousy, single parenting to tough motherhood choices, bullying to family ties, jury behaviour to counsel arguments, the book takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. The gripping novel, which will soon be adapted into a series, also offers some unique recipes at the end, which you can easily execute. No prizes for guessing that all recipes involve generous portions of honey. Not to mention that with Mad Honey, Picoult ensures that we appreciate the role of bees in our lives.