The Hive by Gill Hornby - Revision history

Alex at 14:14, 21 October 2021

2021-10-21T14:14:30Z

Sue at 08:52, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T08:52:34Z

Sue at 10:55, 17 March 2018

2018-03-17T10:55:27Z

Sue at 13:34, 24 January 2015

2015-01-24T13:34:10Z

Sue at 11:36, 10 April 2014

2014-04-10T11:36:34Z

Sue at 14:29, 7 May 2013

2013-05-07T14:29:41Z

Sue at 14:27, 7 May 2013

2013-05-07T14:27:24Z

Sue: Created page with "{{infobox |title=The Hive |sort= Hive |author=Gill Hornby |reviewer=Sue Magee |genre=General Fiction |summary=When you read this book you'll wonder if Gill Hornby has been spy..."

2013-05-07T14:26:28Z

Created page with "{{infobox |title=The Hive |sort= Hive |author=Gill Hornby |reviewer=Sue Magee |genre=General Fiction |summary=When you read this book you'll wonder if Gill Hornby has been spy..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=The Hive
|sort= Hive
|author=Gill Hornby
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=When you read this book you'll wonder if Gill Hornby has been spying on your social group: a great story and some wonderful characters. Recommended.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=320
|publisher=Little, Brown
|date=May 2013
|isbn=978-1408704356
|website=https://twitter.com/GillHornby
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408704358</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1408704358</amazonus>
}}

There's an old joke that, for parents, there are only two good days in the school holidays - the first and the last, but in St Ambrose the ''real'' work begins when the children go back to school at the start of the new school year. There's a new head at the school (and he'll have to be knocked into shape) but the real power is Beatrice - 'Bea' to those whom she elects to call friends for the time being - who rules the parents, decides who is in or out and what status they should have in the community. And how does she do it? Well, she's the queen.

When you read ''The Hive'' you will need to relax. A lot of women, mostly of a certain age and with children are going to swarm from the pages and surround you. You will probably struggle to tell one from another, but they will gradually emerge. I recognised Rachel first of all: her marriage has just fallen apart, courtesy of the intern with whom her shortly-to-be-ex husband works. Rachel's at that delicate stage where she's recognising that life isn't actually all that much worse without Chris but he ''is'' still the father of her two children and she needs to keep a reasonable relationship for the sake of the kids.

Then there's Bea, who knows that she's the queen and no one can touch her. She leads all the fundraising campaigns, but you'll notice a pattern emerge. She's not the one doing any work. (That's not what queens are for, obviously. She dictates who is going to be doing the fundraising lunches - and who should be invited. She'll take credit for any effort, no matter how little of it was her own. It might not have been at the school gates that you met her - but you'll know everything about her and she comes off the page as the monster she is. Gill Hornby's very clever: I would have filled a book with her antics, but Hornby leaves us wanting more.

It's a delicious mixture of betrayal and friendship, of the ways in which the pack operates and the bravery of those who move outside it, whether overtly or less obviously. Hornby has the dynamics perfectly: she captures those subtle shifts of power, of status, effortlessly, along with the injury to the unwitting target of the omission, or the burden dropped on their naked toes. It's pitch perfect and the plot is woven together in a very elegant and compelling way. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.

If ''The Hive'' appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple]] and [[Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop]].

{{amazontext|amazon=1408704358}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9513493}}

{{commenthead}}

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 It's a delicious mixture of betrayal and friendship, of the ways in which the pack operates and the bravery of those who move outside it, whether overtly or less obviously.  Hornby has the dynamics perfectly: she captures those subtle shifts of power, of status, effortlessly, along with the injury to the unwitting target of the omission, or the burden dropped on their naked toes.  It's pitch-perfect and the plot is woven together in a very elegant and compelling way.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
-If ''The Hive'' appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple]] and [[Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop]].
+If ''The Hive'' appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple]], [[The Whispers by Heidi Perks]] and [[Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=034913930X}}

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-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title=The Hive
 |sort= Hive
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 |isbn=978-1408704356
 |website=https://twitter.com/GillHornby
-|video=
+|cover=034913930X
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>034913930X</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=034913930X
-|amazonus=<amazonus>B00ABLJ5CW</amazonus>
+|aznus=B00ABLJ5CW
 }}

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 {{amazontext|amazon=034913930X}}
 {{commenthead}}
 [[Category:Women's Fiction]]

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 |website=https://twitter.com/GillHornby
 |video=
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408704358</amazonuk>
+|amazonuk=<amazonuk>034913930X</amazonuk>
 |amazonus=<amazonus>B00ABLJ5CW</amazonus>
 }}
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 If ''The Hive'' appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple]] and [[Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop]].
-{{amazontext|amazon=1408704358}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9513493}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=034913930X}}
 {{commenthead}}
 [[Category:Women's Fiction]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:29, 7 May 2013
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-There's an old joke that, for parents, there are only two good days in the school holidays - the first and the last, but in St Ambrose the ''real'' work begins when the children go back to school at the start of the new school year.  There's a new head at the school (and he'll have to be knocked into shape) but the real power is Beatrice - 'Bea' to those whom she elects to call friends for the time being - who rules the parents, decides who is in or out and what status they should have in the community.  And how does she do it?  Well, she's the queen.
+There's an old joke that, for parents, there are only two good days in the school holidays - the first and the last, but in St Ambrose, the ''real'' work begins when the children go back to school at the start of the new school year.  There's a new head at the school (and he'll have to be knocked into shape) but the real power is Beatrice - 'Bea' to those whom she elects to call friends for the time being - who rules the parents, decides who is in or out and what status they should have in the community.  And how does she do it?  Well, she's the queen.
 When you read ''The Hive'' you will need to relax.  A lot of women, mostly of a certain age and with children are going to swarm from the pages and surround you.  You will probably struggle to tell one from another, but they will gradually emerge.  I recognised Rachel first of all: her marriage has just fallen apart, courtesy of the intern with whom her shortly-to-be-ex husband works.  Rachel's at that delicate stage where she's recognising that life isn't actually all that much worse without Chris but he ''is'' still the father of her two children and she needs to keep a reasonable relationship for the sake of the kids.
-Then there's Bea, who knows that she's the queen and no one can touch her.  She leads all the fundraising campaigns, but you'll notice a pattern emerge.  She's not the one doing any work.  (That's not what queens are for, obviously.  She dictates who is going to be doing the fundraising lunches - and who should be invited.  She'll take credit for any effort, no matter how little of it was her own.  It might not have been at the school gates that you met her - but you'll know everything about her and she comes off the page as the monster she is.  Gill Hornby's very clever: I would have filled a book with her antics, but Hornby leaves us wanting more.
+Then there's Bea, who knows that she's the queen and no one can touch her.  She leads all the fundraising campaigns, but you'll notice a pattern emerge.  She's not the one doing any work.  That's not what queens are for, obviously.  She dictates who is going to be doing the fundraising lunches - and who should be invited.  She'll take credit for any effort, no matter how little of it was her own.  It might not have been at the school gates that you met her - but you'll know everything about her and she comes off the page as the monster she is.  Gill Hornby's very clever: I would have filled a book with her antics, but Hornby leaves us wanting more.
-It's a delicious mixture of betrayal and friendship, of the ways in which the pack operates and the bravery of those who move outside it, whether overtly or less obviously.  Hornby has the dynamics perfectly: she captures those subtle shifts of power, of status, effortlessly, along with the injury to the unwitting target of the omission, or the burden dropped on their naked toes.  It's pitch perfect and the plot is woven together in a very elegant and compelling way.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
+It's a delicious mixture of betrayal and friendship, of the ways in which the pack operates and the bravery of those who move outside it, whether overtly or less obviously.  Hornby has the dynamics perfectly: she captures those subtle shifts of power, of status, effortlessly, along with the injury to the unwitting target of the omission, or the burden dropped on their naked toes.  It's pitch-perfect and the plot is woven together in a very elegant and compelling way.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
 If ''The Hive'' appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple]] and [[Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop]].