The Honey Thief

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Author(s):

Elizabeth Graver

Label: Harvest Books
Publisher(s):

Harvest Books

Studio: Harvest Books
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $11.90
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Elizabeth Graver's first novel, Unravelling, was hailed on publication as "exceptional" (The New York Times Book Review), "a pleasure" (The New Yorker), and "exquisitely poignant and sensual" (The Boston Globe). Now, in her second novel, she proves herself to be a major voice in American fiction. The summer that eleven-year-old Eva is caught shoplifting (for the fourth time), her mother, Miriam, decides the only solution is to move out of the city to a quiet town in upstate New York. There, she hopes, they can have the normal life she longs for. But Miriam is bound by a past she is trying to forget, and tensions escalate. It is only when Eva meets a reclusive beekeeper that she-and her mother-can find their way back to each other, and can begin life with renewed promise. A haunting novel of memory and desire, The Honey Thief reveals the healing power of friendship and the ineradicable bonds of mother and child.

Amazon.com Review

"The first time a store manager called about Eva, Miriam had thought it was a mistake." Eva Baruch, 11 years old, has been caught stealing three times. The fourth time, her widowed mother takes drastic action and moves them from their East Village apartment to a small town in Upstate New York. Miriam explains that their new home will allow them a "normal" life; at the root of her decision, however, is a nagging fear that Eva's kleptomania is just the beginning of a bigger problem, "the snag in the stocking that leads to the run, the computer virus (it had happened in the law firm where she worked) that becomes visible too late." The transition is not easy for either of them: Miriam works long hours to support herself and her daughter, while Eva must weather the twin storms of loneliness and impending adolescence. Then Eva meets Burl, a former lawyer who has withdrawn into the isolation of his grandparents' farm to raise bees.

For a while he had sat around cooking up grand plans--a cooperative farm, sustainable agriculture, or a commercial beekeeping operation, maybe even migratory hives that he'd load into a semitruck and drive across the country, following the bloom. Or an ostrich farm. He liked how odd they looked, somewhere between bird and beast, and they were supposed to be the new, low-fat red meat. Sometimes when he let his thoughts wander far enough, he'd had a farming and business partner who was also a mate.

Unfortunately, the woman of his choice has married someone else, he's let the farm go to seed, and now he makes a living writing how-to books and tending his hives as a hobby only. When young Eva comes into his life and begins helping with the bees, however, he is drawn reluctantly into her life and that of her mother.

Elizabeth Graver throws these three isolated people together and then wisely steps out of the way to let them work on each other. As the story moves forward, she allows her characters to look back, gradually weaving in memories that explain Burl's choices and Miriam's fears. Best of all, she avoids the obvious resolutions; instead, The Honey Thief plays out much as life does--messy, painful at times, with no guarantees but plenty of reason to hope. --Alix Wilber

Customer Reviews

The Honey Thieft by Elizabeth Graver - 4.5

Where to start...?
Eva, how you remind me of myself, taking off down the road wanting to escape. Escape from what? Not sure, but the road looked tempting.

The NY Times Book Review said, simply, "Exceptional", and I have to agree. This book was as light as the golden hue of honey, and as heavy as a warm jar filled with the amber liquid.

I was immediately drawn in over the first ten pages and could not place this book down. Eva, 11 years old, born and raised in NYC. She bottles everything up inside and acts out one time to many, shoplifting. Her mother moves them to upstate NY hoping she can find a fresh start for both of them. One day, Eva sets out on her bike and happens upon a table holding jars of honey... and there her story begins (again).

This book covers emotions of growing up, discovery, friendship, longing, love and the desire to rebuild bonds.

A good one... 4.5

The Healing Power of Bees

The Honey Thief presents a coming of age story of a girl, Eva, on the cusp of adolescence who has recently moved to the New York countryside from the city, in a desperate attempt by her widowed mother to escape a troubling past. The immediate impetus for the move is Eva's series of compulsive thefts. Her mother, Miriam, moves Eva out of the city in an attempt to stop the behavior. For Miriam Eva stealing is much more troubling than just adolescent misbehavior. Why that is is related throughout the book in a series of flashbacks, that tell the story of Eva's parents early relationship and their marriage, before Eva's father's death, several years after her birth. Yet, the country does little to help Eva, and, if anything, her problems worsen. The one mitigating factor for Eva seems to be her introduction to a local beekeeper, who invites Eva to watch and learn about his bees. But through a series of chance encounters the one stable and satisfying part of Eva's life will be endangered too.

Eva's story is an interesting one, and the relationship she develops with Burl the beekeeper is an interesting and nuanced one that Graver develops with skill. Ultimately I found the end of this book much less satisfying than the first 3/4 of the text. The ending was a surprise, but unsatisfying. It's difficult to explain why without giving away the ending, but suffice it to say that I found there to be little resolution for the most sympathetic and interesting character in the book. But up until the end the rest of the text was engaging, full of complicated characters and problems. Eva's family is one in which all members are burdened, both by the past and by illness, and much of Eva and Miriam's tell is really an attempt to deal with these problems. Graver is a good writer, I simply wished she'd handled the ending with more complexity.

A Disappointing Story From a Wonderful Writer

This is the third novel I've read by Elizabeth Graver.
I think she's an excellent writer and her first novel Unravelling is
a favorite of mine.

The Honey Thief is about 11 year old Eva and her mother Miriam, who move from New York City to the country side of upstate New York. Eva had been caught shoplifting in the city and Miriam thinks a change in geography will do her some good. Eva isn't exactly happy about their new location, it's summer and she's bored and the only new friend she's made is the lonely bee keeper Burl, who lives by himself on his family farm.

Eva, Miriam and Burl narrate this story in alternating chapters. I thought the characters were very well wrought and realistic. Elizabeth Graver does a lovely job describing feelings and thoughts that we don't often articulate to others for example; when Burl describes feeling connected to bee keepers of long ago, when Miriam and Eva feel connected as they are getting dressed to go to dinner, when Eva describes her memories of her now dead father.

There is certainly a tension in this story that keeps the pages turning. I was especially interested in the history surrounding Eva's father. And I thought Graver described his situation very realistically. But I also felt that the story didn't come together in the end. I also didn't understand why Graver included the embarrassing incident between Burl and Eva. I don't understand what purpose it served and that issue also felt unresolved.

Overall I did not find this to be a satisfying read.
I thought the writing was very good but the story was lacking.
I would however strongly recommend reading Elizabeth Graver's
first novel Unravelling. I thought that was a wonderful work of fiction.

Enjoyable book

I read for pleasure, like what I like, and am always looking for new authors to read. I liked this book and will look for others by Ms. Graver. A good story, written about interesting characters, in an enjoyable style. I'm recommending it to my friends, and to you. Thanks.

skip it...

I really wanted to love this one and fell right in with the wonderful prose and interesting characters. I thought the initial writing was elegant and didn't mind the slow pace of the book, due to the laid-back setting of upstate New York farm country.

However, after about fifty pages or so I got bored and the story didn't go in the direction I would have liked. The writing became too detailed and literally nothing happened. There was to much emphasis on the past and the interrelationships between some of the characters felt weird to me (i.e., Eva's parents). I would have liked the story to be told in the present, in Eva's voice entirely, and to learn about her transition from NYC to rural farm country.

I do not recommend this book. Perhaps I was looking for something more like "The Secret Life of Bees," which I highly recommend. (Not that bees and honey are my typical go-to topics when selecting a novel.) This one just wasn't as sweet.

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