The second novel I’m going to talk about is The Elephant and the Bee by Jess de Boer.
I was completely taken with this book. It was a sort of memoir of Jess de Boer’s life growing up, she charts her many successes and failures of growing up through her life, with travelling and all the fun that comes with that.
It’s a beautifully scripted novel and the illustrations she creates with her words are extraordinary.
Written with humour and grace, Jess de Boer depicts some of her biggest embarrassments that she has endured in her life, including some that were very public indeed, as well as some that were (thankfully) only in front of a few people.
From the jobs to adventures she takes, Boer navigated through the ‘real’ world until she finds her true calling as a keeper of bees (and her being chosen as Kenya’s representation at the commonwealth games… yes you read that correctly).
The memoirs are written with humour, enthusiasm and grace, it’s an exciting read that will require no effort at all to get through and will undoubtedly make you smile throughout (if not cringe!).
It’s a unique story that takes you on a journey through a privileged white African’s perspective of how to become a well rounded travelled person. But after a strange turn of events she end up broke and lost back in Africa…
I would strongly suggest going down to the book shop and picking up a copy so you can experience with her what it’s like to be a private chef in the Swiss Alps, or be a maggot farmer in Thailand.
You can grab yourself a copy here
Lucy xox
Twitter – @LHutchon
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Elle Hache 