As a recent visitor to Ireland and a former (amateur) keeper of Bees I was intrigued by this novel. The author deftly immerses you in medieval 6th century Ireland with splashes of Gaelic throughout like leaves in the often-damp forest. Our heroine, a young woman, left for dead, is found by a farmer and son and taken to a nearby convent. Her body broken and wounded recovers very slowly. She has no memory of the event. The Abbess Maíthair Gobnait has a way with bees and healing. Our victim is renamed Áine and we follow her recovery, her emotional attachment to the community, her conversion to Christianity and the return of her memory as she recovers her identity. She discovers whom she is and that her father and brother are dead under less than favorable circumstances. She is torn between her decision to join the convent or return to her clan. She returns to her clan where there is an enormous amount of tension and deadly uncertainty and then back again to the convent with the process of discernment as a heavy burden. In the end following the historical tradition of strong Irish woman she makes her choice. It would be unfair of me to give the ending. A good read. ( )

I think the title comes from the song that the main character was inspired to write when listening to the hum of the bees. I did not particularly like the main character of Aine. However it was a well written story which I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters were well developed and the description of the countryside was lovely. Although I know little about Ireland at this time, it seems that the author has done her research. ( )