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In an ancient Moroccan apiary, a young boy’s inheritance of bees is endangered by climate change, family secrets, and the silence surrounding grief.
High in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, surrounded by valleys once rich with lavender and thyme, stands a centuries-old complex of communal beehives. Here, Anir’s dreams of becoming a beekeeper like his grandfather are realized when he is entrusted with his own colony—an inheritance and a responsibility far greater than he ever could have imagined.
In this idyllic place, the land is changing in disturbing ways. With temperatures soaring, flowers disappear and springs run dry. As the bees struggle to survive, Anir begins to uncover hidden fractures within his own family. His father has left for the city to earn money and secure a future that feels increasingly distant. His mother is trapped in a mysterious illness—or perhaps a curse—that reduces her voice to a single lullaby and a piercing cry that echoes through the village. Guided by the stories of his beloved grandfather, Anir delves deeper into the mysteries of his family’s past and eventually comes to understand how the fate of the bees and the land are inseparable from it. What once filled the valley with music now demands healing, memory, and courage.
The luminous debut in English by award-winning Moroccan author Zineb Mekouar, Remember the Bees is a deeply empathetic novel—a revelatory parable about inheritance, loss, and the fragile bonds that hold families and communities together.
Zineb Mekouar was born in Casablanca, Morocco. She studied at the French international school Lycée Lyautey and later graduated from Sciences Po and HEC Paris. Mekouar was nominated for the First Novel Award by the renowned French literary organization Goncourt Academy. Remember the Bees was awarded the Mouans-Sartoux Award, the Folire Prize, and the Académie Française Henri de Régnier Prize. She lives in Paris.
Maren Baudet-Lackner is an American literary translator from the French. She has published a dozen titles with major imprints in the United Kingdom and United States and is the recipient of multiple PEN Awards. She has also received Albertine Translation grants for her work. Baudet-Lackner holds advanced degrees from Yale University and the Sorbonne and lives near Paris with her family.