"The Death of Bees"

Lisa O'Donnell won the Orange Screenwriting Prize in 2000 for The Wedding Gift and, in the same year, was nominated for the Dennis Potter New Screenwriters Award. A native of Scotland, she is now a full-time writer and lives in Los Angeles with her two children.

O'Donnell applied the Page 69 Test to The Death of Bees, her first novel, and reported the following:

On page 69 Marnie reveals her frustrations with the wealthy and her need to belong somewhere safe. Marnie feels like she is an outsider and fears being caught for what she’s done, burying her parents in the yard. She resents people like Lorna and Kirkland, independently wealthy kids who can afford to fuck up because they don’t have the same things Marnie has to lose in life. When referring to Kirkland she says:

He’s the type of person who loves the idea of being an outsider because he thinks by not belonging it makes him superior in some way. What he doesn’t get is that the real outsiders would do anything to be on the inside. A real outsider can’t be seen at all. They’re people who look like they belong when inside they know they don’t. They’re people who would do anything to appear normal, while harboring the secret knowledge that they’re anything but normal...

She also reveals her angst with Susie and Mick and their preoccupation with her missing parents. It frightens her, makes her nervous, but also confuses her, especially Susie’s fascination because Susie never cared before.

Learn more about the book and author at Lisa O'Donnell's website.

--Marshal Zeringue