Bezmatek

Motherless is a book by Mira Marcinów that was published in 2020 by Publication House Czarne.

A queenless bee is a bee colony without a queen mother. Its chances of surviving on its own are slim and only an experienced beekeeper can do something about it. Bees without a queen start to behave chaotically and self-destructively. Losing the link that binds them together, they also lose their basic instincts, including the survival instinct. All ties linking them fall down and functions previously performed are disrupted. Most often such bees die.

And the people? What do you call a human family devoid of a mother?

In her book, Mira Marcinów describes the relationship between daughter and mother. In these relationships, the mother always remains the archetypal mother, regardless of the addictions and passions that consume her, of the functions and dysfunctions she performs, or even of her ontological state: life, illness or death. The need for a mother is immanent for the daughter.

However, the main character of the book is longing. The author uses all possible means of expression to show it. It is a longing sung, recited, enumerated, whispered and shouted. It is a longing painted with emotions and endless. Infinite and unfinished, it will last as long as the daughter, its main carrier, lives, because in this case the death of the mother is not the end, but only another stage in their mutual relationship.

And back to the bees, an experienced beekeeper advises: “PS: We always try to reunite such families because they won’t survive the winter!”

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Currently the book is only available in Polish under the name Bezmatek.

You can find more recommended books here.