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The Bumblebee Flies Anyway

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Sixteen-year-old Barney can't remember life before the Complex, an experimental clinic. He knows he's different--he's the control subject. Then he uncovers a terrible secret about himself, a secret that drives him to fulfill his and his fellow subjects' ultimate dream. The Bumblebee must fly!

241 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Robert Cormier

75 books605 followers
Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925–November 2, 2000) was an American author, columnist and reporter, known for his deeply pessimistic, downbeat literature. His most popular works include I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, We All Fall Down and The Chocolate War, all of which have won awards. The Chocolate War was challenged in multiple libraries. His books often are concerned with themes such as abuse, mental illness, violence, revenge, betrayal and conspiracy. In most of his novels, the protagonists do not win.

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5 stars
368 (28%)
4 stars
423 (33%)
3 stars
370 (29%)
2 stars
84 (6%)
1 star
24 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Clare Snow.
1,108 reviews104 followers
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December 27, 2019
I found this on my bookshelf. I remember my Dad giving it to me one Christmas. The book has a piece of chromatography paper as a bookmark. I guess I was reading it in science class and Chemistry is boring?
Profile Image for John.
10 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2011
Robert Cormier is my favorite author.

Barney Snow lives in the Complex, an institution for the terminally ill. Everyone around him is slowly dying, day by day. But is Barney any different? He's not sick, so why is he here? He devises a plan to make the most of whatever life he and his friends have left, because there is no escape from the Complex...except death.

Despite the incredibly depressing setting for the novel, this is another one of Cormier's lighter books, because the end, while sad, is only bittersweet, rather than just bitter. This novel is good because it shows how different people deal with terminal illness; some can cope, and some can't. Still, there are some unexplained elements in the plot, and some serious ambiguity in the ending, and this, in my opinion, hurts the story a little bit. Personally, this is my least favorite Cormier book; it's still worth reading, but it drops to merely average novel in some places.

Note: This is one of four Cormier books that has been adapted to film (the others being The Chocolate War, I am the Cheese, and Tenderness). I haven't seen this movie (which stars Elijah Wood as Barney Snow). However, this book is significantly different from what I know of the movie (if I recall, the meaning of the title has a completely different significance). If you have seen the movie (or know anything about it), just know that the book is very different, because otherwise you will expect plot events (like I did) that will not happen (so you may enjoy it more than I did because of that).
30 reviews2 followers
July 5, 2010
Barney is a young man who is in the hospital for a series of experimental treatments, while most of the other patients in the hospital are suffering from terminal illnesses and have consented to participate in scientific studies in the hope that mankind will be benefitted by their service. A doctor is performing experiments on Barney which affect his memory and he has been experiencing terrifying dreams as a by-product. Barney is a good friend to some of the patients and tries to serve them in some way. When the sister of one of the most discouraged patients asks Barney to spend some time with her brother, she wins his heart because of her goodness and beauty, and he consents. In the process, he decides to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for his friend that will enable him to exit this life with a flair.

This book addresses the indignities that abound in a hospital setting with “all-knowing” doctors “practicing” medicine on naïve patients. Cormier effectively addresses the abuse of authority in such settings and the unconquerable desire to live in spite of circumstances and trials. I would recommend it.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,087 reviews25 followers
December 21, 2017
I was reading this the night my mom flew to London and I was sure her plane was going to crash so I had to do something/anything to keep my mind off the fact I forgot to call and wish her goodbye until it was too late. I don't remember what airline she was flying on but they had had a rash of bad things happen on flights around that time she flew with them. I had always loved Robert Cormier's books so it seemed like a good idea to read him to keep my mind occupied (this was back in 1987-88) Everytime I think of this book I remember staying up all night reading this book and how much I loved it and how grateful I was to have a great book to keep my mind from thinking awful thoughts (which of course were completely irrational but tell that to your 21 yr old mind when you've forgotten to call until it's too late and now you may never ever get to talk to your mom again)
Profile Image for Ben Hartman.
40 reviews1 follower
October 15, 2018
I skimmed this book, so I don't know if that counts as "reading" or not. Anyway, I enjoyed the skimmed version.
Profile Image for James Hoch.
22 reviews
March 21, 2014
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway is a book about a sixteen year old boy named Barney Snow who lives in a medical facility for experimental medicine.

The main characters are Barney, Billy, Mazzo, Allie, Cassie, and the Handyman. Barney is the only subject in the facility that is not close to death. Billy is another patient at the hospital who makes friends with barney. Allie is another patient at the hospital who has a speech impediment. Mazzo is also close to death and never leaves his bed at the facility. Cassie is Mazzo's sister who visits Barney to find out how Mazzo is doing.

Barney is administered many different medicines from the handyman. He also falls in love with Cassie. Later on in the book Barney begins treatment that starts to affect his memory. He is afraid that he will forget Her in his memory.

The setting takes place in a "Medical Facility" about an hour outside of Chicago at an unknown time. The facility is right next to a junkyard full of cars.

The theme of the book was too make the most out of whatever life you have left. The book had a very bittersweet ending that I really enjoyed.

I would recommend this book if you enjoyed any other of Robert Cormier's work.
Profile Image for Ron Christiansen.
662 reviews8 followers
March 3, 2012
Classic Cormier--a psychological thriller which reminds me a bit of his better-known *I am the cheese* A dark tale focusing on several boys with terminal illnesses who have volunteered (at least we think) their waning bodies and minds to medicine so as to benefit others. Barney, the main character, is different though. He's not sick and the experiments he is undergoing are on his mind, his memory. A touching relationship springs up between him and Mazzo's (a grumpy bedridden case) twin sister who visits daily, trying--it seems--to keep tabs on Mazzo.

Cormier always seems to get that dark, though not ugly or merely evil, tone just right, creating sympathetic main characters and intriguing side characters like Mazzo, Allie Roon and Billy the Kidney--even their names are intriguing. The Bumblebee does fly and it is beautifully human.
Profile Image for Meaghan.
1,096 reviews25 followers
February 17, 2010
Cormier tackles medical ethics in this book, set in a research facility for people with terminal illnesses. Considering that nearly every character in this story is dying, it's not as depressing as it could be. This is due to the protagonist, Barney, and his strength of spirit. The ending is so tragically beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.
Profile Image for Amy.
7 reviews1 follower
February 28, 2009

In first picking up this book, I noticed its rather dark cover and the contrasting red car. Obviously, this car is important, and cars in general must have some role in this story because of the junk yard depicted on the front cover. However, all of these details made me feel disconnected because they seemed rather male oriented; because of this, I was a bit apprehensive in getting into the text.


As I read the text, I found myself motivated to continue because I wanted to know more about the protagonist, Barney Snow, and the true nature of the hospital they inhabited. I had questions that needed answers. Barney seemed so normal, but there must be a reason for his being at the hospital – what is it? Additionally, what was the real nature of the tests conducted by the hospital? Sure, we find out about Barney’s guinea pig status, but what about the others, Mazzo, Billie, Allie – what kinds of tests were being performed on them? I felt that Cormier did a good job of pulling the reader along with little bits of information here and there. I never felt frustrated at the lack of information I was receiving. I do feel my initial apprehension of this being male oriented text was confirmed, but it is not so much so that it turned me off from reading. I think Cassie Mazzofono’s character helped bring some female interest to the text.


With all this said, upon completion of the book, I was a bit dissatisfied. It does bring up some thematic topics that could be useful in the classroom, but other than that, I’m not sure I see the point in bringing a rather depressing outlook on life to my students’ desks. In the end Barney and Mazzo proved to themselves that they still had some fight in them, but what does it matter, they still die. Furthermore, they die in a manufactured reality. The question of ethics and the topic of personal triumph are what I see being useful in a classroom, but I might choose a different book than this to get to those concepts.



VOYA Code: 5Q 2P

Amy Sanders
Profile Image for Courtney (courtney & books).
539 reviews32 followers
June 29, 2017
I go this book in a book exchange, so I had no expectations of going in. This book was not my cup of tea, and there was little that I enjoyed.

There were just too many plot holes and the character backgrounds were never filled in. I never really cared for the characters. I felt bored and unengaged, and I mostly skimmed the second half of the book. The writing style was very self indulgent for the author; there were just too many metaphors and clever adjectives that kept the story from progressing. It felt like an amateur writer showing off. The book is kind of a psychological mystery of sorts with a big reveal towards the end. The way that it was done felt too much like a gimmick. I just think shocking surprise at the end of stories are more from the author's lack of abilities, it's something a good writer doesn't have to do ( which is a whole other topic I could get into). I hated the female protagonist; she was annoying and definitely the kind of girl a man would create ( aka she was unrealistic and obnoxious). I get the whole lusty teen thing but it drove me bonkers and I actually felt that Barney had more of a romantic connection with a different character. All in all I liked the concept of the ending, but the story over all felt lackluster and there were definitely things that did not make logical sense. If the book was more whimsical or had a more magical realism touch to it maybe I would believe the story more, but as it stands, it just didn't make sense.
Profile Image for Feathzzz.
363 reviews36 followers
October 3, 2011
What makes Cormier a favorite author of mine is his ability to write extremely good realism involving esoteric concepts. Following his trademark The Bumblebee Flies Anyway is about a boy undergoing brainwashing experiments unbeknown to him in an experimental clinic. Never did it seem unreal, impassible, too much, or even cliché. It's much more sweet and simple then you might think.

This is the lowest rating I've given one of his novel's and the reason for that is it wasn't as suspenseful as his other works. That said I have a feeling it will stay with me a long and keep me thinking so I might have to bump it up later. Although my least favorite of his novels to date, still worth reading.
19 reviews
February 18, 2010
The Bumblebee Flies Anyways by Rober Cormier is a very good book that made me realize many stuff about our society. Throught out this book, a character named Barney who tries to find out who he really is after waking up in a hospital with no memory. There were many clues that helped him find his way throguh. The author brings up government referring to God who controls all the citizens in this book. This book is very adventurous Cormier was excellent in rising the suspense in readers' mind. Betrayal and realization are two main themes in this. People who like adventure books would love The Bumblebee Flies Anyway.
Profile Image for Jared Conti.
87 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2018
My first jaunt back into Cormier, one of my favorites in high school. Can't remember if I read this one before, but it's a "strip" from my B&N days that I've somehow hung onto. It was calling to me the way It, Great and Secret Show (though I couldn't finish) and even watching Dead Poets Society, have been calling out to me lately since Stranger Things. Not sure what's up with the nostalgia kick, but I'm glad to have a few more of his around that I can dig into.
Wasn't too keen on the ending...I was expecting something a little more sinister, or even a bit deeper than where we landed, though I knew the ending was coming like it was. Look forward to more.
Profile Image for Tracy.
212 reviews20 followers
November 14, 2009
Just reread this book after a few years and it is still very good. The character of Barney Snow is engaging and the ending is still heart breaking. However, it is not Cormier's best work-I'd save that for I am the Cheese or After the First Death- but still solid. It also raises some interesting questions on the quality of life and companionship. Much better than the movie of the same name. The movie tries too hard to make the story fit into the quintessential "Hollywood Happy Ending" so much that the point of the story is lost.
Profile Image for Neaka.
27 reviews5 followers
March 18, 2009
Definitely one of the better books I've read. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway tells the story of sixteen year old Barney, who lives in a "hospital" called The Complex. It's actually an experimental clinic. What makes the story so interesting are the characters. Barney runs across a couple key characters, and the whole story revolves around Barney trying to figure out who he really is, and what The Complex is really trying to achieve. It was a VERY interesting read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's one of those books that you can read over and over again and never get tired of.
Profile Image for Hector Medina.
5 reviews
May 16, 2013
Well this book was interseted but not that when I first read but it actually changed my mind when i read it more often it is about a sixteen year old named barney who can't remember his lif so he goes to like a experimental clinic, but ends up finding a terrible secret about himself in a dream and it is kind of why the book is called the bumblebees flies anyway which is basically the bumblbee must fly. So barney must actually recover from his memories and think about his past and his deepest secret in order to forget his memory. So I give this book "The bumblebee flies anyway" four stars.
June 12, 2012
Takes more than one read to get what is happening, but I really enjoyed this book. The basis is about relationships: 1) between oneself; as an individual and 2) with others. The twist is that the novel is set in an experimental hospital where the patients have volunteered themselves to be tested with drugs but not with the intention of being cured. I was drawn in with the strangeness of the dark setting and felt connected to the protagonist who I found to be a raw character.
23 reviews2 followers
May 19, 2014
This was surprisingly a very good read for me. It started off slow and was slow to fill in details or have much excitement. The characters were interesting and it had potential so I kept reading. Getting close to the end, the unexpected reveal of secrets and the final ending had me reading quickly to find out what happens, and was very enjoyable! I definitely will be keeping this on my bookshelf and looking into reading another robert cormier book.
Profile Image for Karen.
Author 6 books52 followers
October 4, 2016
I have to admit that when I read Robert Cormier's books as a kid, I hated them. Maybe it's because they were often bleak. Maybe it's because the heroes and heroines often did not fare well. I don't really remember. But I did like The Bumblebee Flies Anyways, a tale about a treatment facility with a hero who doesn't know the truth about his condition. Another bleak tale by Cormier, yes, but in many ways, thought provoking.
32 reviews
August 12, 2009
This book is very interesting. The main character, Barney, lives in the Complex, an experimental hospital. He is surrounded by people who are dying and take untested drugs in the hope of helping someone in the the future. As Barney's days of living in the Complex dwindle, he sets his sights on one goal, to build the Bumblebee and give Mazzo, a terminally ill patient, his last ride.
Profile Image for Catherine.
16 reviews
January 14, 2018
This was a random selection from the Vancouver Public Library and my first exposure to Robert Cormier. It was a bit slow to start, and the lack of a background for Barney sometimes made it difficult to really get into this book.
Once I started focusing on the *now* vs. the *why* the story became that much more enjoyable.
Profile Image for Keith.
891 reviews15 followers
July 25, 2011
Cormier is the master of getting inside young men's heads. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway is simply beautiful...a story that breaks your heart but leaves you with a feeling of hope. Every young man should read this book.
Profile Image for Melia.
86 reviews
February 16, 2014
I had to read this book for school (of a list and I chose this one) and I really liked it! It was a bit confusing at first but that was just because pieces hadn't fit together yet... I would definitely recommend it.
Profile Image for Heather.
11 reviews
February 22, 2008
Another heart-wrenching story, also a wonderful read and good for young adult readers. I probably read this when I was about 13, and it still leaves a huge impression.
Profile Image for Keri.
456 reviews18 followers
June 21, 2008
I read this book as a teenager and it was one of my favorite books back then. I think I need to reread it!
Profile Image for Helen.
1,039 reviews
August 4, 2008
I liked this, despite the fact that I mistakenly thought it was a futuristic sci-fi novel (it wasn't really). It was definitely heavy, though.
Profile Image for Amanda.
6 reviews
November 17, 2008
this book is really good. i love it. the endin is crazy but sad at the same time. very good book to read . everyone shoud read this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews

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