The Last Beekeeper

Jul 16, 2026

Upload by Riley

A fiction novel set in Harikaya, Pakistan, opening with a chapter dated August 1974. During a train stop, Hassan encounters a dying blackbuck deer and witnesses local reactions, rumors about Mir Saab, and the consequences of breaking rules. As the deer is carried into nearby grasses, a mysterious humming and Hassan’s vow connected to finding his father shape the unfolding narrative.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages330

Reading Time8 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

One More Chapter a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF [www.harpercollins.co.uk](www.harpercollins.co.uk) First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2021 Copyright © Siya Turabi 2021 Cover design by Lucy Bennett © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2021 Cover photographs © Mohamad Itani / Arcangel Images (boy); Ezra Shaw / Getty Images (boy’s hands); [Shutterstock.com](Shutterstock.com) (all other images) Siya Turabi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008472887 Ebook Edition © August 2021 ISBN: 9780008472870 Version: 2021-06-18 A knowing comes when I sit alone under the trees where the humming is constant from the timeless bees Part One Harikaya village in Harikaya state Sindh Province, Pakistan Chapter One August 1974 The train had been too fast or the deer had been too brave. A blackbuck deer with horns like waves. And it was dying. Hassan recognised it from lessons at school. Or was it a hog deer, or a gazelle? It could be an Indian gazelle. No, it was definitely a blackbuck deer. It had white fur on its chin and it was too big for a gazelle. The train came to a stop, puffing and clanking as Hassan stood and looked down at the animal, thrown a few metres away from the railway line. Groans and shrieks came from full carriages. People on the roof stared at the deer. Some climbed down metal ladders at the side of the train and crowded round Hassan. Baluchi, Punjabi, as well as local Sindhi speakers from the northern parts of Sindh on their way to work in the fields and factories of Harikaya. Dialects from neighbouring provinces flew around him. ‘These are Mir Saab’s deer,’ one man said, his Sindhi hat shaped like an upturned boat. Some shook their heads, some sighed, but no one looked as flustered asthe driver who came up, scratching his head. ‘Accidents aren’t illegal,’ he said. ‘Bound to happen. He lets them roam as they please.’ That was another man, small and shirtless. ‘What if we lose our jobs?’ another asked. Hassan stepped back; the

Jul 16, 2026

Upload by Riley