The Murmur of Bees

I downloaded this book as part of World Book Day. I read two sentences and wanted to read more. I couldn't put it down. The translation was eloquent. I can't think of how else to say it. It was like taking a spring swim in a lake of soft beautiful words. I read until I couldn't hold my eyes open, and then I read some more. Each of the characters had such touching stories. You will read it until you hurt, and only then will you realize you've been holding your breath. I love to read, but reading this book was like watching someone paint a beautiful masterpiece. The pain and sadness, the hurt and contempt, and the warped view of the coyote are all nice reminders to look for the humanity, and never let your guard down. People who aren't willing to accept fault need someone to blame and that is often the misunderstood. I can't guarantee you will love it as much as me, but I hope you will. Plenty of lovely descriptions out there if you want a synopsis of the story.

I downloaded this book in a free promotion for international authors. I didn’t know what it was about and the description wasn’t super clear on what the story was about.I am so happy I decided to give it a try. It became a very personal book to me as the narrator and my grandfather are of similar ages and their background is eerily similar. Though my grandfather was from Jalisco, not Monterrey.I also grew up with a brother with a disability that made people fear him or assume he was slow. I couldn’t help but develop a deep love for the family in this story.Give it a good read and see for yourself.

Beautifully written, very slow moving literary fiction with a lot of observations and not much dialogue, set at the start of the 20th century.Our main character is a sweet highly lovable mute, born among and surrounded by bees who lead his way. There are too many characters to keep track of, but it's a close-knit rural community with all its ups and downs.Too slow to my liking my patience gave up around the halfway mark.

I read this novel in Spanish at the beginning of the year. What a beautiful novel!!! For someone who has grown up in Mexico, it is easy to engage in the narrative: you think about your grandma, your childhood, exploring nature with your cousins in the country, the smell of lavender in the linens, women sawing to kill time and dilute their sorrows, the way in which people overcome economical challenges and never give up...A very special kid is the protagonist of the story, as he grows as special bond with the youngest child of a wealthy family. The way the history of the family is tied with what is actually happening in the North East of Mexico makes this novel not only enjoyable, but also lets you know about key events that occurred around Mexico's Revolution time.Highly recommended!

I liked this book: topic, history, but mostly the way it is written. It seems written linearly, i.e., as time goes by. However, the story unfolds as each of characters interact and from their own perspective. The story is different for each character, even in the same events. Perception, like beauty, is in eyes of beholder.

SS. has Penned A novel about an abandoned baby found under a bridge covered with bees. The child grows and as he does it becomes known to a close few that he was able to see the future. He was able to warn his family of the coming revolution, 1918- Mexico, and he foretold of the dangers the family would face. He was able to help his family to remain the prosperous ranchers they were. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

This is one brave author. Bees. What author dares to make bees not only the main character of the story, if not the plot line, but the source of its inspiration as well? Bees. And, yes, the kind that can and do swarm and sting.Technically, this is a book of historical fiction set in the Monterrey region of northern Mexico in the early 20th Century. It’s a fascinating region, if you’ve never been there, with loads and loads of both fascinating history and inspiring culture. But this is a bit of a mis-characterization as the history is more prop than central theme.This is really a book of philosophy, although that word and the language normally associated with it is never used. The Taoists (sometimes called Daoists) believe that the universe is simply too complicated for us to ever understand so we should just learn to live in harmony with nature and each other. And that is really what the whole bee thing is all about.Simonopio, the misshapen boy found as a baby under the bridge covered in bees that stay with him throughout his life, is a medium of sorts, but not in the sense you are probably thinking. He just knows how to listen, really listen; and feel, really feel. To him the universe is not three-dimensional but endlessly dimensional, but not in any sci-fi kind of way. It’s all about openness to what we think we know and what we can know.The writing is superb, and while some readers have complained that the book drags on, and it does, that is exactly what you want if the book enthralls you and pulls you in. You don’t want it to end. The themes can never be repeated often enough. There is no redundancy where there is beauty.Bees. I still can’t get over it. How in the world did the author come up with that? I will never look at one the same again. And isn’t that what those of us who love to read want from a good book of fiction? To never look at the world in quite the same way again.I could nit pick from a literary perspective. But I won’t. Because the good far outweighs the bad. A bee’s life is hard. So is writing a book. And I think the author did a wonderful job in this case.And I must applaud the translator as well. I don’t speak Spanish but I do live in a country in which the native tongue is not my own. Translation sounds so easy. And if you just want to order a cab or a meal it can be. But real translation of a novel like this requires you to think in multiple dimensions at one time. Not many can do it. I know I can’t. But this translator does this author’s work real justice. It’s obvious he didn’t write it. But it’s equally obvious that he really got it. Well done, to author and translator alike.

Sofía Segovia beguiles us with this magical tale which is set in Northern Mexico, and hopefully we will see more of her works translated into English in the future. Here we are taken through a number of decades in a story that will hold you engaged. Our omnipresent narrator we find as we read this, is not even born until just over halfway through the novel, and this just adds to the magical world that is created.Taking in such things as the Mexican Revolution and the spread of Spanish Flu, along with the Great Depression and World War, so we find ourselves involved with a close-knit family and what happens to them over the years. This flips backwards and forwards through time quite effortlessly, and here provides a setting that mirrors memory, after all we do not recall events automatically in their original chronological order. This gives the tale also a sense of endlessness, as one generation of a family will eventually die, but the family history and their story will continue through their progeny.With an old woman who in the end just sits in a rocking chair and remains quietly settled throughout the day, so we read of how she first turned up at the family home, and also how she was the only one who could hear an abandoned baby crying miles away, and thus goes to its rescue. A baby that we find is smothered in bees and has a cleft lip and palate. Thus being unable to be understood by others, so we find only the narrator knows what he is saying, when he is eventually born. In Simonopio as this child is called, we see someone who is part of the magical realism that appears in this tale, in that he communicates with the bees that were there when he was found, and thus has a nature worshipping shamanistic quality to him.With a family saga thus taking front stage, so we read of all the problems going on in the background. As the author admits, this is a mix of fiction and history, but in places history has been altered slightly so that it can fit in with the main story. By the end of this we find out why the narrator is telling us this tale now, and who to, and this reminds us of memory, trying to forget things we would rather not remember, as well as the power of stories, and the role they play, not only within families, but in a wider context, as they help to shape the psyche of nations as well as individuals. This could be something worth considering for book groups, as there is a lot to take in and discuss here.

This is a most beautiful and well written book, with a compelling story that unwinds gently through the life of a land owning family in Mexico. They find and adopt an abandoned disfigured baby who has a special affinity for bees and an uncanny ability to sense the future, and the story hinges on the ties of love between the boy and his adoptive family, and between the family and their land, and the forces amassing around them to tear this apart. Told in the voices of a narrator and the late-born son of the family, gradually the son's voice replaces that of the narrator as the book progresses.Do not miss this book, which will stay with you long after you finish reading.

I do love reading Latin American magical realism novels! I know the genre isn't to everyone's taste, but if it's to yours then I would highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy of The Murmur Of Bees to read this summer. I can't comment on the original Spanish, but Simon Bruni's English language translation kept me glued to every page of this historical epic. Segovia weaves the story of a cleft-lipped boy, Simonopio, who has a strange affinity with bees around the genuine happenings in Mexico throughout the 1910s and beyond. This is very much the tale of a family, not just one person, and I appreciated the point of view changes which allow readers to observe events from varying perspectives across the years. Simonopio is a wonderful creation. He is an almost silent boy due to his disfigurement, yet I could completely believe in the relationships he establishes without the need for speech. The generations of the Morales family find their lives deeply affected by this adopted child.Historically, The Murmur Of Bees felt authentic and very well researched. This was a particularly tumultuous time in Mexican and global history and I could clearly feel repercussions of The Great War and its aftermath, the Spanish flu epidemic, in the small town of Linares. The flu outbreak is particularly poignant and moments such as a brief scene of geriatric card players are vividly memorable. Surprisingly for me, as much of the story focuses on negative events, I didn't find The Murmur Of Bees to be a depressing read. The main characters are certainly put through the ringer on a number of occasions and there are chillingly dark narrative threads which evoked strong senses of foreboding for me, however I think I would describe this as a heartwarming novel overall. Segovia has penned a compelling story of family, loyalty and patience.

Such an amazing story, and written (and translated) so beautifully, I was blown away. There's a gentle wistfulness that runs through the book despite some of the harsh realities faced by the characters (death, epidemics, war, corruption).The character of Simonopio is enchanting, mysterious and yet real - he's a boy who suffers like any other, but with his gifts and his bees he's quite the most fascinating person in the book.I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent read and would recommend it for its writing, its location in Mexico (which makes a refreshing, exotic change), and the vivid characterisation.

3.5 starsThe Murmur of Bees is historical fiction mixed with hints of magical realism. Translated from Spanish, this story is set in Mexico in the early 1900s.The star of the book is a disfigured mute orphan called Simonopio, who was found as a baby, covered in a blanket of honeybees. His relationship with the bees and his natural sixth sense are the backbone to this story.Told through a slow-paced and meandering style the author builds a picture of life in this part of the world during this historical period. Agricultural changes, Spanish Influenza and family relationships all add to the layers of the story.It took me a long time to read this book and, for me, it didn’t become interesting until around half way through, when Simonopio became the guardian of the youngest Morales’ child. Everything before that felt a little disjointed and I wondered where the story was taking us.I loved the bees, they were one of my favourite parts and drew me to the book in the first place.Overall, a book which needs patience to read but may be rewarding in the end, particularly if you like bees.