From a beguiling voice in Mexican fiction comes an astonishing novel—her first to be translated into English—about a mysterious child with the power to change a family’s history in a country on the verge of revolution.
From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little … bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can—visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous. Followed by his protective swarm of bees and living to deliver his adoptive family from threats—both human and those of nature—Simonopio’s purpose in Linares will, in time, be divined.
Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the devastating influenza of 1918, The Murmur of Bees captures both the fate of a country in flux and the destiny of one family that has put their love, faith, and future in the unbelievable.
more
A beautiful and unusual book – a believable mixture of realistic, historical and spiritual family life in rural Mexico in the early 20th century.
This book is a complete question mark. From the first page, I saw no purpose or sense to the story. I couldn’t figure out the what, the who, or the why of anything written. I plowed through the first third of the book figuring that everything would fall into place. Then I finally decided that it would never become clear and I gave up the ghost of reading it.
Poignant, unforgettable
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Murmur of Bees” by Sofia Segovia, Amazon Crossing, April 2019 (Translated by Simon Bruni)
Sofia Segovia has written a captivating, intense, intriguing, and thought-provoking novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, and Historical Fiction as researched and interpreted by the author. There are several layers in this story. There are also elements of Superstition and Tall Tales that are written as well. The story takes places in Mexico, and goes through the time periods of the Spanish Influenza, and the Political Unrest in Mexico and how it affected the farmers and landowners. The author describes are dramatic and colorful cast of characters as complex and complicated.
In this amazingly well written story there are several contrasts: good vs. evil, nature vs. nurture, and right vs. wrong. There is also a theme of the balance of man and nature.
A very old woman hears the sounds of a crying baby under a bridge, and goes to bring him back to the home. He is covered in swarming bees, but the bees are not hurting him. The Morales family takes the baby in, and raise him, and name him Simonopio. Some people feel that Simonopio is evil . They are superstitious and feel he is responsible for the problems in Mexico. He is disfigured and can’t communicate by understandable speech. Somehow he is able to look out for the Morales family and the land.
I appreciate that the author has researched the historical events of the time and vividly describes them. I would highly recommend this unique novel for those readers who enjoy Historical Fiction, and a thought-provoking story. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.