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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Me gustó, me gustó mucho y la verdad es que tenía pocas expectativas con este libro, entonces fue muy grato ir disfrutando la lectura. Novela Histórica con un toque de realismo mágico que hace su lectura muy disfrutable.
This book reminded me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing - the dreamy feel and family dynamics at the core of the story. Really enjoyable.
This was a tough read. I wanted to love it, but it was so heavy on explanation rather than making the experiences within feel lived. I fell asleep over and again while listening, in part because the narration was so relaxingly monotone, but also because each narrator provided almost more second-hand storytelling than their own perspective. The pages just didn't move. I restarted so many times, but it was more of a laborious task than labor of love.
The Murmur of Bees is an incredible saga that explores sweeping themes of family, loyalty, grief, and love. The story is equal parts beauty and pain. Starting out in the early times of the "Spanish Flu" in Mexico, you get glimpses into the lives of the Morales family as each generation grows, connected by the seemingly strange connection of a boy and his bees. The magical realism brought by Simonopio and his bees flows through this story much like a river through the valley that his bees would have taken him on. It ebbs and flows, much like the waters, as his life is inextricably linked to his family including the ever stoic Nana Reja. I switched between audio and text for this story, and I am glad I did. Maybe because it is translated, the nuances are sometimes easily missed making it hard to know exactly when we're switching character focal points or narratives. The audio has dual voices to differentiate from time to time. I'm grateful this was a free book in honor of Read the World Day so I had the opportunity to discover it for myself when I'm not sure I would have found it otherwise!
Beautiful story if you like historical fiction and magical realism. Wonderful characters who are shaped by their relationships, the world around them and their destiny. So many examples of love and beauty--between sons and fathers, Nana's and the babies who need them, and people and the land and the bees that nurture them.
I was captivated and mesmerized by this book! I loved the mystical folk tale quality of the storytelling and thought the writing was absolutely beautiful. I struggled a bit early on with the changing timelines and narratives. It was sometimes difficult to figure out who was narrating some of the chapters and from whose perspective the story was being told. But once I caught on I was hooked. I did think it was a bit too long and that the story dragged somewhat, hence the 4 star rating rather than 5. But still, highly recommend!
With every chapter focusing on a different character in the Morales family’s orbit, it may seem impossible that the narrator knows all the details, especially those that occurred before his birth. But omniscience turns into a theme and it becomes clear: Simonipio, the strange foundling who communicates with bees, can see the future and locate those people he wishes to find. His little brother Francisco Jr., narrates as an old man who has finally figured out how to use these extra senses Simonopio tried to teach him to use as a child. And with this new omniscience, he tells the whole story of his family’s rise and fall to a cab driver.
It’s a lovely story.
It’s a lovely story.
This is a rich and beautiful story about a fascinating boy, a family, a place, and their bees. The story starts slowly and it’s telling requires patience but it is worth it.
I’ve never encountered a novel that won’t allow itself to be read quickly, instead demanding a more reasonable pace, one that allows you to hear the ‘murmur of bees.’
I found this to be the most wonderful mix of magical realism, historical fiction, delightful storytelling, and evocative description.
I found this to be the most wonderful mix of magical realism, historical fiction, delightful storytelling, and evocative description.