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readinginmaine's review against another edition
2.0
It started off strong but got super slow as it went along. I finished it, barely. It would have been much improved by cutting 200 pages. I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.
katiegilley's review against another edition
5.0
“Tell them to walk in the shade. To listen with their eyes, to see with their skin, and to feel with their ears, because life speaks to us all and we just need to know and wait to listen to it, see it, feel it.”
“she understood that, while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts;”
I know I’m a little late to this one, but I’m so happy to have finally read it! And friends, I didn’t want it to end. This was a beautiful novel set in Mexico. It moves throughout a longer period of time but the most significant moments for me were during the Spanish Flu, which felt familiar given what the world has gone through over the last year.
I loved the Morales family – they had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. Simonopio, the infant found in the woods and covered by bees, captivated me. He was born with a cleft palette and never learned to communicate with words, but found his own way to connect with others and became a loved and integral part of his adopted family.
“she understood that, while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts;”
I know I’m a little late to this one, but I’m so happy to have finally read it! And friends, I didn’t want it to end. This was a beautiful novel set in Mexico. It moves throughout a longer period of time but the most significant moments for me were during the Spanish Flu, which felt familiar given what the world has gone through over the last year.
I loved the Morales family – they had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. Simonopio, the infant found in the woods and covered by bees, captivated me. He was born with a cleft palette and never learned to communicate with words, but found his own way to connect with others and became a loved and integral part of his adopted family.
hvancetx's review against another edition
4.0
Interestingly, the first part of the book takes place during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. So timely, considering the author could not have seen 2020 coming at the time she wrote it! It goes on to cover the next 20 years in the life of a land-owning family in northern Mexico. I found the characters engaging and enjoyed learning more about that time and place, including the political and economic aspects. This one reminded me a bit of The Hummingbird's Daughter. If you liked that book, you'll probably enjoy this one, too.
ssodders3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
cova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
emilb's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Overall I really loved this book. The slow meandering prose is fully a matter of taste - I loved how it jumped ahead only to loop back in a few chapters so we slowly develop a fuller understanding of what's happening. It reminded me of the dance of bees at times.
The one thing I found hard to deal with was the depiction of class and race. I am not from Mexico, so I don't have an instinctive line to the culture in the way many others will have. What I found a shame was that the only non-white characters who were sympathetic were the loyal servants and labourers who found purpose and happiness in serving the blue eyed fair skinned land owners, while the story did what it did to the indigenous main villain. I wish we had seen more nuance in this aspect.
The one thing I found hard to deal with was the depiction of class and race. I am not from Mexico, so I don't have an instinctive line to the culture in the way many others will have. What I found a shame was that the only non-white characters who were sympathetic were the loyal servants and labourers who found purpose and happiness in serving the blue eyed fair skinned land owners, while the story did what it did to the indigenous main villain. I wish we had seen more nuance in this aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Ableism, Murder, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and War
jpcolkitt9190's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
4.0
Reading this made me want to be a kid again, running around outside and livin without a care in the world. It also had me reflecting and thinking about what has been. What I thought would happen with the ending didn't happen exactly as I thought. Sofia Segovia's writing in this book is beautiful.
pollyb23's review against another edition
2.0
This book could have been 200 pages shorter. The most interesting part was the last third. The first two thirds just drug on and on. And on.
jorgjuar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Escrita por Sofía Segovia, El murmullo de las abejas narra la historia de la familia Morales al encontrarse con un bebé abandonado, quien tiene labio leporino y está cubierto de abejas. La familia decide adoptar al bebé, quien tendrá un impacto en ellos a través de los diferentes sucesos del México de inicios del s. XX.
Si bien la novela usa elementos históricos como contexto, no es una novela histórica, sino de ficción y fantasía, manteniendo un balance entre ambos géneros.
La narrativa de S. Segovia es dinámica pese a no ser lineal, especialmente en el principio del libro, retrocediendo en el tiempo en algunos capítulos para narrar los mismos hechos desde la perspectiva de distintos personajes. He leído algunas reseñas donde critican este punto por causar confusión, pero si realmente estás poniendo atención a lo que lees, no deberías tener ningún problema para identificar los saltos de tiempo.
El desarrollo de los personajes es, en mi opinión, el elemento más fuerte de la novela, el cual ocurre de forma gradual pero profunda, mostrando los cambios en cada uno conforme pasa el tiempo, así como las diveras circunstancias sociopolíticas y económicas de la época.
En resumen, El murmullo de las abejas es un muy buen libro, aunque no creo que sea para todos los gustos. Si no te gusta la fantasía en lo absoluto, es mejor que omitas este libro.
Si bien la novela usa elementos históricos como contexto, no es una novela histórica, sino de ficción y fantasía, manteniendo un balance entre ambos géneros.
La narrativa de S. Segovia es dinámica pese a no ser lineal, especialmente en el principio del libro, retrocediendo en el tiempo en algunos capítulos para narrar los mismos hechos desde la perspectiva de distintos personajes. He leído algunas reseñas donde critican este punto por causar confusión, pero si realmente estás poniendo atención a lo que lees, no deberías tener ningún problema para identificar los saltos de tiempo.
El desarrollo de los personajes es, en mi opinión, el elemento más fuerte de la novela, el cual ocurre de forma gradual pero profunda, mostrando los cambios en cada uno conforme pasa el tiempo, así como las diveras circunstancias sociopolíticas y económicas de la época.
En resumen, El murmullo de las abejas es un muy buen libro, aunque no creo que sea para todos los gustos. Si no te gusta la fantasía en lo absoluto, es mejor que omitas este libro.
cocog's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25