A review by stephen_coulon
The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It’s a family saga that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a Central Mexican landowner’s clan during a decade or two in Mexico’s volatile early 20th century. Segovia adeptly moves through several points of view, all of which are imbued with a pastoral loveliness and a connection with Mexico’s natural beauty. The tone throughout is sage and sentimental with just a touch of magical realism thrown in, which works very well thematically. This would be the perfect companion piece to Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory (1940). Both share a setting (a time and place shamefully ignored in wider literature) but with vigorously different tones and attitudes toward the polity of the place in time. Segovia focuses in tightly on an intimate view of a single family’s struggles through the time. That she chose, and takes the side of, a family that is essentially aristocratic, opposes Greene’s Catholic racialism, and honestly it’s refreshing, though certainly not typical for today’s literary zeitgeist in the West. Through any lens it’s a beautiful book. It’s old fashioned approach in tone and structure prove that classic technique never fails as long as it is done well. I’m not sure why more people aren’t talking about this one.