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gunit_k31 's review for:
The Murmur of Bees
by Sofía Segovia
How can I describe the ways in which this book touched me? I am not sure if I have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how beautiful this book is.
I read the translated version. Franciso & Beatriz adopt an abandoned child found with bees buzzing around him, protecting him from the elements of nature & predators. Simonopio's is a special child. He seems almost clairvoyant. His ability seems magical, but in no way does it outshine the other wonderful aspects of the story. A part of the plot is set during the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. And now, more than a decade later, today, we are struggling with the cruelty and suffering by another pandemic, and so it is no longer vicarious. It is as real as what so many of us have been through. Every single word is relatable. Every single word rings true. It doesn't feel like a story set more than a decade ago, it feels like it is about today. I can't resist putting down a few of the lines from this part of the plot.
"But this disease did not respect holy places, rituals, or people, Nor did the disease respect medical personnel."
"In the midst of this crisis, you had tooth decay, infected toenails, and stomach upsets—slight or severe—that you put up with for a while before having to seek help from a doctor, if you could find one."
"If a mother or a father had lost a child, they had others to feed, so they had to go back to work, and that was that. With no fuss or extra patience from anybody, not even themselves."
"The initial compassion and attention Mercedes Garza and her family received when she fell ill and died were not experienced by anyone else in those three months. There were no women to bring food to fellow mothers when they lost their husbands, nor anyone to dry the newly orphaned children’s tears. By the time the Spanish flu had completed its cycle, there was nobody in Linares who had not lost someone, so there was no one to ease the sorrow of others with their condolences."
"Their need for meat, groceries, worship, and sharpened knives was greater than their pain and sorrow. Such is life."
The same skillful writing makes the bond between Simonopio and Franciso Jr so heartwarming. You can feel from the moment Franciso Jr is born that the two are going to be inseparable, that they are going to love each other unconditionally, that their adventures are going to be memorable, not just for them, but for the readers.
This book is easily one of the most skillfully written pieces of literature I have come across this year. I would love to read more from the author.
I read the translated version. Franciso & Beatriz adopt an abandoned child found with bees buzzing around him, protecting him from the elements of nature & predators. Simonopio's is a special child. He seems almost clairvoyant. His ability seems magical, but in no way does it outshine the other wonderful aspects of the story. A part of the plot is set during the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. And now, more than a decade later, today, we are struggling with the cruelty and suffering by another pandemic, and so it is no longer vicarious. It is as real as what so many of us have been through. Every single word is relatable. Every single word rings true. It doesn't feel like a story set more than a decade ago, it feels like it is about today. I can't resist putting down a few of the lines from this part of the plot.
"But this disease did not respect holy places, rituals, or people, Nor did the disease respect medical personnel."
"In the midst of this crisis, you had tooth decay, infected toenails, and stomach upsets—slight or severe—that you put up with for a while before having to seek help from a doctor, if you could find one."
"If a mother or a father had lost a child, they had others to feed, so they had to go back to work, and that was that. With no fuss or extra patience from anybody, not even themselves."
"The initial compassion and attention Mercedes Garza and her family received when she fell ill and died were not experienced by anyone else in those three months. There were no women to bring food to fellow mothers when they lost their husbands, nor anyone to dry the newly orphaned children’s tears. By the time the Spanish flu had completed its cycle, there was nobody in Linares who had not lost someone, so there was no one to ease the sorrow of others with their condolences."
"Their need for meat, groceries, worship, and sharpened knives was greater than their pain and sorrow. Such is life."
Spoiler
The most touching part of the book comes towards the end, when one of the character dies. The prose is so powerful that I had to put the book down for the time being. I simply could not read anymore. I needed time to process that death. The character's journey from when he/she is shot, but doesn't realize it, not feeling the pain, thinking that at any moment now, he/she would build the strength to get up, to when he/she finally acknowledges that death is inevitable, is the hardest part of the story to get through. Seeing life being dragged out of this body almost broke me as much as did everyone else in the story. The author, with her immaculate prose, makes you feel the pain of every character- the one who dies and the ones who live and are forced to carry on.The same skillful writing makes the bond between Simonopio and Franciso Jr so heartwarming. You can feel from the moment Franciso Jr is born that the two are going to be inseparable, that they are going to love each other unconditionally, that their adventures are going to be memorable, not just for them, but for the readers.
This book is easily one of the most skillfully written pieces of literature I have come across this year. I would love to read more from the author.