The Murmur of Bees

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The Murmur of Bees is a historical fiction novel by Mexican author Sofia Segovia, her first to be translated into English. The novel is set in Northern Mexico in the early 20th century amidst the Mexican Revolution and the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The story follows the lifetime of the Morales family of landowners. When an abandoned baby with a hive of bees next to him is found on the Morales land, Francisco and Beatriz Morales adopt the baby and treat him as their own, despite his facial deformity. Named Simonopio, the adopted child might not be able to speak, but it is clear that he is gifted. Surrounded by his bees day and night, Simonopio understands and knows things beyond human capabilities. However, despite Simonopio's protective hand over the Morales family, not all evil can be stopped. And the translation was, to sum up, poetic. Dear Simon Bruni, congratulations! I cannot imagine how beautiful the book must be in Spanish! The story and the writing take on a new dimension when Simonopio's worst nightmare becomes a reality - when 'the coyote' catches 'the lion' and a tragedy strikes. Segovia's writing skills come to shine in these chapters, when portraying the hatred and cruelty of the evil character, mingled with the chilling desperation of the trapped lion and his curb. I may one day try the book again, but for now, it's taken me almost a month to get through 14 hours when I just listened to a 28 hour book in half the time. Someone can tear open an orange nearby, and the aroma transports me to my mama’s kitchen or my papa’s orchard.” (p. 16)

Stephen: I’m glad that the last few chapters have focused more on Simonopio. His independence seems to be growing and he is developing a greater connection with nature than any human. The bees are guiding him somehow. All the same, I really like how much Francisco and Beatriz love him and care for him. I like Beatriz a lot as a character. What have you made of the family dynamic? They keep her busy and real, but imaginative. Without their hustle and bustle, she could not concentrate to write. Then came the worst insult: the offer to pay for the Espiricueta children’s schooling. To send his daughters to the charity schools for girls, his sons to the ones for boys….Then she spoke to them about the opportunity to better themselves by learning their letters and numbers…” pg. 127

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Some scenes may be upsetting, but in general, the story is easy to read and immersive that you won’t be able to put it down. The end was exactly as I expected; more precisely, it made me happy. Esa ficción aplicada a los atributos mágicos del personaje principal me encantó y creo que fue de las cuestiones que más destacan de esta novela y que, personalmente, más disfruté.

I re-wrote my review for this because my first review just didn’t do it justice. I’m not sure this one will either, but this story by Sofia Segovia, and translated by Simon Bruni, is wonderful and deserves some extra love.*** Užknisau pirmąja pastraipa? Knyga ne tau. Norisi dialogų? Daug, ar apskritai, šiek tiek daugiau, nei tie keli? Knyga ne tau. Girdėdamas siuvimo mašinos tratata, tratata, tratata, gali suprasti, kodėl suerzintų, jei ji imtų ir praleistų taktą, arba tratata virstų trakata? O gal į siuvimo mašiną neatkreiptum dėmesio visai? Valgydamas apelsiną bijotum, kad jo sultys, lipnios ir gaivios, tekės skruostais ir smakru, pirštais ir tarpupirščiais, sulipindamos viską saldumu? Knyga ne tau. Bet turint kantrybės, godžiai, kaip tą apelsiną, ragaujant Petrausko tobulai nuaustus žodžius, leidžiant jiems slysti iki pat liežuvio galo, knyga tikrai įgyja kažkokių magiškų galių. Nepasiduoti joms – velniškai sunku. Toks tobulas Allendės atmosferiškumo, sušvelninto ir lengvesnio Marquezo šeimos ryšių ir istorijų tamprumo, Grames žaismo su mirtimi derinys. Beatriz sent search parties out For Francisco and Francisco Junior, learning the next morning that Francisco had been murdered. Simonopio returned with Francisco Junior and a search party two days later. Although Simonopio would not relay what he witnessed, the family understood that Espiricueta was to blame. Beatriz struggled to regain her confidence but ultimately decided to take on her late husband’s responsibilities. She sold most of her land with the intention of moving to Monterrey indefinitely. Although Simonopio was included in these plans, he knew his future was not in Monterrey. Rather than heed Beatriz’s wishes, Simonopio resolved to stay behind with Nana Reja, his bees, and the land. Francisco Junior struggled to accept this throughout his life, but with the knowledge of his new senses, he understood that Simonopio had only allowed them both to live the lives they were meant to. 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. The Murmur of Bees” is the second audio novel I’ve listened to while working ardently to move my household. I was attracted to the novel because it’s the first novel by Mexican author Sofia Segovia that has been translated into English. Plus, it involves the Mexican mysticism that the country favors.La familia principal de la historia pertenece a una clase social privilegiada y pareciera que en ninguna situación lo reconocen como tal para entender el porqué ellos sí pueden hacer o tomar ciertas decisiones en situaciones como la pandemia que viven y la facilidad con la cual pueden aislarse en su casa de campo. En esta situación de la pandemia, por ejemplo, es debido a su clase privilegiada que pueden huir de esa pandemia y lejos de considerarlo como un privilegio se relata como una proeza comparado con las personas del pueblo que no lo hicieron, como si estas últimas hubieran tenido las posibilidades de hacerlo. En esa misma situación resalta el hecho por ejemplo de haberse llevado a los empleados del hacendado al aislamiento a la casa de verano y lo plantea como una gran obra de bondad cuando se puede leer claramente que se los llevo a seguir trabajando y además estos trabajadores vivieron hacinados con sus familias en una casa medio en ruinas; con esto nuevamente se evidencian las desigualdades y lo peor es que pareciera que se intenta justificarlas y hasta endulzarla o presentarlas como grandes actos caritativos de los privilegiados. Simon Bruni’s translation, although it misses in minor ways in a few places, conveys Segovia’s wonderful prose very well. Vox shares 11 questions you’re too embarrassed to ask about magical realism, which provides a good launching point to discuss magical realism.

Francisco wants to setup some orange orchards by reducing cane & maize on his farms, and travels to California taking Simonopio with him. He trusts his intuition in plant choice and is well rewarded as after a wait period the orchards bloom with bumper harvests. The Spanish Flu ravages the region, and a lot of lives are lost. Carmen & later Consuelo get married and move out of Linares. Further tragedy visits the battered town in a few years when a young girl Lupita is found brutally murdered. Simonopio senses the evil lurking in the area may come next for him & others of the Morales family. Simonopio hopes he and the bees are up to the challenge. The story is told from the perspectives of the Morales family & Simonopio in third person, and Francisco Jr in first person. Simonopio, Francisco, Beatriz, Nana Reja, Francisco Jr are all wonderful characters. While Simonopio is the shining star, all these people and more share good space in the story and are well developed characters. I would have liked to see more of Carmen & Consuelo. I felt the book was bigger than it needed to be – with slow / medium pace, especially in the middle. The story is, nevertheless, very well-written and the last ~20% was brilliant & very moving (prompting me to revise my rating a little upward finally). The beauty of writing in the last sections is very rare. Kudos to the translator Simon Bruni, as well. 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. There are so many aspects of the stories within the main story arc I loved-the nonas, everything involving Simono Pio, and Francisco Jr. The Spanish Flu Pandemic impacts the narrative and has a great/entertaining side story. I'm not sure if it is accurate to say there are supernatural aspects to the story as in the traditional sense of the word. There are SUPER NATURAL aspects, as in a super awareness or sensitivity to NATURE. Simonopia: baby found covered in bees and with a cleft palate that disfigures his face and limits his ability to vocalize. He grows up as an adopted child of Beatriz and Francisco

By Trent Dalton

The treatment of campesinos, peones, servants, etc. varied from each Hacienda, but the reality is that many were forced into servitude, given very low wages, and exploited. Many became sharecroppers in the hopes of eventually buying off the land they worked (on top of their daily duties), with few becoming successful.

More than that, Segovia creates beautifully realized characters, at once perfect archetypes and perfectly relatable. Our hero, Simonopio, is loving and pure of heart, devoted to his family yet free-spirited, with an air of mystery. Yet, he’s also just a boy, becoming distracted and curious by a show in town just when his family needs him the most. A fascinating historical family saga with a touch of fantasy / magic realism. A beautifully written & moving story with very loveable characters. Spanish Flu epidemic/Coronavirus pandemic. What particularly stood out was the class aspect –the way that the Linares family could flee to safety felt uncomfortably familiar to the way that primarily wealthier, white-collar people could easily just work from home. Or from Hawaii. Meanwhile –well, we know what happened meanwhile. Segovia shows it in the book, breaking from the Morales focus to write about the suffering and hopelessness of the town they left behind. It just reminded me of the stark contrast of my experience of the pandemic, compared to many others who were put at risk. This family had the means to seek out ways to support Simonopio and his speech, but I guess Simonopio’s purpose was to find the orange trees and encourage Sr. Morales to go to California the next day and bought more for his land, to keep from the land being lost by the agrarian reforms after the revolution. I’m made of everything that touched my senses during that time and entered the part of my brain where I keep my memories… I know a memory from reality, even if I grow more attached to my memories than to reality with each day.” (p. 16)As part of its essence, the house also preserved the laughter and games of its children, the scolding and slamming of doors, past and present. The loose tile my grandfather and his twenty-two siblings trod with their bare feet and my father trod in his childhood was the same one I trod as a boy. That tile was a betrayer of mischief, for with its inevitable clunk, the mother of the time would be alerted to whatever plan her offspring had hatched. The house beams creaked for no apparent reason, the doors squeaked, the shutters banged rhythmically against the wall even when there was no wind. What did you know about that pandemic before reading the novel? What did you learn or feel reading the historical fiction account of the pandemic in Linares? Did you find any parallels to Covid-19? Life Gifts Named Simonopio, the baby grows into a gifted child. Though he cannot speak, he is deeply in touch with nature –followed constantly by a swarm of bees, able to sense danger and see visions of the future. Simonopio dedicates his life and skills to protect his adopted family, especially the boy Francisco (also our narrator), as they experience incredible events such as the Mexican Revolution, Agrarian Reform, and the devastating Spanish Flu epidemic. Where I’m At: This book tells the story of the Morales family living through the influenza, Mexican Revolution, and the Great Depression. On the surface, the Morales family is portrayed as kind, benevolent, hardworking, deeply devout Catholics who are trying to survive many hardships and hold onto their land. In reality, The Morales were a wealthy, light-skinned privileged family with many means and resources to avoid the tragedies that were striking many poor and indigenous communities. I will give specifics from the book to demonstrate this, but I think it’s important to understand a little bit about the history of Mexico first.