The Murmur of Bees

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The author portrays Anselmo (one of the few indgenous people in the book) as ignorant, machisto, violent, ungrateful, selfish, abusive to his children and a murderer, whereas the light-skinned, wealthy Morales family as the fair and rightous. 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.

Francisco Morales, Jr.: Beatriz and Fancisco’s youngest child and only son. Storyteller in the novel. The Murmur of Bees can be described as magical realism, and though there is some magic in Simonopio’s gifts, most of it really comes from Segovia’s enchanting words. She gives rich descriptions, lushly describes both the characters and the settings, so that everything feels alive. The magic is subtle but pervasive, giving the book the feeling of a fairytale. 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.

By Nicole Krauss

The Murmur of Bees introduces the reader to a number of characters. This can feel overwhelming in the beginning but they are connected in a delicate manner that over time, as I immersed myself more and more into this book, I liked having all of them around. This book as a whole is a fantastic read and there were three aspects that I enjoyed the most: On Strength 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 Someone can tear open an orange nearby, and the aroma transports me to my mama’s kitchen or my papa’s orchard.” (p. 16) 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.

This history is important, because it played a huge role in contributing to the Mexican Revolution. In Segovia’s depiction of the Morales, she portrays them as the victims of the Revolution and its aftermath, neglecting that it was ignited by inequality, social class divisions, racism, and oppression.

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They were married on the Day of the Dead, el Día de los Muertos, which no one gave much thought to in all the months of planning, until the bride’s deceased father-in-law showed up in the car following the ceremony.” ( p. 1)