The Murmur of Bees

Tears have not flown this freely since I read Hardy’s Jude the Obsure. The mother’s litany of thoughts toward the end of the book is deeply moving and beautifully written. The language is simple but masterful. This writer has a command of the story and her characters. What seems like a fairy tale is denied by the depth of her characters. It is a mythical but realistic story.

It begins with an old woman rocking in her chair seemingly as withered as the wood she sits in. She stares down the road in anticipation with her unseeing eyes. Soon, we will meet the family of two older daughters, the son born to his mother in her later years and the godson of the family, named by the old lady: Simonopio. The stories are told through narration and in the voice of the youngest son who is tutored by Simonopio. Simonopio has an affinity for bees. This is an incredible book by a great writer. I encourage everyone to run to obtain a copy. I await other books by this author.