Welcome to Litsy!

I expected to love this, and I did for the first half or so, but I started to find it overly long.
The earlier chapters, covering the time of the Spanish ‘flu, was interesting and highly readable. There is some beautiful prose in the novel, but in my opinion it needed some editing; it could easily have 100 or more pages cut out without affecting the narrative.

Fifth finish for #Rushathon

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

I will not lie and say that reading this book was a struggle for me sometimes, I wanted to give up so many times. But I‘m glad I persisted, such a beautiful story!

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This is my second attempt with this book. Joined a buddy read to see if it helped with my reading experience and I‘m already behind 😅

Haven‘t DNF‘d because I‘m starting to see the potential of a great story (currently at 28%). I will also not start a new book until I catch up lol

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

I will always reccomended this book.

The story is incredible and the ending is tear worthy. Read it 3 years ago and I still think about this.

5 stars now and forever.
There is a slow start so don't let that put you off.

I found this read to be very engaging and I'm a suckered for a family-esq saga. The writing is very lyrical and I didn't feel much if anything was lost with the translation. I selected this for #Mexico Read for the #ReadTheAmericas2023 challenge. Truly a solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟 read. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

This book had a slow start, but once I became familiar with all of the family, I was fully invested in their story. I thoroughly enjoyed the magical realism in this story that included a boy always accompanied by bees and able to sense the future.

#ReadingTheAmericas2023 #Mexico #ReadingTheWorld #ReadTheWorld #translated #audiobook

#Readingtheamericas2023 #Mexico I have not read many Mexican authors but the ones I have read tend to make the peasants and tenant farmers the heroes of the revolutionary story. Here we have a story about owners holding onto their land. Truly the book is a touch slow, a touch too sentimental, a bit too much magical realism with sentient bees. However, there is a fully realized female character and a simple reading style that I loved.

The prodigal book is finally making its way back to you, @sprainedbrain . Going out in tomorrow‘s mail (via media mail). Thanks for your patience in letting me keep it all this time, but I am finally admitting defeat. ðŸ™� However, I really loved the 1/3 of it I did read, and hope to finish it some day. 🤞I‘m ordering my own copy. 🙂

4 out of 5

So glad this got chosen for my book club! We're going to have a lot to discuss from this for sure. The start was a little slow for me, but oh, my heart was hurting by the time I finished. #literaryfiction #workintranslation

How do I say how much I enjoyed this novel?! Just beautiful and I‘m buying another copy to keep in my personal library. The writing was reminiscent of Isabel Allende and I found myself stopping occasionally just to savor a passage. Lovely story with characters who grew on me and a plot that allowed me to escape into the story without looking back. The beginning was a tad slow, but once hooked, I couldn‘t stop reading! 4.5/5â­�ï¸�
#LMPBC
#GroupO

I have my next #LMPBC #GroupO book in hand! Thanks, @BookBosomed1 ! I‘m looking forward to reading this one!!

This book was much more than I was expecting and took me a while to get through… and so I‘m a day late sending it out for #LMPBC group O. 😬

It most definitely fits our planned magical realism, and it‘s so beautifully written. For me, an enchanting, slow burn of a story. I hope you all like it!

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(Cat bath has been in progress for at least the last 10 chapters, and continues now! 😂)

I‘m afraid I didn‘t love this book as much as many other Littens seem to do. I‘m not keen on magical realism as a rule, but I think it was more to do with the disjointed narrative in the first half of the book. The blurb implied it was Simonopio‘s story, but there were so many threads with different leading characters I couldn‘t figure out the narrative arc.

Yes, the second half picked up a bit but by then I‘d already lost most of my interest.

How are you getting on with our #buddyread? @Caroline2

Im about 40% in, and I‘m kind of enjoying it, but have a couple of frustrations.

I can‘t figure out whose story it is. The blurb seems to imply that the book is all about Simonopio but so far it‘s more about Beatriz, the nana or even Antonio. I guess linked to this is what is the story actually meant to be about? It‘s meandering rather a lot and there doesn‘t seem to be a plot.

This is my March TBR stack.
(Subject to change depending on my mood, how I feel, the weather, what side of bed I get out of, what I‘m wearing and many other factors. 😬 ) #authoramonth #buddyread

Hello, group O! Here are some books I have that I think work for magical realism.

Please let me know if you‘ve already read any of these (I may be one of the few who hasn‘t read Like Water for Chocolate), if there are any you definitely don‘t want to read, or if any particularly strike your fancy. I will tag the other 5 in comments. 😊

I received this through a book club secret swap.
Really gorgeous cover and the blurb reads appealingly.
It's a different type of cover paper, feels odd when you tough it...

#AestheticallyMatched #ReadingChallenge @Clwojick

#Pantone2022 #Daffodil @Clwojick

This was a surprising blend of historical fiction and magical realism. The best thing about it is that they completely worked together! Both aspects drew me in. The historical aspect was set during the Spanish Flu, so I was immediately drawn to learn more about that, and the mysterious element helped make it a truly unique story. #NewYearWhoDis #MountTBR #PopSugar2022 #OnomatopoeiaInTitle @monalyisha @jen_the_scribe

That early morning in October, the baby‘s wails mingled with the cool wind that blew through the trees, with the birdsong, and with the night‘s insects saying their farewell.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94
Thanks for the tag @Amiable
🔸I‘m reading the tagged book, which is one of my #NewYearWhoDis selections, & I‘m loving it! Really beautiful writing.
🔸My reading goal for 2022 is consistency. Last year there were months when I didn‘t read anything cause of pandemic stress (which is crazy cause reading would have been a great way to deal with the stress)
🔸My 2022 word is resilience
Reading this? You‘re tagged!

I hope everyone was able to spend at least a few minutes reading in their pajamas yesterday 😊

'The Murmur of Bees' is a beautifully written book about a mysterious boy, the family who takes him in, and a country in turmoil.

The parts about the deadly flu of 1918 were eery to read.

A beautiful, magical story of family, both born and found, in rural Mexico through the Spanish flu, the Mexican revolution, and Agrarian reforms. The first half dances through history with gorgeous prose, touches of magical realism, heart, heartache, and a refreshingly wry humour. The second half barrels towards the inevitable, breaks your heart to pieces, then stitches them together. Stunning.

#foodandlit #Mexico @Texreader @Butterfinger

This book of historical fiction is set in Linares, #Mexico. With subtle magical realism, it follows the life of Simonopio, the bees that swaddled him as a babe when he was born, and the family that found and raised him. Simonopio is mostly mute. born with a facial deformity (probably a cleft lip), causing some in his small Mexican town to believe him to be a demon & at least one wishing to kill him. ⬇�

This is the most beautifully narrated book I‘ve ever listened to.

A beautiful book. Brilliantly narrated—the emotions are fierce. Just wow.

This is one I‘ll read again and listen to again and again. I urge everyone who has a heart to go grab this audiobook.

Fortunately I still have two hours to go.

#Mexico #foodandlit @Catsandbooks @Butterfinger

"... had she still been the woman of days gone by, before life executed her character by firing squad..."

After a death I‘m the household, adults tried to explain all the crying to a young boy. This made me LOL. A good time for some comic relief

I love this book

#Mexico #foodandlit @Catsandbooks @Butterfinger

#thoughtfulthursday Thanks @MoonWitch94 for the tag!

📖 tagged
� the excellent audio from the tagged book
📚 most recently, the undisciplined mix of genres in The Old Drift—it made what could have been an interesting historical fiction of Zambia a very frustrating read

If you haven‘t been tagged please join in! @Catsandbooks @Butterfinger @mdm139 @Jari-chan @AnneCecilie

Book coincidences again. The book I just finished, The Old Drift for #Zambia, talked about a vaccine for the Virus. My next book, tagged for #Mexico, is talking about a vaccine that doesn‘t exist yet for the Spanish Flu in 1918. And, well, we know what‘s happening in the real world. What a strange set of coincidences that were completely unknown and unplanned. #foodandlit

I am listening to this audiobook for #Mexico #foodandlit and it may be the best narrated book ever. The woman‘s voice conveys so much heart and feeling it just wraps you up in a warm blanket. The male narrator is lovely too. I‘m really enjoying the story too. I‘m not too far into it because I can only listen in the short commute to work and back but tomorrow I‘m traveling out of town to meet a client so I‘m looking forward to listening to it.

I‘m finally getting to #Mexico for #foodandlit and this is my chosen audiobook. I‘ll be putting my #readingasia2021 audiobook about Taiwan on hold so I can read this one during its assigned month. @Butterfinger @Catsandbooks

I‘m having a craving for Mexican food!!

Oh, how this one toyed with my emotions. It had me falling in love with these characters, feeling like I was part of their family, and then it absolutely broke my heart. I have no other words.

"Because one night, between one sweet sounding song and another, she understood that while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts."

“…one should never contradict an act of love.�

My next listen 😊

Set in 1917 in Northeast Mexico, this novel takes you through one family‘s journey as a baby was found under a bridge and then the Spanish Flu decimates their town. The baby, who was described as having a cleft pallet without it actually being called that has a relationship with a hive of bees who end up saving him and his adopted family more than once. Book 38 in 2020

April Reads

Fiction -3
Nonfiction-2
Women Authors- 3
Audio-2
Countries: Chile, Mexico, Spain

Most Fascinating- Leonardo Da Vinci

When your friends went ahead and got creative with social distancing and Book Club.🤣🤣🤣 #neighborly

A little tedious but not a bad story. Maybe something was lost in translation.

From https://nnlm.gov/all-of-us/nnlm-reading-club/murmur-bees

“Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the devastating influenza of 1918, The Murmur of Bees captures both the fate of a country in flux and the destiny of one family that has put their love, faith, and future in the unbelievable.�

Audible‘s deal of the day is this translated Mexican fiction novel in case you want to stock up for #foodandlit #Mexico. @Butterfinger (Because I already owned it on Kindle, my Audible version only cost $1.99–great deal!)

“—Mira, Francisco. Tienes que prometerme una cosa —le diría mi mamá a mi papá durante el año de luto de su yerno—, si me muero en este año, no se les vaya a ocurrir esperar para que se casen Carmen y Antonio. Si seguimos así, se les puede ir la vida entera con tanto moridero. La vida no espera a nadie y la muerte nos lleva a todos.â€�