The Murmur of Bees

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We know Simonopio is special. He has premonition about certain things and I really like how easily the Morales family accepted his gifts. He is friends with bees. He is a free spirit that Beatriz does not try to domesticate. There are some things though that turn up on Simonopio’s radar too late. And this leads the reader into the commentary around regrets and guilt. Knowing that one has the insight or power has the potential to make one regret not being on time. Por último y lo más importante, el hecho de que la reforma agraria y el movimiento de la Revolución Mexicana parecen las antagonistas de la historia me decepciona mucho, sobre todo después de escuchar a la autora y corroborar que efectivamente esa fue su intención: contar la historia de los hacendados que perdieron sus tierras y que evidentemente lo hace desde una perspectiva en la que piensa que fue algo injusto.

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 FranciscoNamed 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 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. From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can - visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous. Followed by his protective swarm of bees and living to deliver his adoptive family from threats - both human and those of nature - Simonopio’s purpose in Linares will, in time, be divined. During the Mexican Revolution, the Morales were fearful that “revolutionaries” would kidnap their daughters who were coming of age, so they sent them to Monterrey to a school ran by nuns. When the girls started being courted in Monterrey, Sr. Morales decides to buy a house their so Sra. Morales can visit the girls and chaperone their time with the boys.

Resources, character list and discussion questions will help get your book group exploring northeast Mexico as you travel to a land of fruit trees, bees and magical realism. 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. 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) This lyrical novel offers many paths to follow as you may learn about a different corner of the world and make connections to your own experiences. What follows are a selection of topics to explore. I often like to start with how a story is told and this novel in particular puts storytelling front and center. StorytellingI struggled with how Simonopio is supposed to be so grateful that this wealthy family took him in. He shouldn’t complain or want for something better. In the end, Simonopio asks his bees to sacrifice their lives trying to save Sr. Morales and Francisco Junior. How do you tell your own stories? Does a story you share about your day over the dinner table or to a colleague during a break differ in style from a story you might tell on a long drive? Love of Family and Love of Land How do you tell your own stories? Does a story you share about your day over the dinner table or to a colleague during a break differ in style from a story you might tell on a long drive? Simonopio felt responsible for Francisco Junior’s well-being after his birth. Francisco Junior spent most of his early childhood with Simonopio, learning how to speak like him and translate his speech for others. Meanwhile, Espiricueta had been stalking Lupita, the washerwoman, for four years. He approached her one night, and the next morning, Simonopio found her murdered. Beatriz and Francisco wanted revenge, but Simonopio did not know who the murderer was, either. Francisco armed his men with the intention of fighting off the agrarians, whom he believed were responsible. After Simonopio wandered the orchards, he promised Francisco Junior never to leave him again.