Sign in with Facebook
Quiltgranny's Reviews > Of Bees and Mist
Of Bees and Mist
by
by
What a surprise I received when I started reading this book. I actually was prepared to dislike it because I had read elsewhere that it is a fantasy, and I don't do well with that type of narrative.
BUT - as I continued to read on, the magical became real and accepted not only by the people in the story, but the reader as well. I was not bothered by the mist or the bees, or the fireflies or the "ghosts". Instead I saw them as allegorical for desire/emptiness, hatred, and personal reflections. The "ghosts" reminded me of Allende's House of Spirits, though not quite as well executed.
I was bothered a bit by not knowing where this story of two families took place - perhaps I missed it in the early pages. I had to go back several times to read the first 20 or so pages to get some people and events straightened out in my mind as well. Understanding the cultural intricacies might have helped it flow a bit better.
All in all, a very nice book that I had a hard time leaving when it was time to sleep. And a very well done FIRST novel by a non-native English speaker. The author's story is a fascinating read as well!
BUT - as I continued to read on, the magical became real and accepted not only by the people in the story, but the reader as well. I was not bothered by the mist or the bees, or the fireflies or the "ghosts". Instead I saw them as allegorical for desire/emptiness, hatred, and personal reflections. The "ghosts" reminded me of Allende's House of Spirits, though not quite as well executed.
I was bothered a bit by not knowing where this story of two families took place - perhaps I missed it in the early pages. I had to go back several times to read the first 20 or so pages to get some people and events straightened out in my mind as well. Understanding the cultural intricacies might have helped it flow a bit better.
All in all, a very nice book that I had a hard time leaving when it was time to sleep. And a very well done FIRST novel by a non-native English speaker. The author's story is a fascinating read as well!
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Of Bees and Mist.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Comments Showing 1-4 of 4 (4 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Pamela
(new)
-
added it
Jul 30, 2009 03:12PM
Did you notice the cover of that "Calpurinia" book they have been advertising here? It's yellow with a little girl on it and it has that same sort of viney thing on it as this one. Must be the same publisher or artist?
reply
|
flag
Well, isn't that interesting? You did pick up that the cover on the Bees and Mist book had "hidden" items relating to the story? This makes me curious now....
Well, now they're showing the Alexander McCall Smith book now. I'll see if I can't find the book but it had some things in the viney stuff (it might have been a tree though).
I'm also puzzled by the time period in this book.....Victorian/Edwardian? I guess we don't even know what country it's in? However....both of these might be intentional. As in most fairy tales, we don't really know the exact time period or the exact country, it's just "a land far away". Maybe the author was going for the same thing here.
