The Murmur of Bees

Magical realism is a genre that combines ordinary, everyday life with fantasy characters and unrealistic events. This type of narrative depicts typical human beings grappling with normal issues who encounter supernatural, inexplicable, or magical beings or miraculous happenings. Magical realism may be considered the adult equivalent of children’s fairy tales.

Typically, a magical realism storyline takes the form of a fable with a happy ending in which the intervention of magical powers teaches lessons and corrects problematic situations. In Segovia’s novel, Simonopio possesses supernatural abilities, rescues loved ones—often without their recognition—and embodies great virtue. The magical presence in such narratives is always limited, so that ordinary characters must play a vital role in overcoming adversity. Segovia’s story is somewhat unusual in that multiple tragedies cost the lives of many sympathetic characters.

The chapters in The Murmur of Bees vary dramatically in several ways. Some, such as Chapter 19’s discussion of Beatriz’s frustrations during the pandemic, are more than a dozen pages long. Others, like Chapter 84, are only a sentence or two long. In addition, the story’s chronological progression is frequently interrupted. While Chapters 1 and 3 use an