Of Bees and Mist

Publisher's Summary

Of Bees and Mist centers on Meridia, who, at age 16, tries to escape her alienating childhood and her mysterious parents by running away to marry a tenderhearted young man, whose family is harboring secrets of their own. There is a grave hidden in the garden. There are two sisters groomed from birth to despise each other. And there is Eva, the formidable matriarch whose grievances swarm the air in an army of bees. Setiawan takes readers through a tumultuous 30-year journey of hope and heartbreak as Meridia's capacity for love, courage, and sanity is pushed to the brink.

©2009 Erick Setiawan (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"While filled with fortune-tellers, ghosts, and unexplained phenomena, the relationships between the various characters are true to life so that fans of fantasy and fiction lovers alike are sure to enjoy this magical tale." ( Publishers Weekly)

Bizarre But Good

I'm almost through listening to this book, and I must say, it's a nice deviation from the "normal" novel chronicaling the tumultuous life of a main character.

This story is ... weird. It's not a fantasy novel, but one that is of the mystical: fortune tellers, spells, curses, psychic influences, ghosts, and twisted storylines. Tragedies of the oddest nature, and descriptions which make one wonder if they are literal or figurative abound. The story moves along well; there are lots of characters to hate and pity, and occurances to silently applaud. The bizarre nature of this story is actually what kept me listening.

The novel had an historical feel to me. Not modern, but not exactly ancient, either. It's hard for me to pin down a good, solid review for you, but I wasn't sorry to have parted with a credit to listen to it.

If you want to listen to something out of the norm, but aren't into fantasy, give this strange little gem a try!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Beautifully Written

I loved this book! One of the best I've read in years. Magical, mysterious and moving. He has a gift for language.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Must Listen

At first I didn't know what to make of this book. I couldn't place a time period or a specific place but that was I discovered, part of the magic of this book. The characters were incredibly deep and emotional, the place was fascinating and every minute it seemed, there was something new to discover. It was surprising, scary, loving and fantastical.
The narrator, Marguerite Gavin gave each character and scene believable life. I will look for other books she has narrated since she has such a wonderful and unique talent for re-telling stories.
As this seems to be Erick Setiawan's first book, I cannot fathom what else might be lurking in his mind for the next book. I will hold my breath in sweet anticipation until then.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fantasy gone wild.

Hard to get into at first, but then mesmerizing and hard to put down as I continued to listen. I’m glad I finished it years after I first purchased it.

Setting back gender politics by 100 years.

The theme of this book is: all men cheat, but it's always a woman's fault. If not the wife who is unwilling or unable to provide sex on demand, it's the fault of his overbearing mother. Woman have two choices: forgive and accept or become a bitter, psychotic, axe wielding bag lady. Enjoy!

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Depressing

My daughter raved about this book so I bought it. What a waste of a credit! She loved the magick and the poignancy of the story. I loved the magick and whimsy as well, but I found it extremely depressing. The main character is used, abused, neglected, cheated, etc. throughout the entire novel. I read to be entertained, not to feel as if I need to start an antidepressant and go for counseling. This is just not a book I would recommend.

2 of 4 people found this review helpful