Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
Of Bees and Mist is the tale of Meridia — raised in a sepulchral house where ghosts dwell in mirrors, she spends her childhood feeling neglected and invisible. Every evening her father vanishes inside a blue mist without so much as an explanation, and her mother spends her days venomously beheading cauliflowers in the kitchen. At sixteen, desperate to escape, Meridia marries a tenderhearted young man and moves into his seemingly warm and charming family home. Little does she suspect that his parents are 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 like an army of bees. In this haunting story, Setiawan takes Meridia on a tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak as she struggles to keep her young family together and discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as the shocking truths about her husband’s family.
Readers of magic-realist fiction will instantly be captivated by this richly evocative fairy tale. Of Bees and Mist takes place in a nameless town during a timeless era, where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, ghosts and clairvoyance — both real and imagined — are an everyday reality. Setiawan skillfully blends the real and the fantastical as he follows our heroine over a 30-year time span in which her love, courage, and sanity are tested to the limit.
I heard about this one from Shelf Awareness. I requested it so I hope I am lucky enough to get a copy.
On a personal note, today is my first furlough day so I am spending it at home with all of my books. I also have Monday off (also a furlough day) so this should be a great weekend for reading. What are you reading or looking forward to? I’m finishing up Bridge of Sighs and Fear the Worst and then I will be starting The Angel’s Game along with The Day the Falls Stood Still. I’m considering it a mini read-a-thon. Should be fun.
Book Chatter 