Of Bees and Mist
Setiawan's debut novel spans 30 years in this heartfelt magical-realist story of two rival families living in a mystical world that transcends both time and place. Meridia is a lonely child; a mysterious incident when she was an infant has torn apart her parents, leaving them sharing nothing but a cold, mist-filled home. Not until Meridia meets the charmer Daniel, at age 16, does she finally feel loved. They marry and move in with his family and at first Meridia loves her life in Daniel's home. But she quickly learns of matriarch Eva's deceitful, manipulative ways and her power, both natural and supernatural, which she uses to control her family. When Meridia rebels against Eva, finding unexpected support from her parents, the rivalry solidifies and a lifelong battle begins. As time passes, Meridia faces heartbreak and betrayal, becoming a strong, fiercely independent woman. 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. -- from Amazon.com
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*I have to be honest here. I had an extremely difficult time getting into this book, I would say it took me a good 100 pages to get interested. The writing was good, however I had a difficult time with the mist and the bees. I found it a little confusing. Once I looked past the fantasy elements, I became extremely interested in the story between Meridia and Eva. Eva was a fascinating character, a true manipulator. It was so frustrating to read about her controlling ways! I just wanted to shake her children and tell them to wise up!
The characters were very well developed; I could picture each and every one in my head and I seriously hated Eva. I also like that this book doesn't appear to have a specific time frame and you can almost picture living in this world. I did find this book a little lengthy, yet somehow once I got into the book the ending came quickly.
I will be interested to see what Mr. Setiawan writes next, will he stick with the fantasy world or will he go in a completely different direction? This was definitely a bold first novel!
*affiliate links used
* book provided by Simon & Schuster for review.
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