Review: Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
by Jenners • 10/12/2010 • 4 Stars, B Titles, Fiction, Literary, Paranormal, S Authors • 50 Comments
Of Bees and Mist by Erick SetiawanSimon and Schuster, 2009
404 pages
Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism
My Rating: 4 stars (Add to Your TBR List)
Book Overview
Of Bees and Mist takes place in a world that is like ours but not quite. In this world that is betwixt and between, we come to know Meridia—a lonely girl who grows up in a freezing cold house with a staircase that takes on different forms, a stern and distant father who vanishes and reappears in mists, and a loving but absent-minded mother who speaks her own secret language. Meridia struggles to understand the coldness of the house and the odd relationship between her parents. A recurring dream seems to hold the key—but whenever she is on the brink of discovering the meaning of the dream, the mists, and her parents’ behavior, something prevents her from learning the truth.
One day, Meridia attends a local fair filled with spiritualists and seers. Just 16, she finds herself drawn to a handsome young man named Daniel. When fate seemingly brings them together, Meridia is overjoyed to find a way out of her lonely life. Daniel’s family seems to have everything Meridia has been searching for—including a beautiful and involved matriarch, Eva. Although Daniel and Meridia’s romance face some stumbling blocks, they eventually marry. After the wedding, Meridia begins to realize that her new home might not be as wonderful as she thought. It starts with missing wedding presents and slowly escalates as Eva methodically assets control over Meridia and her life.
But Meridia’s mother has taught her to be strong, and when Meridia begins to assert herself, Eva finds she has met her match. As tensions escalate and the war between Eva and Meridia worms its way into the next generation, each woman uses all her considerable skills and magic to defeat the other—uncovering long-buried family secrets and almost destroying each other in the process.
My Thoughts
This book has such a different feel that it is hard to describe the sense of familiarity and strangeness you get while reading. Setiawan never really defines the world where Meridia is living—it seems similar to ours yet is filled with magic, witchcraft and strange beings. This is a world where the evil mother-in-law gets her way by sending out a swarm of buzzing bees to fill her victim’s head with malicious and destructive thoughts. A world where a husband might turn out to be a demon, and swarms of fireflies can extract vengeance for a wronged party. Yet although conflicts may be fought with magic and spells and the scent of verbena, the characters are dealing with very human issues—adultery, betrayal, cruelty, frigidity, and competition. I think if Setiawan had chosen to tell his story in a more conventional way, it would feel utterly familiar—a husband seeks solace in a mistress when his wife turns frigid, a new marriage is threatened by competition between wife and mother-in-law, a son who sides with his mother against his father. Yet the book becomes more than a “domestic drama” by the author’s choice to set the drama in such a strange and fantastical environment.
In some ways, Of Bees and Mist feels a bit like a fairy tale. Yet, at the same time, the magic aspect is treated as commonplace and ordinary. I suppose that makes it “magical realism”—along the lines of books like Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic or even John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things. If you enjoy these “of our world but not quite” books, Of Bees and Mist would be quite a treat. In the end, I found it to be an involving domestic drama where conflict was settled with bees, mist, fireflies and moments of pure magic.
About The Author
Erick Setiawan was born in 1975 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. A quiet, shy child, he was thankfully raised in a family of gifted storytellers, who taught him that while life might have an endless supply of conflict, not all of it translates into a good story. Due to the anti-Chinese sentiment prevalent in Indonesia, his childhood was often fraught with tension, which prompted him to take comfort in books and in the world of his imagination. To traumatize him further, his parents sent him to Catholic schools, where he learned from an early age to feel guilty about everything and that a grown man in a sash and a swishing robe with a ruler in his hand was in no way maternal.
At age sixteen, he left his family and moved to the United States. In college, he wanted to study English, but his shyness and insecurity about his adopted language prevented him from enrolling in classes that required him to speak. Instead, he chose to major in Psychology and Computer Science, going as far as getting a Master’s in the latter. Bafflingly enough, studying about mental disorders and complex algorithms only increased his hunger for literature. Once too often, he shuffled aside his term papers and problem sets to lose himself in a novel.
After graduation, he began his tenure as a software engineer in San Francisco. By the end of the first year, he knew that his heart was not in it. Confronted with the risk of being a corporate burnout at twenty-six, he turned to writing in his spare time. To the exasperation of his bosses, he began coming to work late and taking longer and longer lunch breaks to write. Several years, two failed novels, and countless short stories later, he decided to quit his job to finish writing Of Bees and Mist. At the time, he had no book deal and knew no one in publishing, but he pursued his passion with the same stubborn resolution/delusion that had motivated him earlier. He sold Of Bees and Mist four years after he started it.
Connect with Erick on his website and on Facebook.
The Whys and Wheres
Thank you to Trish at TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of the blog tour for this book. You can find the other tour stops by clicking here. Thanks also to Simon and Schuster for my review copy of the book. It is always a pleasure to be offered a book for review, but when the book was already on your wish list due a review you read somewhere but now can’t remember where, it is even more delightful.
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It’s interesting that you say it feels familiar in spite of the “otherworldiness” of the setting, but I think you’re right that some themes are realistic and relevant no matter in what world they take place.
Thanks for being a part of the tour – I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
Thanks for having me.
Pingback: Erick Setiawan, author of Of Bees and Mist, on tour October/November 2010 | TLC Book Tours
My overactive imagination doesn’t do well with anything paranormal. Very interesting review Jenners. I don’t know if I’m a good candidate for this one though.
It isn’t really paranormal but domestic drama “handled” magically.
This book sounds interesting with its mix of reality and fantasy. I don’t care much for paranormal stories but if it’s not an intense influence, not too heavy-handed I tend to like it. It sounds like this book might be that way. I read a lot of family drama, dysfunction type stories and this sounds like a different version of one.
I always enjoy your reviews! And your blog looks mahhhhvelous!
~ Amy
I think you would like this book. The magical elements are not paranormal really … more like a magical or interesting way to illustrate dysfunction. If you read it, I’m curious to see what you think of it.
This has been on my wishlist for quite some time. It sounds like a very intense read?
It can be intense in times but it can also be fanciful and whimsical. It isn’t scary really but Eva is not the nicest person in the world.
I like Alice Hoffman’s work a lot, so I suspect I’ll love this book!
I think you will too.
I will definitely add this to my tbr list, thanks! for the great review.
no time to comment, I’m away to add this to my wish list.
It is a wish list emergency! : )
I ignored the review, because I have this on the shelf. I’ve decided that we read so many of the same books, it would be very convenient if we could just tap into each other’s brains. Think of how many more books we could get read if only one of us had to read the book, yet both of us would know the story!
Of course, only one of us would’ve had to suffer through The K Bros. That might’ve caused some resentment.
I love your idea … but I think the Brothers K would have ended a lovely partnership/brain sharing.
I reviewed this book about a month ago and also had problems figuring out how to classify it. It was a really involving story, and I really got caught up in the drama and exchanges between Eva and Meredia. It was unlike anything I have ever read before, and I really liked it. I totally agree with you that there was something unfamiliar and novel in the way that Setiawan chose to tell this story, and I think it’s one that I would eventually like to read again someday. Thanks for your excellent analysis on this book. It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed it as well!
I’ll have to read your review! I love reading other reviews once I’ve written my own.
This one caught my attention in the bookstore and I wondered about it. I want to read it now after reading your review, it sounds good!
I think the cover is
I think the cover is quite eye-catching (if it is the same one). If you read it, I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this one! I read it forever ago and loved it but then started second guessing that when other people weren’t as thrilled with it. But I really did think it was magical and unique and well-written.
It was different and I think you need to be “ready” or “in the mood” for it but it was unique.
hey jenners,
this book sounds intriguing, and i love that though it
doesn’t seem to be your cup of tea, you still gave it
a fair review.
thank you!
I always try to be fair and honest.
Perfect. He’s gone. Now I can say what I was going to say, which is ‘this isn’t my cup of tea.’ lol
And I thought my reading tastes were eclectic. You are all OVER the place! Love it
You crack me up!
And I am all over the place in my reading. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Thank you so much for taking the time to host and review the book, Jen. I appreciate it!
I’m always hesitant to leave a comment on people’s blogs, because in my experience, all discussions tend to come to a crashing halt whenever the author drops in out of the blue. Please carry on, everyone . . . I promise I’ll play nice.
For anyone who is interested, I’m also hosting a Q&A over on Goodreads until November 3:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/38892.Q_A_with_Erick_Setiawan
All my best,
Erick
Thank you for stopping by! I always think it is a thrill when authors visit … but I could see that your “presence” might inhibit conversation.
Best of luck with the book. I look forward to see what you write next!
You are very thorough with your reviews, and you intrigue me. :0)
As you’ve probably noticed, reading books and writing about them is probably my first blogging passion.
Sounds intriguing and something that I might like.
It is different than your average book … in a good way.
The book sounds like something I would like if I were in the right mood. I found the author’s story to be very interesting.
I thought that was an interesting author bio too. It was so intimate in a lot of ways.
Hmmm… I’m not sure if this appeals to me or not. I occasionally read what I classify as “fantasy” (vampire books, etc. not counting since they still take place in this world) but only in small doses. I’ll keep it in mind, since it does sound fairly interesting.
It isn’t a paranormal or typical fantasy book by any means. It is much more an ordinary world where people just happen to deal with things in a more magical way.
this sounds very skilfully written. must check it out. Thanks Jenners.
I think you’d like this one.
this book sounds interesting. I like how you said the world was betwixt and between.
Isn’t betwixt and between a lovely phrase?
I would say that I couldn’t possibly read a book about magic, but when you read my upcoming reviews about books with fallen angels, vampires, and zombies, you’d be laughing too hard, and it just wouldn’t work out (in my favor).
So you’re saying you’re a hypocrite then? : ) HAHA!
This one is a more gentle, less paranormal type of magical book. I actually think it would be more suited to you than the stuff you are reading!
Glad u liked this one. I really want to read this one and went so far as to buy it at one time….LOL So what am I waiting for?? TIME TIME TIME
Time … the enemy of all book lovers!
Now this sounds like something I’d want to read!
I had a recurring dream ABOUT a staircase, and often have dreams where one building becomes another through the next doorway.
And I can totally relate to the complicated family dynamics you described.
I think this just might be worth a trip to the bookstore – something I rarely do anymore.
I love the description of your dream … it sounds wild!
And check your library for it too!
Sounds intriguing Jen! I love the idea of the fantasy and reality colliding. I swear I may have lived in a fog myself as a girl… I will definitely be on the lookout for this one!
Enjoy the day!
Erin
It was such an interesting book done in such an artful way. It would be perfect for you!