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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: This is an excellent story about the life of a young motherless girl during the Civil Rights Movement. Lily is a 13 year-old white girl living on a peach farm in Virginia with her overbearing father, T-Ray, and her Negro nanny, Rosaleen. When Lily and Rosaleen run away to South Carolina, the action begins. This is a wonderful story of love and finding a true sense of family. I highly recommend this novel.
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Summary: Great characters.
Review: With "Secret Life of Bees," Kidd does a nice job of creating characters that drive the story, rather than vice-versa. If you're tired of plot-driven novels with thin, and often cliché, characters, then you're likely to dig this one. If you're into writers like Sue Monk Kidd, Yann Martel, Mitch Albom, etc., then there's a new writer you should check out: GREG IPPOLITO. His most recent novel, "Zero Station," is a politically charged page-turner that pits its main Gen X character (John Saylor) against his Baby Boomer parents, teachers, etc., during the winter of 1991 -- in the heart of the Persian Gulf War. Right now, Ippolito is still a relative unknown (a friend turned me onto his work)...but this is a must-read. You can check him out and read an excerpt at: http://www.zero-station.net Don't miss it.
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Summary: No secret life of man
Review: This book was interesting, but the men really were cardboard figures. I was hoping they would have more human qualities, as in "Poisonwood Bible" and "Shipping News." The book celebrated the special qualities of nurturing women, but was very one-sided. The feeling of the deep South came through loud and clear. There is more to the "Circle of Life" besides maternity.
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Summary: NON-STOP READING
Review: Once I started, it was hard to put it down. I found myself emotional in some chapters and laughing the next, a good mix. I'm recommending this to all my friends.
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Summary: cookie cutter novel
Review: I live near Spartanburg, SC. The language phrasings of the characters used in book is accurate enough for the era(60's) and region of the country. That's about it though, the first half of the book admittedly had me hooked. It reminded me of the fast read of "to kill a mocking bird". But that is where it stops. The plot of the story is tired. The references to bees /christian connations are strewn throughout. The poor white girl who runs away from the bad man to be saved by a "hive" of women who swoop her up and protect her while she escapes her old life. You know how it goes,She learns to stand up for herself in the end and make her own decisions. Blah Blah. The book is not original idea and reeks of sentimentality.
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Summary: One of the Best Books I've Ever Read!
Review: I had to read The Secret Life of Bees for my AP English class, so I automatically assumed it would be terrible, but I was completely wrong. It turned out to be one of the best books I've read in my entire life.
The symbolism is incredible. The bee quotes at the beginning of each chapter match Lily's growth perfectly, and the Black Madonna is powerful and inspiring.
Lily's struggle to find love, unlike many other books, is inspirational, not sappy. Although at first look this book seems to be a typical coming of age novel, the plot is completely original and entertaining. I'd recommend it to anyone!
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Summary: A Great Buy!
Review: The Secret Life of Bees a beautifully written novel about a motherless young girl who struggles to find happiness and forgiveness. Left with a crude father to live on a peach farm, life is anything but content. She yearns to find something more and takes the opportunity to do so when her nanny is thrown into jail. Together the pair run away in search of happiness(and safety). With the help of each other and others that enter their lives, they eventually find a place they can call home. This is a wonderful story, colorfully told by author Sue Monk Kidd. Also recommended: Life of Pi by Martel, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: I listen to audiobooks often (I have a long commute) and have never enjoyed one more than The Secret Life of Bees. The reader is even better than Jim Dale in the Harry Potter series. Her tone and feeling of the book is perfect and the accents are wonderful. The story is terrific and I think it is better enjoyed as an audiobook than actually reading the text.
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Summary: this is a fabulous book!
Review: this book was writen by sue monk kidd. she is a fabulous author. the book "the secret life of bees" is about a young girl named Lily Owens. she lived with her fater, T. Ray Owens, who was a returned military man. When Lily was young, she accidently shot her mother. T. Ray soon hired a nanny, Rosaleen, and afirican american women. When Rosaleen gets into some trouble with the law, Lily and her runaway to Tibourn, South Carolina. this is a very exciting novel, and it is the tuype of book that is hard to set down.
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Summary: A GENTLY TOLD STORY
Review: I'm not sure if "SECRET LIFE OF BEES" could ever be translated well into a film. I guess with CGI they can do anything these days. I would just hate to see the young girl turned into a middle aged man so Russell Crowe could make another try for an Oscar. Books like "MY FRACTURED LIFE" and "MASTER AND COMMANDER" jump off the page and scream to be translated into film, but I think part of the quaint appeal of "SECRET LIFE OF BEES" is that it doesn't have that wild excitement to it. It is a quiet novel, and one that if treated gently, will treat you gently in return. I have a sincere affection of "SECRET LIFE OF BEES." I mean no offense to "MY FRACTURED LIFE," "MASTER AND COMMANDER," "SEABISCUIT" or any other books of that ilk, they are fine books worthy of their many praises. But "SECRET LIFE OF BEES" has a gentleness that makes it uniquely endearing.
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