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Summary: Don't Wait To Read This Book Any Longer!
Review: Sue Monk Kidd, like young Lily a daughter of the South, is perhaps best known for her memoir The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. In this, her first novel, she's avoided those themes heretofore apparently part and parcel of southern literature - a noble family fallen on hard times, a hereditary streak of madness; all so essential to the work of a Conroy or a Faulkner. Kidd instead concentrates on a single facet of the American South: learning to gauge the boundary between races. Kidd has painted a little corner of the South, where life among "the coloreds" is seen through the eyes of a young white girl. Casual racism is imputed to all but a few whites, including Lily herself. The greatest truth that Lily learns from the bees is that without a queen, the hive will die. Without a mother - her own queen - Lily is dying inside, and she cannot come alive until she finds her new queen in Tiburon. We watch as Lily comes of age, learning hard lessons and harder truths. We watch as she learns the truth that so few of her time and place seemed to know; the truth that it is friendship and caring and love that bind people together, not the color of their skin. The world was such a different place in 1964, a world where schools, swimming pools, drinking fountains - indeed, everything - were segregated. It is such a different place today, but not so different as it could be; not so different as it should be. We're left to wonder, whatever happened to the freckle-faced girl who did so much growing up that summer? Did she go on to become the writer she wanted to be? Did she finally learn how to live, and how to love? Make this book a must-read! Other Amazon quick-picks I recommend (and hope you support) are THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez, and WILL@EPICQWEST.COM by Tom Grimes
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: One of my favorite books. As many reviewers have noted, the story is very touching. It is also very funny. Lily's descriptions of events are downright hilarious. When I finished, I was so sad to leave everyone.
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Summary: Makes You Feel Warm
Review: A story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I was amazed by how much I fell in love with this book. The writing is unique. The story just wraps you up like a blanket and warms you. I have not loved a book so much since My Fractured Life and Life of Pi.
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Summary: Secret Life of Bees
Review: It is a charming book. I love this book. Some parts are sad, and some are happy. I couldn't put this book down. I wanted to keep on reading and see what would happen next. I would defintly recoment this book to anyone.
Not only is this a book, it also teaches you some things about honey. I know it is sweet, but i didn't know that it is also medicine.
It is wonderful that Kidd uses bees in the book. Sue Monk Kidd has a wonderful writing style. You can tell that she has really thought about her book and put alot of thought into it. When she describes the rituals of what the sister do, it feels like you are in the middle of the scene. It feels great.
This was a good book and maybe someday when I have time, I will read it again and again
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Summary: The bond between mothers and daughters
Review: I really enjoyed this book, not only did it provide a lot of insight as to what life was like in the 60s, and race relations back then but it also told the story of a young girl growing up with an abusive father and learning what having a mother really means. She learns to understand that people are more than just the color of their skin and that the connection between mothers and daughters is a bond that even death cannot break. Lily provides us with a great lesson, and one that i definitley enjoyed learning.
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Summary: Through a child's eyes
Review: Brilliant and poignant look at a child, through the childs eyes at a life filled with twist and turns. You share with little Lilly the maternal loss, betrayal and guilt that she has been dealt in her life. you also witness the beautiful writing of Sue Monk Kidd. Though this book at times is a bit slow, and the words used are at times huge- the over all book is explosive, hence the 5 stars. I highly recommend this book. Also recommended: Nightmares Echo, Running With Scissors, The Only Girl In The Car,Bastard Out Of Carolina.(...)
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Summary: Don't Understand the lure of this book
Review: After reading this book, or should I say, trying to read it, I am baffled at its appeal. Monk is a very good writer, but the book is riddled with ridiculous stereotypes characters, no plot, silly "twists" and an ending suitable for 6th grade literature. Monk's idea of race relations in 1964 South Carolina is pure fantasy--would a black woman really spit on the shoes of the three worst racists in town? Would a black teen drive a white girl around in his car, in a small Southern town--and no one notices? Also very peculiar about this book is how no one seems to have any family or friends. Lily and her father T. Ray appear to live in a world all their own. There are no grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins--kinda strange for an old southern family. T. Ray has no friends, doesn't date, has not looked at another woman since Lily's mother died? Even Zach, the handsome and bright black teen who Lily meets when she runs away to live with the Calendar sisters. Doesn't he have any family or friends? Surely a boy that good looking, intelligent, witty, and nice would have girls running after him by the dozen. But yet, he seems to have no family, no friends, no one except Lily and the Calendar women. Who does he live with? The middle of the book, which just rambles on and fills space while we wait for the big climax--to find out the relationship between August and Lily's mother--literally put me to sleep. Nothing happens. Just tired and stupid cliches, stereotyped eccentric black southern women, and so on. Anyway, this would have done well as a short story--about 10,000 words. Because there is nothing more to the story. This is a book in dire need of a good editor.
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Summary: There's a Madonna-Queen Bee in all of us
Review: As a motherless daughter who's about to be a mother, the themes in The Secret Life of Bees resonate with me. I can relate to Lily's quest for finding answers about her mother and her parents' relationship; I can relate to her not feeling worthy of love; and I can relate, especially, to her realization that there are mothers all around us AND in our hearts, if we're willing to accept them and rely on them. It's a beautiful story with a satisfying, realistic ending. Granted, this is a "beach read," not high literature, but there's nothing wrong with a novel that draws you in to a small, colorful world and moves swiftly along to the narration of a young teenager. (Weren't we all 14 once?) I especially love the beekeeping tidbits throughout, which give the story a touch of magic. Kidd's use of metaphor to describe emotions, senses, and memories is adroit. Some of the characters are cliche and flat, but all are enjoyable. I want to know more about August's life -- how has she become so wise and loving? -- but understand that this was Lily's story... perhaps a prequel, Ms. Kidd?
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Summary: Cross Those Old Southern Boundaries
Review: "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of those books that got so much hype and presentation that I almost didn't bother to read it....I usually don't find bestsellers very appealing. However I kept running across the book and decided to give it a try. I LOVED this book. Sue Monk Kidd writes beautifully about a young white girl in search of her own mystery. She finds her answers in a unique and forbidden place, the home of Black Madonnas and bees. I imagine Jim Crow is rolling over in his grave about now! A perfect book for our times crossing racial divides and knocking them into dust. Love and respect can conquer all. I was very impressed with the way Kidd involves bees as their own character within the book. I learned something I never knew about honey, not just that it is sweet, but that it can also be considered medicinal. The story is woven together by the bees and their glorious honey in a way that keeps you reading until the very end. You will never look at bees or race in quite the same way.
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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: The Secret Life of Bees is a charming and heart-warming story. During the summer when she is 14, Lily goes on a journey to uncover the mystery of her mother's past. In the process, she does a lot of growing up and she meets people who change her life for the better. The book is set during the 1960's, and although Lily is white, she finds a home full of love and support among black women in the rural south. Sue Monk Kidd created wonderful character through Lily. Her sincerity and thoughtfulness makes the reader immediately embrace her. You truly feel for her as she comes to terms with her mother's death. However, despite her struggles, she is a witty, intelligent and positive girl. Her relationship with Zack is endearing and innocent, and it is a pleasure to witness. The eccentric Boatwright sisters and the outspoken Rosaleen add even more depth to the story. The Secret Life of Bees is set in South Carolina during the Civil Rights Movement. Although this is incorporated, it does not dominate the story. Lily's relationships with Rosaleen, Zack, and the Boatwrights and able to break through the racial boundaries of the day, proving love is stronger than hate. Sue Monk Kidd's beautiful style of writing makes her book a delight to read. The symbolic incorporation of the bees throughout the novel is clever. Kidd's fascination with religion is apparent through the worship of the Black Madonna, revered by the Daughters of Mary. The vivid descriptions of the rituals of Mary Day make you feel like you are in the middle of the action.
I was pleased that the author treated this somewhat unusual religion with respect rather than ridicule. The Secret Life of Bees was a pleasure to read, and it held my attention from beginning to end. Although it is not a fairy tale story, I was glad that Lily was able to emerge as a strong young woman in the end. The conclusion held true to the honesty that was prevalent throughout the novel.
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