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Summary: This Book on Audio
Review: I would recommend that anyone who is thinking of reading this book, consider renting it and listening to it on audio tapes. The woman who reads this book is wonderful. I have listened to many books on tape, and I can honestly say that this book is the best I have ever had the huge pleasure to listen to. (Besides maybe the magnificent reader of the Harry Potter series.) Listening to this lovely, lyrical novel on tape may hook you so firmly that you may never listen to your car radio again.
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Summary: Orange prize nomination
Review: This was a lovely read, virtually completed in one session!
The narrative begins amid a tense atmosphere: South Carolina, in the 1960s, when black people had just been granted the right to vote, a right begrudged and resented by die-hard supports of racial segregation.
Lily lives on a peach farm with her father, a harsh and uncaring individual, and Rosealeen, the black woman employed after Lily's mother died in a shooting accident. Lily grows up believing she was responsible for her Mother's death, and when Rosaleen is arrested and badly beated on her way to register her right to vote, Lily springs her from gaol, and together they set out to try and resolve the still grieving Lily's need to discover the truth and gain absolution.
A slender clue in Lily's mother's effects leads them to the sanctuary and loving home of three, bee-keeping sisters, where Lily experiences a healing which is as incredible as the behaviour and skills of the honey bees which provide the sisters' liveliehood.
This is a superbly imaginative tale, rich as set honey, and populated by unique individuals; it is allowed to spread out in the great space of the deep South, in a style suggestive of Steinbeck. Reading recommended. A woman's book, I'd venture to suggest, with some sad parts, but, like honey, contains a lovely, sweet healing quality.
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Summary: This book gave me a case of pigment envy
Review: This book made me think for weeks and weeks after I finished it. I loved the way it opened my mind to new possibilities. Characters in it create their own spiritual life and what a fun life it is, despite some really ugly opposition. This novel is deliciously lyrical and powerfully though-provoking. The story is fully satisfying. The only thing that left me uncomfortable (a good thought-provoking sort of discomfort) was the sense of pigment envy it evoked. The author and the main character here are not black, but the main character's physical, spiritual, emotional, and creative healing all come about at the hands of black women and men. I admire Sue Monk Kidd's courage in exploring her own pigment envy. I suppose I'm just not ready to face my own.
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Summary: superb`
Review: From the very first page, I was in love with this child and couldn't wait to read on. It's sad, lonely, happy, funny, and comforting. A great book for any age.
This is a gutsy kid, much like Ellen Foster, who travels a rough road in life. Surprises until the end.
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Summary: A Heartwarming Read
Review: The Secret Life of Bee's is an enduring story set on a southern bee farm. The characters will enlighten and warm your heart. The Secret Life of Bee's is similar to many southern stories; however, the bee lore that Kidd interjects throughout makes the book unique and interesting. The Secret Life of Bee's is a heartwarming, feel good read. There are universal lessons about family and self throughout.The main character, Lily Owens is fleeing an abusive father and an all-consuming truth surrounding her mother's death. The Secret Life of Bee's is set in the 1960's when racial tensions and violence were at an all time high. Lily and her caretaker Rosaleen, leave town after a violent encounter with racists while Rosaleen was attempting to exercise some of her newly granted freedoms. Since the death of her mother, Lilly has a few precious clues as to her last days. The clues lead Lily and Rosaleen to Tiburon, South Carolina where they meet the 'calendar sisters', May, June, and August Boatwright. The Boatwright sisters operate a successful Bee farm. Lily and Rosaleen are welcomed to the farm with open arms. Through her work on the farm, Lily is able to examine her past and begin to trust as she finds love again. The Secret Life of Bee's is the story of mothers. The reader will travel with Lily as she experiences each of the four remarkable women ~ Rosaleen, May, June, and August. Each of these women is a teacher and guide to Lily. It is through her experiences that she is able to discern that a mother is more than just a biological bond. A great debut for Sue Monk Kidd. I cannot help thinking that I would have loved to learn more about Boatwright sisters...maybe there is room for another story!
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Summary: This one requires a "prequel"
Review: Hmm, where to begin on this one. Just let me say that I liked this novel, but did I love it?, no I'm afraid not.(if I could I would have given it a 3.5) Why? well although the writing was lovely and I am rather partial to bees and coming of age stories in general, I was far more interested in the Boatwright sisters and their lives than the life of the main character Lily. What I really would like is a "prequel". I want to know much more about the sisters and how they came to live and work as beekeepers and black women of independent means in a time when that was rare in the South, that would have the makings of a great story! I was also craving much more information about Lily's mother, and her life and relationship with August, along with what happened in her marraige to T. Ray. So I guess overall I did not dislike this story, I was just far more interested the the "supporting" cast so to speak.
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: This book is amazing. Like fellow reviewer "Mary", I was sad to come to the end of the book; it was so beautiful. I laughed in places, and cried in others. I still think about the characters, who seemed so real. The only thing I question is how a 14-year old girl (it's told in first person) can be so in touch with her fellings and have such writing talent (even though she aspires to be a writer and an English teacher when she's older)--ok, she didn't get the concept of gerunds, and there was one typo toward the end (the editor's fault), but still she writes better than nearly all adults I know (and I know many well educated adults). I had to suspend my disbelief a bit. In a weird way, my favorite part was the end becuase it didn't just "drop off." Too many authors just stop, without pulling it together; or, as in "Plainsong" (a book I liked until its poor ending), things happen at the end that aren't foreshadowed and don't make sense. Anyway, if you're looking for a compelling read, pick this up. If you're like me, you won't be able to put it down until you've read it all. This is the author's first novel; let's all hope she keeps many more coming.
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Summary: I'm in a Literary Depression
Review: I'm in a literary depression since I finished reading this book. I'm sad because it ended! This is a terrific read. I especially enjoy stories about Southern women, and this one was exceptional. Sue Monk Kidd's characters are well drawn and loveable. I found myself thinking about them even when I wasn't reading. The Secret Life Of Bees will make you laugh, and it will break your heart. I certainly hope that there will be a sequel. Oprah said she's having a difficult time finding worthy books--she must not have read this one.
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Summary: A Beautiful, Moving Novel
Review: I absolutely loved this wonderful and poignant story by Sue Monk Kidd that shares the many wonderful qualities of another debut novel, Shade of the Maple, by Kirk Martin. They both employ rich character development and a wonderfully descriptive writing style (though his intriguing novel is set in New England). You will fall in love with the characters...and miss them!! Both novels are inspiring and hopeful stories about the timelessness of love. Two powerful, fresh voices. I can't wait to read their follow-up novels.
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Summary: A flawless performance of a wonderful story
Review: Having listened to hundreds of audiobooks, and as a reviewer for "Audiofile Magazine," I can honestly say that this is one of the best performances I have ever heard. Sue Monk Kidd's story is a wonderful tale of the coming of age of Lily, a young white girl in the South in 1964. Her mother died when she was 4(and she bears responsibility). After much confrontation, Lily runs away from home with Rosaleen, her black nanny. She ends up at the home of August and her family, who are black beekeepers/honey makers, where she learns about her mother, and comes of age. The book is marvelous, and Jenna Lamia's reading is so perfect that she is Lily. I strongly recommend this book, and feel that the unabridged CD is a better way to absorb it than traditional reading.
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