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Bee Season

Bee Season

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $20.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Very Good Read
Review: The story is a interesting and compelling. Its a very well written book and the voice of the book is clear and rich. The spelling-as-a-mystical-art part of this book was fascinating. However, the ending of the book is a bit ambiguous and the parallel stories of the mother and brother were weaker links in the narrative- I became impatient with their stories and eager to get back to the magical world of spelling and words.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Execellent
Review: I can't wait to read more of this author...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: beautiful almost to the end
Review: Yes, Myla Goldberg is an excellent writer. I won't go into her best twists of phrase here, but she can work a word. This is a book about words and language as much as anything else. I liked Eliza's immersion into the ancient texts whose full meaning had eluded her father. Found it wholly plausible that she would understand and divine these mysteries. And the spelling bee plot gave way nicely to Saul's real reasons for wanting his daughter to win the spelling bee. The ending seemed hurried, though. Miriam is an underdeveloped character-- I didn't understand why she was as deeply imbalanced as she turned out to be-- but the way her madness finally manifested itself (her adult kaleidoscope) was stunning, and beautiful. That was one climax. A few pages later, we find Aaron and Saul in conflict: another climax piled onto the first one. And then Eliza becomes the fourth person in her family to experience god, but unlike the other revelations, this is just disturbing. With her mother's madness revealed, I wondered if Eliza was truly in touch with the divine, or simply following on Miriam's path. Her decision to stop spelling was wonderfully written, but left me with more unanswered questions. If Aaron had left the family before Miriam was diagnosed, it would have been a better read: he became a minor character as he delved deeper into his own mysteries. And I was eagerly waiting for the conflict between Aaron and Saul, both men whose faith was different from that of their father. But it played out unsatisfactorily, with Eliza sitting at the kitchen table trying not to hear the arguing. I wanted to see that battle, not hear it in the background.

I got so much more out of this book than I was expecting. A satirical, sweet tale on adolescent loneliness would have been enough. The mysticism, and the way that the divine manifested in each member of the family was just more pleasure. Dazzling, wonderful on many levels, I refused to stop reading until I was done. But the ending could have used some work.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engaging!
Review: "Bee Season" completely took me by surprise. I was expecting a tale of a girl striving to win a spelling bee competition but this novel is that and a whole lot more. In addition to the obvious, the reader is treated to a glimpse into the crumbling fractions of a Jewish family in the 1980's as their paths continually grow apart from each other. Each member of the Naumann family compelled my interest and kept me wanting to find out more. Eliza's newly found talent for spelling words was fascinating to me especially since I've never been blessed with this talent myself. Aaron's quest to find a religion that fulfills him was interesting even though I've never been that much interested in religion before. Saul's treatment of his children angered me many times as it appeared that the degree of his love was dependent upon their individual scholarly achievements. Lastly, Miriam's strange behavior kept me engrossed as her motives were slowly revealed throughout the novel. I never participated in a speeling bee competition myself, but Goldberg's descriptions were wonderful in their realism and despiration. I found it very interesting how Eliza and Aaron essentially traded positions in their religious and academic pursuits as the book progressed. A thoroughly enjoyable read!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An extraordinary book.
Review: I loved this book. The story is highly original and very compelling. The writing is exquisite. I'm a writer, and I wish I could write half as well as Myla Goldberg. Most fascinating was the experience of watching Miriam, Aaron, and Eliza each seeking divinity in their own ways. Goldberg took me right over the edge of ordinary reality into madness, a place I've been before on my own, and I can assure you that her rendering is thrillingly, heartbreakingly true.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A mystical novel
Review: A bright red cover which made me curious to read this book. Before I read this novel, I guess the content from the book title ¡¥Bee Season¡¦, I asked myself a question, ¡¥Is it about the season which has many flying bees?¡¦ After I read this book, I was amazed to know the answer. In fact, the novel doesn¡¦t tell you about the flying bees, but it is about the spelling bees.

I am enormously sympathetic with the main character of this novel, Eliza Naumann who is regarded as a mediocre student by her father and teachers. In particular, her father abandons her and focuses on her elder brother, Aaron. Until she discovers her spelling talent and then it changes her whole life. Such touching experience, it awakes and reminds me a lot in my family life.

Myla Goldberg wrote the fantastic first novel¡XBee Season, she developed many living characters in different personality. Though the story involves Jewish mysticism that I am not familiar with this aspect, I did enjoy reading it.

I liked this book very much. It contains an interesting subject such as Judaism that attracts me to know more about it. I would like to know what religion Aaron will choose? Will he return to Judaism? I am very curious to know the results of all characters. On the other hand, the novel is incredible and cannot predict what happen in the last. If you read this book, you will understand why I think so.

Overall, it is a wonderful and intelligent novel. When you read the last page, you may puzzle what you have just read. You need to think of your own. How unique the ending is!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A mystical novel
Review: A bright red cover which made me curious to read this book. Before I read this novel, I guess the content from the book title 'Bee Season', I asked myself a question, 'Is it about the season which has many flying bees?' After I read this book, I was amazed to know the answer. In fact, the novel doesn't tell you about the flying bees, but it is about the spelling bees.

I am enormously sympathetic with the main character of this novel, Eliza Naumann who is regarded as a mediocre student by her father and teachers. In particular, her father abandons her and focuses on her elder brother, Aaron. Until she discovers her spelling talent and then it changes her whole life. Such touching experience, it awakes and reminds me a lot in my family life.

Myla Goldberg wrote the fantastic first novel--Bee Season, she developed many living characters in different personality. Though the story involves Jewish mysticism that I am not familiar with this aspect, I did enjoy reading it.

I liked this book very much. It contains an interesting subject such as Judaism that attracts me to know more about it. I would like to know what religion Aaron will choose? Will he return to Judaism? I am very curious to know the results of all characters. On the other hand, the novel is incredible and cannot predict what happen in the last. If you read this book, you will understand why I think so.

Overall, it is a wonderful and intelligent novel. When you read the last page, you may puzzle what you have just read. You need to think of your own. How unique the ending is!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rocked My World!
Review: This book rocked my world. The writing is so intimate and careful, that the reader is pulled in to this life immediately. The characters are all so complex. You sympathize with each and everyone of them as the disfunction of this family plays out. I love that the story is centered around the main character's success, or lack of, in something as trivial and benign as spelling. Myla Goldberg takes the idea of a spelling bee and how this young girl thinks of herself to so many more levels than the reader ever thinks of. The twists in each character's story are delicately portrayed, and I, for one, was sad that the book was over at the last page.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Growing up is hard to do
Review: Having just finished Bee Season, I'm left with the thought that Eliza "did it on her own." She took her life in her own hands, forsaking no one (save her father perhaps) and became in control of her own destiny. Her passage is a metaphor for growing up--things are rocky and hard. Life's realities (a sick mother, a doting father, a teenaged brother who is exerting his own independence) are sometimes hard to take. She does what she can and finds comfort in achieving on her own time, not someone elses. I won't give away the ending, but in the end Eliza knows what is important. It's personal achievement, not someone elses notion of achievement (like winning a spelling bee).

Her brother, Aaron, is on a quest too, but I got the impression that he will take longer to get to the same conclusion--that it will take some years before he "grows up." Not that his pursuits aren't real, they are just born out of a bitter seed--teenage desparation and years of painful memories. His soil isn't as fertile as Eliza's and he's older.

In the end, I feel the most sorry for the parents, especially Saul. I wonder if he will grow up to be not so "clueless" as one reviewer put it. He always seems to have a solution to a problem, but his answers don't match the reality around him

Miriam was fascinating but a bit one-dimensional. I get the feeling that I really didn't get to know her. However, I could very much relate to her estrangement and restlessness. I don't hold out much hope for her recovery.

All in all, a very good book that keeps you engaged and wondering. Beautifully written. Disturbing. And, in a strange way, hopeful.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D
Review: "Bee Season" by Myla Goldberg is about the gradual disintegration of a dysfunctional family. It's well-written, but tough going -- and I'm not sure it was worth the effort.

Each member of the Naumann family is obsessive-compulsively seeking control and perfection in a completely different way. Saul, the husband/father, is basically well-meaning, but clueless and shallow. He tries to spend time with his kids -- partly because he truly cares, partly because he feels obligated, and partly so he can encourage them to excel, thereby deriving vicarious pleasure from their accomplishments. When Aaron is the prodigy in the family, Saul spends time exclusively with Aaron -- and woe to anyone who interrupts. When Eliza's star begins to rise, Saul switches his attentions to her, and Aaron is abruptly left out in the cold. Saul, who at least tries to interact with his children, is the better of the two parents (I suppose it's a rare parent who *never* has mixed feelings toward his kids, anyway). His flaws are a product of thoughtlessness, not malice. As things get increasingly problematic, Saul tries -- first earnestly, then desperately -- to hold them together.

Eliza, the sister/daughter, is an average student -- or has she been unfairly labeled average? It's discovered that she has an extraordinary talent for spelling; she begins to eclipse Aaron as the achiever in the family as she wins first small, then ever larger spelling bees (hence the book's title). Saul, anxious to be on whatever team is winning, starts coaching Eliza -- but, not content to have Eliza develop her talent simply as something she enjoys and excels at, he urges her to pursue spelling in the context of an esoteric subcategory of Judaism. Eliza, accustomed to being considered a nonentity, enjoys the attention and accomplishment, but isn't ready for the kind of fanatical scholarship that Saul wants of her. She's eager for his love and approval, but aware that she's being used. Eventually, tired of being a performing animal, she upsets the applecart.

Aaron, the teenaged son/brother, is a classic geek -- badly dressed, socially inept, no friends except the other outcasts. He's understandably hurt and angry when his father abandons him in favor of Eliza. He fills the void by shopping for a new religion, and becomes drawn into Hare Krishna, a religion which sounds (as depicted in this book) like obsessive-compulsive heaven --don't do this, do say that, don't think that, do chew your food this number of times -- and ends up spending all day, every day, constantly striving and fretting over minutiae, and never quite getting it right. It was horrifying to watch brainy Aaron get stupider by the day, yet I never felt sorry for him because he was such a willing participant in his own destruction.

Miriam, the wife/mother, is distant and strange, though we don't find out until the end of the book just how strange. She works compulsively, cleans compulsively, and is in compulsive pursuit of "Perfectimundo" (the name gives some idea of what's involved), which requires an elaborately constructed/maintained double life. She's the least likeable, or credible, character. Granted, she's supposed to be at best neurotic, if not psychotic, but she still has a viewpoint and motivations that are meaningful to her, and they're not coming across. What's missing in Miriam's life? What drives her to do the things she does? The portrait of her character could have been that of a woman becoming progressively more unraveled and out-of-control in (ironically) her quest for control and perfection -- but I didn't get a sense of that.

I found this book overrated -- not bad, but overrated. It was well-written, to be sure, and all the more impressive for being a debut novel -- but I thought it was good, not great. I kept putting it down without much eagerness to pick it back up again (usually a bad sign). The reviews used words like "astonishing", "brilliant", and "superb" -- but like Saul's "parenting", I was reading as much from a sense of obligation as from a genuine enjoyment of the book itself. Perhaps it was a question of unrealistic expectations. Perhaps I was missing something that everybody else was getting. Or perhaps the book would get better if I stuck with it. So I pressed on -- but it never really grabbed me.

The writing was skillful, and although dysfunctional family books have been done to death in the past few years, the story had enough fresh twists so that I wasn't thinking, "THIS again?".

But that simply wasn't enough. For one thing, it's difficult to enjoy a book where two of the four main characters (Miriam and Aaron) are so unlikable -- and the other two weren't wonderful, either, they were just OK.

For another thing, the book was a bit too over-the-top, to the point where I felt that some of it was weird sheerly for the sake of weirdness. Miriam becoming progressively crazier and hiding it from everyone -- OK, things like that happen. Aaron turning into a religious crackpot -- hmm, that's an awful lot of craziness for one family, but then I suppose you can't expect a delusional mother to raise healthy kids. By the time Eliza had her seizure/religious vision/hissy fit/whatever it was, it had become The Obligatory Crazy Scene; and I wondered what Saul would do when it was his turn: Foam at the mouth? Invent an imaginary friend? Start talking exclusively in Pig Latin?

"Bee Season" was for me the literary equivalent of a date with a perfectly nice, pleasant, admirable person -- with whom you have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. I wanted to like the book -- I appreciated its positive qualities -- but it just didn't do a thing for me. On the other hand, there's nothing much wrong with it, either -- it's original, well executed, and often thought-provoking. Worth a look if you like family dramas.


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