Rating: 
Summary: "Bee"-zar
Review: I had high hopes for this book, and it started out strong. But... it took a very strange turn. The main character gets a little carried away with the symbolism of the letters in each word that forms in her head--way too deep. The Mother is a cleptomaniac with serious issues. The son takes a truly freaky turn towards an odd religion. The Father seems clueless to it all.Don't waste your energy on this book. I found myself skimming at the end just to finish it. Bee Season left me feeling empty and puzzled. It is just "Bee"-zar.
Rating: 
Summary: One families search for the perfect world-
Review: This is a story of a family of individuals in the throes of spiritual searches, with no overlap or true interaction between the family members. Even when Eliza is helped by Saul, they don't truly interact, but she is first led, then leaps beyond him. Aaron's seach is funny, sad and touching all at the same time. As for Miriam, that is truly only sad, and pitiful. Eliza's story is the frame for the entire book, but this isn't her story. This is the story of her family- including her. The spelling bee scenes are the last scenes that take place in the real world, after that, all of the second half of the book involves mystical searches, through three different paths. Very interesting, especially the references to the Kabbalah and ISKON. The parallels exhibited in their journeys provide and interesting contrast between religions. It is fascinating to view the attempts by the characters to either keep their tenuous hold on reality, or to sever that hold entirely. The writing quality in this book is exceptional. With two sentences she can evoke an entire year of life. Or describe a person well enough that I would recognize them were I to meet them.
Rating:
Summary: Remember those spelling bees!
Review: This book really captivated me. The early discription of a spelling bee took ne right back to my third and fourth grade classroom in the '40s. This is a chronical of how an event in the life of one family member changes the whole tapestry of the family life. It's also an account of a disfunctional family and the ways that can go. Even although some of the plot twists may seem a little too much it all fit together for me into a really enjoyable reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Very unexpected
Review: You get the idea from the jacket cover and from the first half or so that this is a story about young girl finds spelling bee success and finally fits into quirky family, etc. Then the author goes completely into another direction. When Eliza, the family underachiever, wins a spelling bee after being consigned to the realm of diminished expectations, she suddenly wins admiration from her parents, teachers and schoolmates. This newfound attention from her father comes at the expense of her brother's time with him. Her brother, naturally, does not take this very well. This is coupled with some increasingly distant behavior from her mother towards the whole family. The whole family seems to be searching for a way to complete themselves. The father, Saul, through his children. Eliza through trying to please her father, and later through absorption into the study of letters. Her brother Aaron through a spiritual quest that ends (I kid you not) in a Hare Krishna temple. And Eliza's mother--I won't give that away but it's the most captivating and bizarre part of the story. The last third delves heavily into Kabbalistic teachings that will lose most readers (or maybe it's just me.) And I have a hard time believing, like other reviewers, that Eliza who was before a lackluster student would suddenly grasp esoteric principles of Hebrew mysticism. This book is beautifully written though and you'll puzzle over the meaning of it long after it's over. The last two pages will also truly surprise you.
Rating:
Summary: An impressive debut...
Review: Myla Goldberg's "Bee Season" is the story of the divurgent lives that make up a family, people connected by blood and affection, but little else. Rabbi Saul, his kleptomaniac wife Miriam, spelling bee champ Eliza and spiritual shopper Aaron live in the same house, but occupy different realms. Eliza's gift for spelling forms the basis of the novel, but is is also a novel of spiritual exploration and mysticism, secret lives, and the shame of deviance. Goldberg skillfully manipulates the separate plot lines: while Saul devotes his energy to his protegee daughter, he is unaware that is wife has been lying to him for years-- spending her days not at a lawfirm but breaking into suburban houses-- and that his son has gotten involved in a Hare Krisha cult. The emotional distances between the family, and the secret lives and identities, reminded me a bit of Jane Hamilton's "Disobedience". Overall, a good novel by a gifted writer.
Rating: 
Summary: beautifully written, but disjointed
Review: This is a novel that seems to be about a young girl who was stigmatized as an underachiever but then shocks herself and the people around her with her innate talent for spelling. But the true story is of a disjointed family on individual quests for spirituality. Tragically, there is a lack of understanding and communication which leaves each family member feeling isolated, unaware that the three other people leading relativiely silent lives under the same roof are on astonishingly parallel quests. Young Eliza, her brother, and parents all attempt to find enlightenment in their own ways. Each of these journies is beautifully frustrating, with moments of tenderness, confusion, and astonishment. I personally enjoyed the stories of Eliza and her mother the best. Eliza's sensual relationship with language and her intense desire to please her parents while sacrificing her own needs and her mother's search for internal balance through shoplifting and hoarding were beautifully described by Goldberg. I found myself reading passages over and over again. In this novel the silence snd resulting misunderstanding among family members is so powerful that is is almost a fifth major character. There are moments when I wanted to scream for the characters to just say what they were thinking, to actually look at and understand the people surrounding them. I give the author much credit for her ability to make me care so much, and for writing a novel filled with one of the greatest ironies of some familial relationships- often those who are the closest to us are continents away in understanding. A criticism I have is that the story feels disjointed because it begins and ends as two completely different novels. You are hooked in by the story of Eliza's sad life as a bright girl who is labeled as an underachiever and is ignored by teachers, peers, and family. The unveiling of her surprising talent as a speller and how it transforms her sense of self and relationships with the people around her is filled with tension and the amusing and slightly disturbing details of the spelling bee circuit. But then the story changes; it develops into what it really is- the tale of the four, isolated quests for enlightenment. As I stated above, the searches for enlightenment are beautiful, interesting, and educational, but I don't think the story comes to a satisfying unified conclusion. I was left wanting more, but not sure exactly of what.
Rating:
Summary: Weird to the last page
Review: The Bee Season is the perfect novel for anyone who ever thought their own family "not so normal". After one good read of this book and you will think your family is the Brady Bunch compared to this group. The characters of this novel were compelling and so interesting. Each one had quirks that reminded me of a friend or family member. While the story is actually a little to far-fetched for me, it kept my attention throughout. I kept reading waiting for the climax of the book. Unfortunately, when I finally got to the last page I was left disappointed and without that peak in the story that I so desperately needed. This novel is overall an enjoyable read, but dont expect for a mircle to occur with the storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Good to the Last Page
Review: Eliza is the 10-year-old daughter of Saul and Miriam. Eliza was passed over for the talented and gifted program at her school in the first grade. Thereafter, she languishes in school producing exactly only what was expected of her. When she wins the school spelling bee as a thirde grader, her life changes. She then goes on to state and national competion. As her winning streak continues, no one is more surprised than she. The author uses the national spelling bee as the trigger that begins the disintegration of this Jewish-American family. Godberg tells a compelling and engaging story that draws the reader along the convoluted paths of the family members. Her writing is fluid, intelligent, and thought provoking. However, the author ends the story so abruptly that she leaves many loose threads dangling. Thus, the reader feels angry and frustrated when she reaches the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done, Ms. Goldberg!
Review: I agree with other reviewers that the book "gets weird" toward the end; however, I think that Goldberg handles the characters' individual and collective slippage into chaos deftly. The way Elly redeems herself (in my opinion) at the novel's end is subtle and perfect. I especially like Geoldberg's imagery when writing about Elly's innocent but powerful crossover from the mundane stage of the schoool spelling bee into the world of gematria and kabbalah.
Rating:
Summary: This book was semi-groovy
Review: The book Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg, frankly scared the poo out of me. A "normal" or so Jewish family living a "normal" or so lifestyle is the basic beginning to the book. I related to the main character Eliza very much so, having been a poor student as well. When Eliza, the daughter in the "normal" Jewish family, wins the spelling bee in her school, things begin to change for her. I think that this winning of the school bee, and then the winning of the district bee, caused all of the conflicts in this story.
After Eliza wins the district bee, her father becomes obsessed with her studying for the national bee. Eliza's brother Aaron gets jealous that his guitar time with his father has been taken over by Eliza's word time. This causes Aaron to try to find fulfillment elsewhere, and he begins to try out other religions.
All the while, something is going on with Eliza's mother, and her horrible secret is going to come out soon...
I liked this book a little, it was very well written, but I didn't really like how it turned out in the end.
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