Rating: 
Summary: An idea for consideration
Review: What accounts for the overwhellming response to and acceptance of a book that seems so hard to believe? Other than its rather sappy portrayal of death and its idealized African American characters, there might be another reason,. I suggest that the subtext of this book (since it doesn't seem to come from the author's experiences or acquaintances as reported in her interview published in the back of the book) is an unconscious wish of a white woman (the author disguised as Lily) to be forgiven for her sins against African Americans (symbolically represented as Lily's killing of her mother before she was old enough to be held legally responsible) which is fulfilled through unconditional love and acceptance. Thus the complexity and anxiety of race relations is happily denied to the comfort and relief of what I imagine is a mostly white, female readership.
Rating: 
Summary: Ba-boom!
Review: This was perhaps one of the worst books that I have ever read. This book was lined with such racist plot points, I was thoroughly disgusted. My boyfriend read it too, and he felt that the book had a simplistic plot. I think that any book would be better than this. It was typical of a high school freshman's work. I beleive that the main character has the intellegence of a five year old. May was the only character who I liked, and she was killed off. Thanks a lot for ruining the only good parts of the book. I only wish that the characters had been killed off sooner so that the book would not drag on for such a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Books I've Ever Read
Review: This beautifully written novel captivated me. This is a must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Huh, I guess I missed something
Review: I love reading and love a good story. I didn't find that here. I was hoping for something more cohesive. The plot lines didn't meld together as I would have liked.
Rating:
Summary: Sentimentality sells!
Review: As a former high school librarian, I read many adolescent novels, and picking up this one, I felt that I had read it before. In these books the young girl (usually ) is an outsider with literary pretensions who is on an emotional quest and is a humorous commentator on the adults around her. I'm just surprised to see this kind of story marketed to and embraced by adults. Throughout my career I was dismayed at the Disneyfication of children's literature, the substitution of wholesome, sweet, romanticized, sentimental fiction for more realistic, complex literature. This literature has an infantilizing effect on our youth which is not harmless. Now we see this syrupy literature frequently on adult best seller lists. It depresses me to see the tide of positive reviews for this book because it suggests that readers uncritiically accept a trite vision of the world because it is unthreatening and flattering to one's preconceived notions. There's much better literature out there if one is willing to open one's mind to more honest , edgier, less cutesy fare.
Rating: 
Summary: A Honey-Sweet Story
Review: The Secret Life of Bees is a great book for those of us who like emotional connection between the characters and readers. I would recommend it to all women, young and old because it is a timeless story of a girl, searching for something that has been absent her whole life, while along the way, she finds more than she ever expected. This book started out as a page-turner, kind of let me drift off in the middle, but picked up velocity again at the end. Overall, it was enjoyable to read and at some points I couldn't bring myself to put it down. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next to the characters I've grown close to over the hours I spent reading about, hoping that a certain fate lurking in the back of my mind would not come. In the end, I was pleased to find what this carefully crafted novel had unfolded. As the book progresses, you watch Lily Owens grow up during her hard adolescent years, which everyone struggles through. After watching Lily become confused about who she is, fall in love, get her heart broken, and see the reality of her situation, I couldn't help but feel like I knew her, as well as I know my best friend. August Boatwright and her "Calendar Sisters" reminded me of the group of women from the movie The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. Both groups of elderly women used their wisdom through story telling to teach the future generations about love and divine female power. One of the best lessons I learned from this book was "how to find the mother within oneself". It doesn't matter who or where your real mother is, this is the key to being content with yourself and what you do, the gravitational power embodied by the "Black Madonna".
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Descriptions
Review: Kidd's description of the 1960's Rural South captures the heat and humidity of a Southern small town in the summer. The opening chapter alone could stand as a mini-short story. Several threads are opened-Why is Lily's mother leaving? Why is her father so angry? Did Lily kill her mother? I had a few issues with the book. Kidd introduces some racial tension with a few run-ins with white racists, but she never fully develops this vein. In the first chapter, the mother is introduced as central to Lily's unhappiness, but, until the end, she fades into the background, popping up for brief mentions, almost as an afterthought. Rosaleen, also introduced early in the story, doesn't develop as a character. Except for a few rebellious acts, she's simply a mammy characterization, with no growth in her independence or her knowledge. Finally, Lily's father is a mean, nasty person, but no time is spent on exploring why he's mean, until the very end, where he appears as a defeated man. He goes from evil to whipped in the space of a few paragraphs. I point out the weaknesses of the novel only because Sue Monk Kidd shows great promise in her writing. Based on her descriptions alone, I recommend this novel. Kidd's use of words is a testament to the beauty of well-written prose.
Rating:
Summary: I loved the ambience, felt the story was lacking.
Review: Just as when I read the Prince of Tides, I was transported to another place in another time with The Secret Life of Bees. I could actually feel the dense, hot, Southern summer air and smell the honey while reading this book so it provides unparalleled sensory involvement by the reader. However just like in the Prince of Tides, I need more from the plot and the characters. Without revealing too much, I think the the development of the mother becomes trite by the end of the book. I'm reminded of the movie Kramer vs. Kramer where the mother character isn't central in the movie, but still has depth. She doesn't in this book and throwing in details like her childhood imaginary friend doesn't help. Also, the father has a temper and he wields a weapon (unnecessarily for the plot of the book), but that's it. If the author had just labelled him "bad guy," the treatment would have been pretty much the same. Lastly, given the setting of the book, I don't have hope for the central character Lily. I love all the characters in the final pages of the book, but realistically it's not a happy ending. Given the turmoil of the South in the mid-1960's, it can't help but overshadow what little victories Lily may have achieved.
Rating:
Summary: So many loveable women
Review: In The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd introduces us to Lily Owens, a young girl who was only four when her mother was killed. She was raised by T. Ray, her abusive father, and Rosaleen, a black woman who worked on her father's peach orchard in South Carolina. When Lily is told by her father that her mother abandoned her, she can't believe it. Having found a picture of a black Madonna with the inscription "Tiburon South Carolina" among her mother's belongings, she decides to run away from home with Rosaleen, hoping to find somebody in Tiburon that can tell her about her mother. Once there, they are welcomed by the Boatright sisters, August, May and June. August teaches Lily and Rosaleen about beekeeping. In this pink house, Lily meets the Daughters of Mary, an assorted lot of strong women who worship together in the Boatright home, and also Zach, a young black boy who dreams of becoming a lawyer. Lily also learns about what a mother actually is, and what a mother ought to be. There are a few scenes of racial tension in this novel, and some readers have expressed some dislike of the book because of it. For me, this element only serves as a backdrop to set the story in its historical context, and to add some element of drama. But overall, the novel mainly focuses on family, and on the fact that all colors can combine together to form a wonderful family unit. This story will really grow on you, if you let it.
Rating:
Summary: Magical Realism in The South
Review: A lovely, densely written novel that owes equal debts to Carson McCullers and Gabriel Gararcia Marquez for its evocation of a violent, desperate South filled with small, inwardly heroic characters who will persevere rather than roll over and die. My other favorite books of the last year are "I Sleep At Red Lights: A True Story of Life After Triplets," by Bruce Stockler, a funny and strikingly honest memoir of juggling work, marriage and kids, and "Reading Lolita in Tehran," by Azar Nafisi, an incredible look at a world where words and books are still revolutionary.
|
