The Secret Life of Bees

Rating:
Summary: Fast, funny, endearing and memorable!
Review: It is simply a beautiful little book. Read it. It is one of our book clubs top 3 in over 36 total so far! My favorite.

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite coming-of-age tale for all women
Review: Sue Monk Kidd reveals extraordinary insight into a young woman's coming of age. In the process, she links her young protagonist's search for a mother figure to every person's search for something both divine and maternal. Ms. Kidd builds her compelling tale with lovely language that approaches the poetic without dripping in it.

"Secret Life" reaches deeply into something essential not only to women but hopefully to everyone--a search for nurturing and affirmation interwoven with a search for spirituality.

Every woman I've talked with has been deeply moved by "The Secret Life of Bees."

Rating:
Summary: A Great Critic's Pick
Review: Overall "The Secret Life of Bees" is a book that will find favor with avid readers of well crafted stories (to qualify this statement, I refer to "well crafted stories" to mean more commonly accepted "good books," critic's picks, and book club selections like "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", "The Amateur Marriage", "My Fractured Life", and "The Time Traveler's Wife.")

This is not a Hollywood, high concept shoot 'em up. It is quaint.

The civil rights era plot is right on target - interesting but not over blown. The accessible characters are easy to relate to and bond with. And, the dialogue is genuine and gratifying.

I for one am certainly glad when I come across a piece of just good writing (interesting plot, interesting characters, periods at the ends of sentences), and "The Secret Life of Bees" fits that criteria splendidly.

Rating:
Summary: Richly Rewarding
Review: Secret Life of Bees is a richly rewarding books appropriate for most any age. Setting it apart from pure fiction, Secret Life of Bees blends certain life lessons of self-reliance, racial equality, and empowerment. The writing is flowered with beauty and meaning. In pure enjoyment, it holds its place with any contemporary novel in any genre - from The Five People You Meet in Heaven to The Time Traveler's Wife to Life of Pi to My Fractured Life. It is a pleasurable and fanciful literary delight.

Rating:
Summary: Sickly Sweet
Review: Okay, I'm obviously in the minority here, but I found this book to be a huge disappointment (especially given all the hype surrounding it!)
The reasons I disliked The Secret Lives of Bees are probably the same reasons why so many readers loved it: 1) the characters were instantly recognizable as either good or evil (no confusing ambiguities here); 2) simplistic, easy-to-understand symbolism abounded (in my opinion, it was heavy-handed, but I suppose many readers don't mind that); 3) the author promotes a sugar-coated (sorry, make that honey-coated) brand of feminism that presumably makes some women want to shout "you go, girl!", without risking any real changes to the establishment; 4) the plot ends in a satisfyingly tidy and conventional triumph of good over evil, with no loose ends and again, no troubling moral ambiguities. (Why hasn't Hollywood latched onto this plot yet? I'm sure the rights to the feel-good movie of the year have already been sold to the highest bidder)
To the thousands of you who apparently loved this novel, I apologize. I'm probably just a cold-hearted cynic. And if all you want from a novel is a simple, entertaining read with a happy ending, then please run --don't walk-- to buy The Secret Life of Bees. Personally, I want more.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Review: Superb writing, characters so captivating I wanted to join them in their daily life, their sorrow and their joyfulness. I have been reminded of the power of love and human kindness to heal, simple folks having the wisdom to let a child heal in her own way. I agree it has the staying power of To Kill A Mockingbird. I know the memory of Lily's finding home will stay with me always.

Rating:
Summary: Judy Blume's Margarate Simon verses Lily Owens
Review: I laughed outloud and cried with Lily.

I picked up this book only after hearing an interview with the author. I didn't read it until my sister, an avid classic novel reader, said she enjoyed it.

The book was slow to captive, but hard to put down once the character's were clear. I fell in love with the character of Lily and admired the wisdom of August ("August chewed more than she bit off".).

Lily was delightful. August is what every woman would like to be.

Diana

Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful rich story
Review: I thought the story was well done. The character background was fleshed out so well that I actually thought them to be real people. I thought the author caught the whole time frame very well. I highly recommend this book for a book club read.

Rating:
Summary: Superb story telling!
Review: Sue Monk Kidd has developed a cast of characters that invite you in. You become one with them and feel each of them intimatley. You get to know Lily the 14 year old struggling with the abuse of her father and the death of her mother, looking for some type of emotional relief.You are then are introduced to three beekeeping sisters who make you realize the beauty within yourself and within living. Truly an amazing novel that needs to be read!

Rating:
Summary: Who knew bees were so entertaining?
Review: This is a great read! Kidd manages to put the reader into a turbulent time (1964 SC), but pull you to the outskirts. The reader almost forgets how unusual the situation is (white girl living with African-American women in 1964 SC) because it just works. I feared the end, but walked away with a smile. I hear Hollywood is making the film. For once, I look forward to the movie version. If it's half as good as the book, it will be well worth the outrageous ticket price.