Rating: 
Summary: a touching story
Review: Very few writers have the talent to find a true 'voice' in their writing-- this is one of those books. Kidd's imagery of the rural south in the mid-sixties is so vivid, that at times I felt taken out of the subway and transplanted on the Boatwright sisters' property with the rare gift of being an observer in this young woman's coming of age story. But to chalk up this book in terms of such a cliche'd sencence seems unfair-- yes this book is a coming of age story, but it is so much more and my writing is insufficient to describe the feelings evoked while reading this book. It's a coming of age story about as much as it is a civil-rights story, or a story of love-- in many different ways. Kidd touches upon so many issues with a candor that is unusual in writers. Ultimately, however, this novel is about forgiveness and redemption-- and how a little unloved, motherless girl finds everything she's looking for on a small bee farm in Tiburon, South Carolina. I like to measure how engaging a book is by the number of stops I miss on my way home on the subway. I went six stops in the wrong direction before I looked up from this book. You won't want to put it down either.
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Summary: I could not stop listening
Review: This book was one of the best audiobooks I've listened to in a long time. The book made me laugh and made me cry. I recommend this book to everyone! I can't wait to listen to it again.
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Summary: I'm looking forward to more from Sue Monk Kidd.
Review: This first fiction book from Sue Monk Kidd is marvelous. She has the golden talent of wordsmithing that is too often missing from current fiction. I was delighted by her turn of phrase, picture painting, character development and tone setting. I am hoping her future efforts will show us a worthy successor to the other wonderful Southern women fiction writers. Here's hoping she has a few more as good as this.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much Lily, not enough of the bees and Rosaleen
Review: Kidd's novel is a bit stagy in that the bees of the title don't contribute much to the plot. At the beginning of the book, honey bees invade Lily Owens's bedroom. But when she tries to tell her father about them they disappear. Are they imaginary bees? Does this bode instability? No, because Lily traps some in a jar. Apparently the bees are supposed to be some sort of motif providing object lessons. The factoids we learn about bees from the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter and elsewhere are quite interesting; for instance, on very hot days the bees fan each other with their wings within the hive.
Outside of the bees, I thought the most interesting character in the book was Rosaleen, Lily's black nanny. With black nannies there's always a danger of the Calpurnia syndrome, with the character sounding too much like the maid in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. There's no danger of that here, as Rosaleen is part wise woman, part child. She also chews snuff, and when some rednecks hassle her on the way to register for the vote, she expectorates on their shoes. Lily has to break her out of jail and the two run for their lives, winding up living with the Boatwright sisters, August, June, and May, who run a bee farm. This is 1964 South Carolina, right around the time the Civil Rights Act was passed, and since the sisters are black, Lily and Rosaleen encounter more bias and friction with the white element.
The plot, such as it is, revolves around Lily's search for her mother, who was killed during an argument with her father when Lily was only four. Her father lays the blame on Lily. Although she has plenty of reason to mope, Lily is a whiny character who spends page upon page upon page brooding over what a rotten portion fate has given her.
All and all there's too much Lily and not enough of the bees and Rosaleen.
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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: Very good book. Had a hard time putting it down.
Rating: 
Summary: BEES ? BEES?!?!?! yeah right..
Review: I disliked this book on so many levels..first of all..BEES kill people all the time, and i dont think its right to glamorize these horrific monsters, most of the time they are killing BABIES, all types of babies. newborn babies, asian babies. just babies of all types. another thing is that bees dont really have a sexret life, i mean who is gonne believe that filth..BEES? SECRET LIFE..yeah right. bees dont need a secret life..because we all know what bees do..they make honey. buzz around and viciously slaughter our newborns..so i dont think anyone that actually has a heart..should read this book..take it from me!
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Summary: sweet, redemptive, but ultimately insubstantial debut novel
Review: There is much to admire in Sue Monk Kidd's popular and heralded debut novel "The Secret Life of Bees." Rich in metaphor, triumphant in its portrait of women hewing out dignity in the midst of isolation and prejudice, the novel introduces us to Lily Owens, who possesses courage sufficient to discover the essence of motherhood. She is a resolute, tormented and conflicted character, and Kidd's narrative provides Lily room enough to explore the dimensions of loss, love and redemptive memory. Despite these considerable stengths, "Bees" sadly is a one-course meal, heavily flavored with honey but sadly lacking in depth, dimension and substance. To Kidd's credit, she writes with nuanced voice and considerable insight. Lily, whose life has pivoted around the traumatic death of her mother some ten years earlier, sets out to discover not only the mystery of her mother's death, but how she fits into a world devoid of love and family connection. Lily learns the central lessons of life from a series of African-American women, all of whom seem to emanate the collective wisdom of the ages. Her semi-articulate, mother-substitute caretaker, Rosaleen challenges a town's racists; her subsequent arrest and escape from jail frame Lily's odyssey. Three beekeeping sisters absorb Lily and Rosaleen into their family; the matriarch, August, serves as the moral compass and pillar of strength to Lily, who absorbs not only lessons on tending bees, but the more crucial instructions as to what it means to be a woman. Lily is at her best when grappling with the issues of loss. Her father, T. Ray, crushed by the loss of his wife, steels his heart from his daughter. Lily's lament: "Let T. Ray love me. Help me stop lying. Make the world better," is as wrenching as it is indicative of how deeply she longs for love. Her supplication, "Take the meanness out of people's hearts," is the central theme of the novel. Her greatest discovery may be her recognition that memory, stories and continuity of family are the bedrock guarantees of personal coherence and the possibility of love. Nevertheless, "The Secret Life of Bees" will never be a memorable novel. Lily's voice wavers between a believable fourteen-year-old and a sagacious adult whose vocabulary is only eclipsed by her introspective brilliance. The African-American women teeter dangerously close to stereotypes. Suspense is nearly impossible to sustain as Ms. Kidd never veers from what becomes a sadly predictable conclusion. Despite the noble intentions of its author, "The Secret Life of Bees" becomes a hive without a queen, much buzz with insufficient resources to maintain the collective's life.
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Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: Having read Sue Monk Kidd in Guidepost for years I was eager to read 'The Secret Life of Bees'.
But the Cussin' and bastardization of Catholicism was a real turn off, not to mention the anger edged with hate for men and lots of touchy feely between women. If was a complete turn off. As a matter of fact it turned me from the plot to wondering what event happened to Sue Monk Kidd that caused this to flow out of the tips of her fingers.
Rating:
Summary: couldn't put it down
Review: I so enjoyed this book, and became so interested in the main characters, that I couldn't put it down. I really think in time I will read it again. My only complaint was that the relationship of Lily and Roseleen kind of was brushed aside after they arrived at August's house. It was almost as if Roseleen wasn't even there at times. Minor detail though.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read!!
Review: I don't want to go on and on but I do have to say this is one of the most wonderfully written books I have ever read. I enjoyed every minute of it and I am looking forward to more work from this author. It read like poetry. Living in the south I could relate to so much of the story. Don't pass this one up!
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