The Secret Life of Bees

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I really liked this book. I had a fun time and was able to laugh, cry, and get mad once or twice. I think most people will be happy after having read this book. It is also a great book to read with your book group or a group of friends because there are a lot of ideas you will want to share. Thanks

Rating:
Summary: bee-u-ti-ful
Review: If you are a fourteen year old girl with a rotten father and a dead mother, it's OK to find a substitute mom. So begins a memorable emotional journey that will leave you with eyes red and swollen. Yes, the book is maudlin, as in mushy, sentimental, mawkish, and all the rest. But, make no mistake, this is not another one of those "man bad, woman good" chick reads pushed upon us during the unfortunate diversity movement of a couple of years ago.
If Sue Monk Kidd is a feminist, she is one who accepts and loves people no matter their gender or race. More important, this Kidd can flat out write. In the hands of a lesser mortal, the descriptions of life in Tiburon, South Carolina during the 1960's might seem, well, hokey. But, Kidd chooses words that can veritably walk you down Main Street, past the court house with the Confederate flag flying, past the drug store with its banana splits and cherry cokes, and the sign that says "whites only". When you finally arrive at the Black Madonna's house you meet unforgettable characters like August the queen-bee, and Zach the assistant bee-keeper, and Our Lady of the Chains. While there, you will fairly hear the honey bees, taste the honey, smell the magnolias, and feel the power of love. Yea, it's definitely schmaltzy, but it is also bee-u-ti-ful.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book to the extent that it wasn't what I expected. The author played with stereotypes or the lack thereof to a degree, and while this worked sometimes for me, other times it didn't. While I admire her attempt not to stereotype African-Americans in the 1960s, I found her descriptions of cello playing and other factors distracting. The incident with the housekeeper dumping spittle on the town's worst racist's shoes was a bit too much. The writing was, however, some of the best I've come across in a while. Her use of months of the year for names for the characters was a nice touch, as was the bee motif which was woven into the story. The narrative flowed and there were actually moments of poetry. It was, overall, a sweet story that I thoroughly enjoyed--Nothing too heavy; not some gigantic piece of literature; just good fun.

Rating:
Summary: Comfort novel
Review: For a novel which treats a vastly unhappy situation, this one offers a ton of comfort. At the outset there is little in this story to provide any relief from the desperate situation of 14 year old Lily who, at the age of 4, accidentally shot off a gun which killed her mother and left her in the care of a careless and brutal father during the difficult period of racial unrest in 1964 in South Carolina. Lily eventually runs away with her housekeeper who has been assaulted and jailed on her way to register to vote. Lily, obsessed with her mother and her few iconic possessions, eventually finds herself at a beekeeping farm maintained by three sisters who worship a Madonna image salvaged from from a ship's masthead. The remainder of the story, how Lily discovers her mother's motivations and origins, Lily's involvement with the people she meets during her stay and during her apprenticeship as a beekeeper, becomes sheer delight. Lily's coming of age, although painful and hardearned, is also a joy because of these monumental women and their endless ability to love and understand.

The writing is particularly remarkable, frank and sensual. Unusual descriptions of river water like beads of milk on a woman's shoulder, of honey being massaged into the wooden statue by many pairs of hands, of heat, bees and smells give this story a special mesmorizing rhythm..

Rating:
Summary: good stuff but overrated
Review: The Secret Life of Bees is a terrific 220-page novel. Unfortunately, it's 300 pages long. How many epiphanies,how many symbols, how many analyses of the protagonist's feelings, how many aphoristic words of wisdom should one novel provide? Bees indulges in way too many of all these things. The novel is more than readable and contains some lovely writing and genuine humor, much of it provided by characters who are memorable as individuals and as members of groups (the sisters, the Daughters of Mary, etc.). However, its big secret is fairly clear quite early on, and the big revelations, when Lily and August finally, mercifully get around to them, don't pay off nearly as well for the reader as they do for the characters. There is much good in The Secret Life of Bees, but Ms. Kidd needs to tighten her work, or submit it to a more hard-nosed editor.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Read
Review: Sue Monk Kidd created a world that I didn't want to leave when she wrote The Secret Life of Bees. The characters were quirky, but so well-developed, they came to life in my mind. I loved the setting and the symbolism. More than anything, I felt inspired by this book's underlying theme. I can't remember being so strongly pulled into an author's imaginary world since I was a child. I'm waiting for her to finish her next novel. In the meantime, I visit her website where she shares insights about the writing process.

Rating:
Summary: touching yet a bit cliched
Review: The Secret Life of Bees (like Memoirs of a Geisha) is one of those rare books that lure you in from page one, clutching you in its grasp and not letting go until the last sentence is read. I found I could not put this book down for a second. I read it at work, at home, walking down the street, on the bus. It really is that good. The only fault I could find is some parts are a bit cliched and unbelievable. How many times has the story of a white girl growing up in the South with her big black mammy been told? How believable were some of the confrontations between blacks and whites? The cliched aspect of this novel isn't a bad thing though. Sue Monk Kidd is such an amazing storyteller. Her prose flows effortlessly from paragraph to paragraph. Her descriptions are vibrant and full of life. Her characters are fully dimensional and truly believable. The cliched and unbelievable parts are handled so deftly that it transcends many other novels in the same genre. The Secret Life of Bees is fast becoming one of my top ten favorite novels. Touching, thoughtful,warm, loving and down right beautiful. I can only dream that more writers would write compelling, compulsive reading like Kidd has done. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rating:
Summary: The Secret Best Book for Readers!!
Review: The Secret Life of Bees, is a story about a girl named Lily Owens. Instead of being a typical 14 year-old, with parents and friends, Lily is left with her father's hatred, her passion for writing, her "stand-in mother" Rosaleen, and the memory of her mother being killed.
It was Lily's birthday, expecting the usual day selling her father's peaches on the sie of the road, she went to town to be with Rosaleen as she was to be one of the first African American people registering to vote. Rosaleen and her humorous love for snuff, insulted three of the racist men in town. Lily decides to run awayto Tibourn South Caroline - leading her to the secret of her mother's past. Accepted in by bee-keeping eccentric three black sisters, Lily is introduced to a whole world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This book os remarkable by including female-power: a story mothers will pass on to daughters for years and years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story about a search for a true mother
Review: I was given The Secret Life of Bees by a woman who had purchased several copies for people she thought would like it, because she'd recently finished it and loved it so much. At first I was hesitant...I'm not a big fan of "Oprah" type books, and I figured this was the same sentimental, depressing story I've read before. I feel so fortunate that I did read it. The story is lively and beautiful, and while not especially complicated, is a moving story of a 14 year old girl's search for strength and for someone to love her. The voice of the protagonist, Lily, is strong and compelling, and the descriptions of the south during the height of the civil rights movement add an interesting backdrop. Lily's search for the true story behind her mother, and the surprising connections and love she discovers along the way, make for a moving story that keeps the reader turning the pages. A satisfying read that is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: If you read this book, you've wasted your time!
Review: HI. I purchased this book since it had been on the bestseller's list for probably over a year. Was looking forward to reading a good book......WOW, was I disappointed! Such a hum-drum novel. I could paraphrase this book in 2 sentences......I think the reason this book has been on the bestseller's list for so long is because people like me see it on the list, go out and buy it which keeps the sales rate up.....Once you buy the book and get into it, you become aware that this book was only on the list because of "the list" and not because of it's quality! At the end of the book, the author is asked by the publisher (in the Penquin notes section) if she will be doing a sequel. She's thinking about it.....PLEASE don't think too hard-NO sequel needed thanks! I just wasted my time reading this book...don't waste yours!

Was just told that a new Jody Picoult book is out and it TRULY is worth reading-she's an author you can count on...Title is "My Sister's Keeper." Looking forward to reading a good book!