Rating: 
Summary: O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D
Review: "Bee Season" by Myla Goldberg is about the gradual disintegration of a dysfunctional family. It's well-written, but tough going -- and I'm not sure it was worth the effort.Each member of the Naumann family is obsessive-compulsively seeking control and perfection in a completely different way. Saul, the husband/father, is basically well-meaning, but clueless and shallow. He tries to spend time with his kids -- partly because he truly cares, partly because he feels obligated, and partly so he can encourage them to excel, thereby deriving vicarious pleasure from their accomplishments. When Aaron is the prodigy in the family, Saul spends time exclusively with Aaron -- and woe to anyone who interrupts. When Eliza's star begins to rise, Saul switches his attentions to her, and Aaron is abruptly left out in the cold. Saul, who at least tries to interact with his children, is the better of the two parents (I suppose it's a rare parent who *never* has mixed feelings toward his kids, anyway). His flaws are a product of thoughtlessness, not malice. As things get increasingly problematic, Saul tries -- first earnestly, then desperately -- to hold them together. Eliza, the sister/daughter, is an average student -- or has she been unfairly labeled average? It's discovered that she has an extraordinary talent for spelling; she begins to eclipse Aaron as the achiever in the family as she wins first small, then ever larger spelling bees (hence the book's title). Saul, anxious to be on whatever team is winning, starts coaching Eliza -- but, not content to have Eliza develop her talent simply as something she enjoys and excels at, he urges her to pursue spelling in the context of an esoteric subcategory of Judaism. Eliza, accustomed to being considered a nonentity, enjoys the attention and accomplishment, but isn't ready for the kind of fanatical scholarship that Saul wants of her. She's eager for his love and approval, but aware that she's being used. Eventually, tired of being a performing animal, she upsets the applecart. Aaron, the teenaged son/brother, is a classic geek -- badly dressed, socially inept, no friends except the other outcasts. He's understandably hurt and angry when his father abandons him in favor of Eliza. He fills the void by shopping for a new religion, and becomes drawn into Hare Krishna, a religion which sounds (as depicted in this book) like obsessive-compulsive heaven --don't do this, do say that, don't think that, do chew your food this number of times -- and ends up spending all day, every day, constantly striving and fretting over minutiae, and never quite getting it right. It was horrifying to watch brainy Aaron get stupider by the day, yet I never felt sorry for him because he was such a willing participant in his own destruction. Miriam, the wife/mother, is distant and strange, though we don't find out until the end of the book just how strange. She works compulsively, cleans compulsively, and is in compulsive pursuit of "Perfectimundo" (the name gives some idea of what's involved), which requires an elaborately constructed/maintained double life. She's the least likeable, or credible, character. Granted, she's supposed to be at best neurotic, if not psychotic, but she still has a viewpoint and motivations that are meaningful to her, and they're not coming across. What's missing in Miriam's life? What drives her to do the things she does? The portrait of her character could have been that of a woman becoming progressively more unraveled and out-of-control in (ironically) her quest for control and perfection -- but I didn't get a sense of that. I found this book overrated -- not bad, but overrated. It was well-written, to be sure, and all the more impressive for being a debut novel -- but I thought it was good, not great. I kept putting it down without much eagerness to pick it back up again (usually a bad sign). The reviews used words like "astonishing", "brilliant", and "superb" -- but like Saul's "parenting", I was reading as much from a sense of obligation as from a genuine enjoyment of the book itself. Perhaps it was a question of unrealistic expectations. Perhaps I was missing something that everybody else was getting. Or perhaps the book would get better if I stuck with it. So I pressed on -- but it never really grabbed me. The writing was skillful, and although dysfunctional family books have been done to death in the past few years, the story had enough fresh twists so that I wasn't thinking, "THIS again?". But that simply wasn't enough. For one thing, it's difficult to enjoy a book where two of the four main characters (Miriam and Aaron) are so unlikable -- and the other two weren't wonderful, either, they were just OK. For another thing, the book was a bit too over-the-top, to the point where I felt that some of it was weird sheerly for the sake of weirdness. Miriam becoming progressively crazier and hiding it from everyone -- OK, things like that happen. Aaron turning into a religious crackpot -- hmm, that's an awful lot of craziness for one family, but then I suppose you can't expect a delusional mother to raise healthy kids. By the time Eliza had her seizure/religious vision/hissy fit/whatever it was, it had become The Obligatory Crazy Scene; and I wondered what Saul would do when it was his turn: Foam at the mouth? Invent an imaginary friend? Start talking exclusively in Pig Latin? "Bee Season" was for me the literary equivalent of a date with a perfectly nice, pleasant, admirable person -- with whom you have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. I wanted to like the book -- I appreciated its positive qualities -- but it just didn't do a thing for me. On the other hand, there's nothing much wrong with it, either -- it's original, well executed, and often thought-provoking. Worth a look if you like family dramas.
Rating: 
Summary: Super combination of authors like Chaim Potak & Judy Blume!
Review: I really enjoyed this book ... it kind of made me think of many of the books I used to read by authors such as Chaim Potok (in its discussion of the acceptance and denial of Jewish mysticism and religion as a whole) and Judy Blume (in that it dealt with growing up with all-to-human parents, rites of passage and much more). ...And yet this is a book for adults and deals with adult emotions and issues! The characters created by Myla Goldberg are wonderfully crafted. * Saul, the obsessively scholarly dad/cantor;
*Miriam, the mom secretly involved in a life of crime;
*Aaron, a teenage boy who explores religions other than Judaism when cast aside by his father due to Eliza's spelling bee success;
*Eliza, the mediocre student who suddenly replaces her brother in Saul's study and affections when she suddenly discovers her talent in winning spelling bees;
The lives of all the characters are linked dynamically to each other and I found the book hard to put down because of them. I couldn't wait to see how everything was drawn together at the end! A sign of a great book is one that keeps your imagination fueled even after finishing the last page ...and this story did just that! As I am writing this I still find myself wondering what religion Aaron will choose; will he return to Judaism? How will Saul cope with his family situation? What will become of Miriam? ...And will Eliza end up on top of the world ultimately -her wisdom before her time seems to indicate that to me! Lots to think about! Lots of fun!
Rating:
Summary: Great Start, Poor Finish
Review: The beginning of The Bee Season is wonderful, great writing, lots of humor as we meet young Eliza and her family. One is taken back to their own grade school days & can remember vividly, standing up & participating in a spelling bee. Eliza is a likable main character, who you can't help but root for, as she longs for the attention & love of her father, and family.
After the first quarter of the novel, however, the story takes a different direction, as it focuses more on religion and mystical themes, then it does on Eliza and her spelling bee. The story becomes somewhat bizarre and the ending is also somewhat unsatisfying. Goldberg certainly has a talent for writing, but the story fizzled out for me. I would have enjoyed it more, had she kept the story focused on Eliza and less on different religious themes. I thought I was getting a story about a little girl and a spelling bee, and ended up with an exploration of religious themes. Again, the writing is good, but the story a let-down.
Rating:
Summary: Wholesome progresses into sinister, bizarre
Review: This book starts out sweet and unassuming, then morphs into something totally bizarre and somewhat sinister. For the first several chapters, you get the impression that this is a book about Eliza Naumann, an average but ambitious nine-year-old who puts her heart and soul into winning a spelling bee. What could be more wholesome and heart-warming? But as the story progresses, the darker (and extremely dysfunctional) side of the Naumann family is revealed. This contrast between the Naumanns, first as a model family, and then as a totally discombobulated group of people, is especially striking. There are a number of angles to this book. Most obviously, it is has a bizarre, almost grotesque, storyline. It also deals with some interesting psychological issues, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and dysfunctional families. In addition, it delves at great length into the world of Jewish mysticism. (Although I don't know very much about Kabbalism, I still feel that I was able to fully enjoy the book.) Myla Goldberg is truly an amazing young writer. This is definitely not your typical women's book club novel! If you love fiction but you're tired of sappy stories about "women overcoming adversity" or "women having mid-life crises", then this is the book for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it a lot. The Jewish mysticism aspect of it was so fascinating, I want to go out and learn more about that. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the character of Miriam...I didn't quite follow why she was so bizarre or some of her reactions. But this is the kind of book you like better and better the more you think about it, so maybe I'll revise up to 5 stars in another week or so! The language was so specific and wonderful...I loved the line that went something like, "Saul looked at Eliza as if she had just sprouted fruit from her navel."
And -- the ending was DEVASTATING. (That's a high compliment!)
Well done, Ms. Goldberg!
Rating:
Summary: Quirky but ultimately unconvincing
Review: Since there are nearly 200 previous reviews, many of which outline the plot and tenor of this novel, I'll stick to a critique of the characterizations. Those of you who think that toddler kleptomaniacs (or at least some of them) act the way they do because of a feeling that they will somehow be made whole by the insertion into their pockets of some trinket may well like this book. This sort of cuckoo psychologizing is everywhere in "Bee Season". Great spellers are likely to relate a certain letter to camels because of their "carrying powers"; at five, future compulsive theives may obsessively bequeath "perfectimundo" on certain stone tosses while playing hopscotch; failed mystics are likely to torture their children either by neglect or microscopic attention. In short, all behaviors and dispositions, no matter how apparently inexplicable, are intellectualized and thoroughly explained in this book. Parents reading about the theories held by those under eight in this book are likely to wonder if Ms. Goldberg can have ever met a child. Religious aspirants may question whether she has any clue about "mirror cleansing" generally thought to be necessary to making mystical connections. Not all actions are explicable, and if/when Ms. Goldberg comes to understand this, she may become a powerful novelist. Based on this book, I have my doubts, but a couple years of reading Trollope, Sue Miller, and Karen Horney might help. The plot here is original, but I can't remember seeing such one dimensional, unbelievable characters since "Oliver Twist". Allegra Goodman's "Paradise Park", while also flawed, at least gives us an only mildly improbable person with her ultimately Hasidic protagonist. Plus, it's often funny. Goldberg's book is almost unrelentingly bleak, and each member of "The Bee Season" family is from Saturn.
Rating:
Summary: Spelling, Spirituality, & Shoplifting
Review: Myla Goldberg's first novel is a real find. "Bee Season" is a coming-of-age tale like no other that I have read; if you come to this novel expecting a lightweight tale about a child prodigy in a spelling bee, you will be pleasantly surprised. Goldberg weaves Eliza Naumann's quest to become national spelling bee champion into a tapestry of hidden family secrets, repressed emotion, and discovered spirituality. The heartbreaking and somewhat dysfunctional relationships in the Naumann family will be familiar to all readers, regardless of religion. What begins as a simplistic story about a little girl struggling to please her father transforms into a complicated tale about morality, spiritual freedom, and acceptance. The surprising twist regarding Miriam Naumann's mental health (too great to mention here) is, suffice to say, shocking. The revelations about Miriam lead to some of Myla Goldberg's richest, most revealing descriptions. While Goldberg may introduce too many plots to feasibly tie together a conclusion, her use of multiple narrators and perspectives makes the story engaging and easy to follow for the reader. When you finish the final line, you may still be puzzled by what you just read but the confusion seems intentional. There are no easy answers to Eliza's questions and Goldberg invites the reader to think of their own.
Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Quests
Review: I loved the beginning of this book for its commentary on family and Jewish life, and because it was so funny. Then in the middle it became so sad as everything started to fall apart for the members of the family, and I couldn't quite understand where it was going. But as I read on I slowly realized that everyone in this confused and tormented family was on a search for life's meaning, and each had a hunger for finding out the key to existence. As a well known Hasidic story once said, some on that spiritual quest go crazy, some are left behind, some succeed. That's what this book is about.
Rating:
Summary: Bizzare, stick with it
Review: I absolutely loved this book and feel it deserves far more than the 3 1/2 star rating it currently averages. This book is bizarre. It is not a typical read ... The biggest twist for me was the kaliedscope . I like unique reads without the conventional ending. Each character has a distinct disfunction role but not the normal drug , sex, abusive disfunctions we read about over and over and over. If you like something totally unique with a twist , a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Multiple Narratives Makes Bee Season successful
Review: Initially when i picked up Bee Season I was sure that a novel about a seemingly average family would not be too entertaining, especially considering the main event was a spelling bee. However, Myla Goldberg truely has a gift for words. She adds intricate details to each character which makes them come alive and perfectly paints a mental image of who they are. The way she informs the reader of events past and present through hazy flashbacks, and multiple narratives makes it very interestng to read. In this sense it reminded me of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams, a book anyone who enjoyed this aspect of the novel may be interested in reading. I liked the way religious awakenings, parent-child relaionships, family life, and inner turmoil were delicately and smoothely weaved together. I reccomend it to anyone interested in a fast and captivating, even moving, read. There's something in this novel that anyone can find to relate to. If I were a 12th grade English teacher i would make it one of the reading requirements. It is an interesting tool to provoke conversation about several different themes.
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