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Secret Life Of Bees A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Sue Kidd
Publisher: Penguin Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 15.50
Buy New: CDN$ 6.45
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Rating:  773 reviews
Sales Rank: 186
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0142001740
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780142001745
ASIN: 0142001740
Publication Date: January 28, 2003
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: From our American Warehouse - Delivery in 7-10 days
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From Amazon.com
In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their Georgia peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. These consoling fantasies are her heart's answer to the family story that as a child, in unclear circumstances, Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother. All Lily has left of Deborah is a strange image of a Black Madonna, with the words "Tiburon, South Carolina" scrawled on the back. The search for a mother, and the need to mother oneself, are crucial elements in this well-written coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. When Lily's beloved nanny, Rosaleen, manages to insult a group of angry white men on her way to register to vote and has to skip town, Lily takes the opportunity to go with her, fleeing to the only place she can think of--Tiburon, South Carolina--determined to find out more about her dead mother. Although the plot threads are too neatly trimmed, The Secret Life of Bees is a carefully crafted novel with an inspired depiction of character. The legend of the Black Madonna and the brave, kind, peculiar women who perpetuate Lily's story dominate the second half of the book, placing Kidd's debut novel squarely in the honored tradition of the Southern Gothic. --Regina Marler
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| Customer Reviews: Read 768 more reviews...
Busy bees, buzzing with life... October 27, 2008
I LOVE BOOKS (Italy)
This is a simple, unpretentious read, yet very pleasant.
1964, rural South Carolina. Many different themes are explored through the voice of Lily, a white 14 year-old with a heavy weight in her heart, the loss of her mother. What's worse, she believes she has accidentally killed her -it all happened when Lily was only 4- and since then all she earnestly wishes for is a forgiveness that never comes. She is brought up by a black nanny/servant, Rosaleen, and her father, a distant, harsh man who does nothing to make Lily feel loved. After a racial episode which gets Rosaleen into jail and hospital, Lily manages to escape with her and they become fugitives. They eventually get to Tiburon, a city that Lily feels has a strong connection with her mother's past.
They end up at the house of three black sisters, August, June and May Boatwright who, after a few reservations, agree for them to stay for a while in exchange of help around the house and with the bees. The sisters are beekeepers and August introduces Lily to the fascinating world of bees. Busy, wonderful, honey-making bees. After a few days, Lily makes the acquaintance of Zach, a black young man who also helps with all the bees-related work and a friendship ensues. Life at the Boatwright's seems a balm for Lily's wounded soul and Rosaleen too, finds the perfect niche and becomes very close to one of the sisters, May. Life seems trouble-free despite their hiding their true identities and with many racial contrasts in the background at the time.
The author digs into multiple concepts, love, race, loss, hate, friendship, forgiveness, self-discovery and acceptance. The narrative is uncomplicated and charming. On the whole, this book did not entirely blow me away (my "true" rating, 3 stars) but it was inspirational, one of those feel-good ones (hence, the 4 stars). And learning more than one bit about bees didn't hurt either, very interesting. Epigraphs from various books about bees and honey-making are quoted at the beginning of each chapter. A nice touch.
I believe that this book is also suitable for readers 14+.
 I thouroughly enjoyed the journey I took with Lily Owens October 14, 2007
D. R. Rooney
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Lily is 14 the summer her world changes. She lost her mother at four in a terrible accident that she can't remember more than as a blur. Her father T Ray is a hard and manipulating man who shows no love for his daughter. Lily has been raised by Rosaleen, a black woman has been Lily's surrogate mother. Bees are a focal part of Lily's young life. She hears them in the walls at night and her father laughs at her but Lily knows they are there. One day in town Rosaleen insults 3 racists and Lily knows it is finally time to leave and go in search of the mother she lost so long ago. Her journey takes her to the town of Tiburon. A name her mother wrote on the back of a picture of a black madonna. There Lily and Rosaleen are taken in by 3 black sisters, May, June and August. The sisters are beekeepers. So begins the summer of Lily finding herself and what really happened to her mother. This is a wonderful story of life. About mothers and daughters and relationships with women who become our true mothers. I really enjoyed this book. It brought back memories of the soul searching that is involved with the loss of one's mother. It takes time but with time peace can be found.
Y'all Stop Now July 22, 2007
Shelton Seabold (Montclair)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
A motherless girl who sets off on her own to find a mother, it doesn't matter to Lily the color or age, and discovers herself and more than she was expecting. "In the photo by my bed my mother is perptually smiling on me. I guess I have forgiven us both, although sometimes in the night my dreams will take me back to the sadness, and I have to wake up and forgive us again." She is now fourteen and was only four when her mother tragically died in the heat of rage.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, about maternal loss and betrayal, guilt and forgiveness, has a wisdom about life, entwined with the transforming power of love, and it reminded me so strongly of the books THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER and the ever-popular and jaw-dropping BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. But Kidd's novel has something even these other books don't-a sweetness that feeds the soul. The main character's harsh father had made her believe that she was responsible for the death of her mother.
This being a fictional account, the main character could forgive her mother for leaving her alone, seeking for what was taken from her. She longs for and goes on a search to find the single thing her heart longs for. I, on the other hand, could not forgive -- or forget how very helpless a young girl feels as she struggles for some kind of closure to her grief. This is truly a forgiving story for the motherless child in all of us.
A charming little gem July 4, 2007
Mary Ellen (St. Catharines, Ontario Canada)
A lovely summer read. Women would probably enjoy this more than men. Strong storyline. Unforgettable characters
Touching Heart felt story February 22, 2007
Lisa Reader (Montreal, Quebec Canada)
I really en joyed reading this book. Although it was quite short, the story progresses well and really touches your heart.
I agree that it may not be the most "original story idea" the actual story is very compelling and well written. I enjoyed it very much.
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