Saturday, September 08, 2007

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

I loved this book! It really spoke to my heart. The characters were so lovable (or not) and I loved the relationships that were developed between them. I thought that there were some really neat lessons about motherhood and how we need to find the mother inside of us. It was also neat to watch how Lily's perception of her mother changes but to see how she grows and learns from her experience. She learns that nobody is perfect but we've gotta love them anyway.

Quote from the book:

"Drifting off to sleep, I thought about her. How nobody is perfect. How you just have to close your eyes and breathe out and let the puzzle of the human heart be what it is."

One thing thing I didn't like about the book: all the bees!! Yikes! =) I would definitely recommend this book! I'm excited to discuss it at book club tomorrow night.

Here is a synopsis and review that I found on the web:


Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory--the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her “stand-in mother.”


When Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina--a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother.

There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters named May, June, and August. Lily thinks of them as the calendar sisters and enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, and of the Black Madonna who presides over this household of strong, wise women. Maternal loss and betrayal, guilt and forgiveness entwine in a story that leads Lily to the single thing her heart longs for most.

The Secret Life of Bees has a rare wisdom about life--about mothers and daughters and the women in our lives who become our true mothers. A remarkable story about the divine power of women and the transforming power of love, this is a stunning debut whose rich, assured, irresistible voice gathers us up and doesn't let go, not for a moment. It is the kind of novel that women share with each other and that mothers will hand down to their daughters for years to come.

2 comments:

Liz said...

i loved this book!!!

Bekah: said...

I just read this book a few weeks ago. I loved it! I always use my highlighter for quotes that I love. I have to say, there is a lot of yellow all over the pages. The words in this book are beautiful. I thought it was a very inspiring story. I loved the message of love and compassion. It was so heartwarming to invision Lily welcomed, loved and embraced by the black women. I loved all the relationships in the book. It was so beautiful. This book is on my top 10 list!