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The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd (Goodreads Author)
4.05 1,097,129 ratings 30,023 reviews
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Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults t... More
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Average rating 4.05 · 1,097,129 ratings · 30,023 reviews
Kerry
Kerry rated it really liked it
over 6 years ago
Recommends it for: Chicks
Okay, hear me out. This is SO not the kind of book I normally read. It's the kind of book my mother reads. You know the type I'm talking about: "Reviving Ophelia", "Not Without My Daughter"...mother-y books. It was, in fact, my mother who demanded I read this book, because s ...more
Like Likes: 481
Sammy
Sammy rated it it was amazing
over 6 years ago
Shelves: a-the-best
Ahhh! *gasp* *choke* *stammer* I can barely find the words to say how much I loved this book. Honestly, The Secret Life of Bees has to be one of the best books I've read in a while. I just want to give it several A+'s and a kiss!
It was touching, well-written, beautiful, full ...more
Like Likes: 241
Dolly
Dolly rated it it was ok
over 10 years ago
Recommends it for: people who like Southern-flavored coming-of-age books and
Shelves: thought-provoking
I confess to being a little hesitant going into this book. It is, after all, that most cliched and irritating of literati faves: a coming-of-age story set in the American South. Lily, a motherless 14-year-old girl lives with her bigoted abusive father on a peach farm in Sout ...more
Like Likes: 190
Will Byrnes
Will Byrnes rated it really liked it
about 2 years ago
Shelves: fiction
description
Sue Monk Kidd - image from her FB pages
The Secret Life of Bees is a lovely tale. It tells of Lily, a South Carolina 14 year old. She lives, unhappily, with her crusty father T. Ray and Rosaleen, the woman who raised her after her mother died when Lily was 4. It is a coming of age tale set against the civil rights issues of the early 60’s. It is certainly no coincidence that Lily (as in white) spends most of the book in the company of earth-mother black people. Rosaleen attempts to register to vote and winds up in jail. Lily manages to spring her. Lily has always maintained fantasies about her dead mother, and wants to find out more about her. She uses clues found in materials left by her mother and winds up in another South Carolina town, in the home of the Calendar Sisters (August, June and May). There she learns about bee-keeping and mothering. There are mothering images aplenty here. The calendar sisters have evolved a personal religion around Mary, using a masthead image of the Virgin as an icon. Each chapter begins with a quote about bees. Each of these quotes tells of the substance of the following chapter. Lily learns the truth about her mother, becomes aware of her new sexuality, and grows up.