Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Secret Life of Bees

Book Review

I just finished a book while on vacation last week called The Secret Life of Bees by: Sue Monk Kidd.  I read it in about two days so highly recommend it if you are looking for an easy read.

**Warning: if you don't want to know too much about this book before you read it, then don't read the summary below**


A quick synopsis, courtesy of Borders.com:
South Carolina in 1964 is a place and time of seething racial divides. When violence explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, Lily is desperate, not only to save Rosaleen, but to flee a life she can no longer endure. Calling upon her colorful wits and uncommon daring, she breaks Rosaleen out of jail and the two of them take off, runaway-fugitives conjoined in an escape that quickly turns into Lily's quest for the truth about her mother's life.


Following a trail left ten years earlier, Lily and Rosaleen end up in the home of three bee-keeping sisters. No ordinary women, the sisters revere a Black Madonna and tend a unique brand of female spirituality that reaches back to the time of slavery. As Lily's life becomes deeply entwined with theirs, she is irrevocably altered. In a mesmerizing world of bees and honey, amid the strength and power of wise women, Lily journeys through painful secrets and shattering betrayals, finding her way to the single thing her heart longs for most.Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. 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 "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.


On another note, I am currently reading Bossypants by: Tina Fey and Little Bee  by: Chris Cleave.  Both are good so far.  Has anyone read A Point Clear by: Jennifer Paddock or The Paris Wife by: Paula McClain?  I think they are next on my list.

1 comment:

  1. i read it recently too...i liked it! (maybe not love) made me miss the south though!

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