The Secret Life of Bees
By Sue Monk Kidd
(Viking Adult, Hardcover, 9780670032372, 320pp.)
Publication Date: October 1, 2002
Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Paperback, Paperback, Compact Disc, Prebound, Hardcover, , , Compact Disc, Compact Disc
Categories: Literary
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The Secret Life Of Bees is the story of Lily Owens, a girl who has shaped her life around one devastating memory—the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Besides her harsh and unyielding father, Lily’s only real companion is Rosaleen, a tender, but fierce-hearted black woman who cooks, cleans and acts as her “stand-in mother.”
Set in 1964 in South Carolina, a place and time of seething racial divides, violence explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten. Lily is despserate, not only to save Rosaleen, but to flee from a life she can no longer endure. Calling upon her colorful wits and youthful daring, she breaks Rosaleen out of jail and the two escape, into what quickly becomes Lily’s quest for the truth about her mother’s life.
They are taken in by three black, bee-keeping sisters, May, June, and August, and Lily is consumed by their secret world of bees and honey, and of the Black Madonna who presides over this household of strong, wise women. Lily’s journey is one of painful secrets and shattering betrayals but that ultimately helps her find the thing her heart longs for most.
The Secret Life Of Bees allows us into a world apart—in a novel whose strong, irresistible voice catches us up and doesn’t let go. The Secret Life Of Bees is a mesmerizing novel about women with extraordinary gifts coping with loss and finding forgiveness and especially, learning to forgive themselves.
"Lily is a wonderfully petulant and self-absorbed adolescent, and Kidd deftly portrays her sense of injustice as it expands to accommodate broader social evils. At the same time the political aspects of Lily''s growth never threaten to overwhelm the personal. The core of this story is Lily''s search for a mother, and she finds one in a place she never expected.... She finds her Madonna in a woman named August Boatwright, the proprietor of a honey farm that''s a harbor of quiet civility. August and her sisters, June and May, are no mere vehicles for Lily''s salvation; they are individuals as fully imagined as the sweltering, kudzu-carpeted landscape that surrounds them."
—The New York Times Book Review
"Lily Melissa Owens... the brave girl at the heart of this novel... frees her babysitter, a black maid who has been abused by several white men and put in jail for it, and the two of them follow Lily''s instincts to safety. The Secret Life of Bees is one of those novels that leaves a reader more confident: Heck, if this kid could do it, so can I."
—The Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Populated with rich, believable characters and propelled by a swiftly paced plot, this debut novel is a cut above most coming-of-age tales. You’ll be glad you went along for the ride. Bottom line: Buzz-worthy."
—People Magazine
"Sue Monk Kidd is an extraordinary storyteller. Beautifully written."
—Ursula Hegi
"A wonderful novel about mothers and daughters and the transcendent power of love."
—Connie May fowler
"With imagination as lush and colorful as the American South, a clutch of deliciously eccentric characters and vivid prose, Sue Monk Kidd creates a rich, maternal haven in a harsh world."
—Christina Schwarz
"A truly original Southern voice." —Anita Shreve
"The tale of one motherless daughter''s discovery of what family really means—and of the strange and wonderful places we find love." —The Washington Post
"A moving first novel...Lily is an authentic and winning character and her story is compellingly told. The bees presage her journey toward self-acceptance, faith and freedom." —USA Today
"...Sue Monk Kidd is a direct literary descendant of Carson McCullers." —The Baltimore Sun
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