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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780142001745 ISBN: 0142001740 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: January 28, 2003 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Release Date: January 28, 2003 Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics) Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their South Carolina 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 Product Description: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Now I know why people kept buying this bookWhen I worked at Barnes and Noble, people would come in all the time, wanting to buy "The Secret Life of Bees". It was on the Bestseller list at the store just recently as I can remember...Around April or May of this year. I never understood why, I guess because I've been reading so many romance novels, never bothered to look at anything else. Plus it just didn't interest me, until I was at the movie theater and saw the coming attractions for this book. I said, damn, this movie looks real good. Then ... Read More Rating: - Traveling made easyMy husband and I listened to Secret LOB's while traveling. We listened going and returning but didn't get it finished. We spent the next afternoon relaxing and finishing the cd. We both felt it was one of the best Books on cd. Another book on cd for a really long travel is The White House by Margaret Truman. You can listen, stop, and return to listening weeks after for the trip home. She researched the White house and has many interesting inside stories of the people who lived and visited the White ... Read More Rating: - Gorgeous Prose and CharactersThe Secret Life of Bees is one of those books that is always talked about yet might not be as good as people say it is. You don't really know until you read it yourself. It has reached such a high pedestal in today's literature that it might just be hype. But it is certainly not. This novel was one of the best I have read this year. Lily Owens, fourteen years old, is growing sick of her home. Conflicted by the memory of the day her mother died, Lily has to also deal with her mean father T.Ray, ... Read More Rating: - The Secret Life of BeesThis book was thought provoking, funny, truthful and very touching. I needed to read it slowly so I wouldn't miss any of the details. A great book for a vaction, even if the vacation is in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy! Rating:  - Lovely and Sad StoryI know I am very late to the party when it comes to "The Secret Life of Bees". It was at a second hand store, and was the best of what was available, so I picked it up. The words and images in this novel set in 1964 South Carolina in 1964 were very evocative...when Kidd describes the oppressive heat - I can practically taste that hot, dusty air. There were sections when Lily reflects on the mother she's lost and the father she never really had that touched my heart. This young girl's voice ... Read More |
