Customer Reviews
Slow, but very good - By: Louis/Imogen/Dad, 28 Oct 2008 
The feminist institute would absoloutly adore this book, so if you are part of group's like that, drop everthing & read this!
The secret lives of bees is a very well written, imaginative book. It is about a teenage girl, Lily, who livesin the time of racial tensionin America. Her father who she call's T.Ray, is horrible & unloving to her, often making her to painful & exausting punishment's for faults she did. Lily runs away with her black maid Rosaleen & they find solacein the home of three sisters who have made honey their whole lives.
This part of the book starts to get slower, for about 2 chapters it get's repetetive & a little boring, but then something exiting explodes & the entertainment sustain's itslef again. It does this about 3 times, but towards the end of the book (the last 3-4 chapters) it explodes with excitment & drama, lasting till the very last words of the book. This is an excellent read, but if you can bare with it for a while for a few chapters, then you will thoughroly enjoy it.
no,its not about bees! - By: palace pier, 13 Oct 2008 
A story that starts quite darkly,moves through a meaningful stage & then comes up with a sad,surprising but realistic ending.
First read this book as a Summer holiday freebie from a Womens magazine several years ago & had no high hopes. My expectations were swiftly changed as I progressed through the book. I would definitely recommend this one.
Busy bees, buzzing with life... - By: I LOVE BOOKS, 09 Sep 2008 This is a simple, unpretentious read, yet very pleasant.
1964, rural South Carolina. Many different themes are explored through the voice of Lily, a white 14 year-old with a heavy weightin her heart, the loss of her mother. What's worse, she believes she has accidentally killed her -it all happened when Lily was only 4- & since then all she earnestly wishes for is a forgiveness that never comes. She is brought up by a black nanny/servant, Rosaleen, & her father, a distant, harsh man who does nothing to make Lily feel loved. After a racial episode which gets Rosaleen into jail & hospital, Lily manages to escape with her & they become fugitives. They eventually get to Tiburon, a city that Lily feels has a strong connection with her mother's past.
They end up at the house of three black sisters, August, June & May Boatwright who, after a few reservations, agree for them to stay for a whilein exchange of help around the house & with the bees. The sisters are beekeepers & August introduces Lily to the fascinating world of bees. Busy, wonderful, honey-making bees. After a few days, Lily makes the acquaintance of Zach, a black young man who also helps with all the bees-related work & a friendship ensues. Life at the Boatwright's seems a balm for Lily's wounded soul & Rosaleen too, finds the perfect niche & becomes very close to one of the sisters, May. Life seems trouble-free despite their hiding their true identities & with many racial contrastsin the background at the time.
The author digs into multiple concepts, love, race, loss, hate, friendship, forgiveness, self-discovery & acceptance. The narrative is uncomplicated & charming. On the whole, this book did not entirely blow me away (my "true" rating, 3 ½ stars) but it was inspirational, one of those feel-good ones (hence, the 4 stars). And learning more than one bit about bees didn't hurt either, very interesting. Epigraphs from various books about bees & honey-making are quoted at the beginning of each chapter. A nice touch.
I believe that this book is also suitable for readers 14+.
As sweet as... - By: LittleReader, 20 Jul 2008 What a fantastic novel! Narrated by Lily, who at fourteen has grown up believing that she accidently killed her mother, this is the tale of how Lily comes to terms with her feelings, her guilt & her loss...
Set against a backdrop of racial tensionin the deep South & the gently, dedicated tending of beesin a bustling pink house, 'The Secret Life of Bees' hums with life. What I found most impressive was Lily's voice - that SMK manages to capture so perfectly the confused & tangled thoughts of a typical adolescent while at the same time being wry & witty. This novel throws up many issues for discussion, making it an ideal choice for a book club but I would also recommend a read purely for pleasure as that's essentially what it is - utterly pleasurable, the writing enchanting, I loved it!
There are certain American authors for whom I have so much admiration - including Fannie Flagg, Sue Miller, Alice Hoffman, Adriana Trigiani - & Sue Monk Kidd now ranks amongst them, I cannot wait to read more of her work...
The Secret Life of Bees - By: Maybaby, 04 Jul 2008 Lily has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother when she was four years old & at fourteen, lives with her father, a man who shows her no love.
Set against a background of racial unrestin South Carolina, Lily & a black servant, Rosaleen suddenly find themselves fugitives from justice & find sanctuaryin the home of three beekeeping sisters, which eventually helps Lily understand what happened all those years before.
This is a lovely book which I thoroughly enjoyed, I found it heartwarming & uplifting & would highly recommend it. I enjoyed learning about bees too & particularly liked the bees quotes which appeared at the start of each chapter.
