Fourteen-year-old Lily is on the run with her servant, Rosaleen, from her abusive father. Lily is haunted by her memories of her mother's death in a gun accident ten years earlier. They find their way to Tiburon, S.C., the headquarters of the Black Madonna Honey company, headed by three middle-aged black sisters, August, May and June. These three give shelter to Lily and Rosaleen, and let them work in their honey house. But August, the eldest sister, has penetrating questions for Lily, and Lily is determined not to yield. ...
Read More
Fourteen-year-old Lily is on the run with her servant, Rosaleen, from her abusive father. Lily is haunted by her memories of her mother's death in a gun accident ten years earlier. They find their way to Tiburon, S.C., the headquarters of the Black Madonna Honey company, headed by three middle-aged black sisters, August, May and June. These three give shelter to Lily and Rosaleen, and let them work in their honey house. But August, the eldest sister, has penetrating questions for Lily, and Lily is determined not to yield. Despite her resistance, Lily is healed spiritually by August, and finds the mother she has been yearning for in herself.
Read Less
There is a sad beginning to this story, the father is abusing his 14 yr. old daughter. His anger forces the girl to run away from home and into a new life. She begins to heal and build a safe life with a household of beekeepers. It is a book that was hard to put down.
Malcolm J
Nov 8, 2012
Secret life of Bees
Great story, very well written. Loved it, and sorry when I reached the end. Would take this book with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
helper
Dec 3, 2011
Nothing like the flick
Sprinkled throughout this novel just when I am feeling that I am following a child's foolish fantasy is Sue Monk Kidd's description of scent and the memory it evokes for Lily. For example, upon recognizing her mother's scent on a fifth-grade teacher, who tells her it is Ponds Cold Cream, Lily is "shocked." But she is not upset by learning the source of the smell, or because the teacher donns it; her reaction is caused by the scent itself. For if the author wished to convey that the teacher shocked Lily, the word "shocked" would have been placed away from the word "scent" and nearer to the word "teacher." Instead, we read,
It was a shock when I came upon the scent [of my mother] on my fifth-grade teacher, who said it was nothing but plain ordinary Ponds Cold Cream.
This sentence structure conveys the feeling that scent evokes for the character, Lily. And that feeling is portrayed with a word derived from the French word choc, indicating an armed encounter, as in battle. Lily associates this lasting memory with her own inner struggle.
This technique is what carried me all the way through The Secret Life of Bees to the end.
ModelAEraLady
Jul 14, 2011
Secret Life of Bees
Arrived in good condition and on time. This was an excellent read. Good depiction of life in the South.
Peter C
Oct 21, 2010
hmm
Interesting coming of age story about life and real attitudes. Not PC or fake presentation.
