By Sue Monk Kidd
A book about sisterhoods, "The Secret Life of Bees" is nothing short of brilliant. It captures all the struggles of life as a southern female in the mid-1960's. It proves that no matter the pigment of your skin, there is something very beautiful and very heartbreaking about being a woman.
Lily Owens is a fourteen-year old girl living in South Carolina. Her mother died when Lily was four-years old; there are mysterious circumstances surrounding the death. She has been left in the care of her abusive father and an uncaring black nanny. As Lily and Rosaleen the nanny walk to town one day so Rosaleen can register to vote, an altercation occurs. Lily and Rosaleen end up in the small-town jail; Rosaleen is beaten and bloodied at the hands of a few racists while the cop turns his head and looks the other way. Rosaleen is sent to the black wing of the hospital, but Lily hatches a plan to break her out before the nanny is returned to jail.
They hitch-hike through the state, following a ghost from Lily's past. In doing so, they make discoveries about themselves, about their past and about the world around them.
A movie of the book has come out in theaters, and while I have yet to see it, I greatly hope that with a story this remarkable, the movie is every bit as good as the book.
Sue Monk Kidd masterfully weaves the story with her beautiful words and images. Every single woman in the novel achieves their own greatness in life. The backdrop for the entire book is brought to life, drawing the reader in so closely, they can see and feel and taste their surroundings. Sunsets are personified with actions and colors:
First we ate. By now I'd learned eating was a high priority with the Daughters. When we finished, the redness had seeped from the day and night was arranging herself around us. Cooling things down, staining and dyeing the evening purple and blue-black.
Sue Monk Kidd has seen her novel succeed; at the time of the printing of this third edition, "The Secret Life of Bees" was on the New York Times Bestseller List for over one hundred weeks and sold over five million copies.
The author began her writing career writing memoirs. Hopefully, she will listen to her fans and followers when they express interest in a sequel to "The Secret Life of Bees."
Many books today fail to have a focus or moral to the story. It is refreshing and energizing to read a book that has the ability to make the reader feel empowered by the end. Make the journey and read "The Secret Life of Bees."
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1 comment:
The movie was very well written, much like this review. I can only imagine if a movie can make me cry and happy all in the space of a few minutes, how a book, which is always so much more detailed, will make me feel. I absolutely cannot wait to read the book now, not because I have seen the movie, but because of your excellent review. You always know just what to write in order to evoke certain emotions in the reader of your reviews that offer so much insight yet leaves us wanting more, and ultimately wanting to pick up the books you review and devour them from cover to cover, never pausing once to let real life inside of the world that books create in your mind. You rock, Jenn!
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