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The Secret Life of Bees | 
 enlarge | Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $8.36
You Save: $6.64 (44%)
New (44) Used (22) Collectible (2) from $7.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  1448 reviews
Sales Rank: 222
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0143114557
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780143114550
ASIN: 0143114557
Publication Date: August 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1443 more reviews...
Great for book-club November 30, 2008
My book-club liked it more than I did, although I was the one who picked it out. It was a good book, I just don't think it will be that memorable to me in the long run.
 Sweeeeeeeeeeet! November 29, 2008
Ms Kidd knows how to make a story live and develop characters outstandingly. This story of 14 year old Lily on a North Carolina peach farm and her adventures to get away from her abusive dad will tug at your heart strings. Thank you for this lovely book and believe it or not this great movie. But read the book first.
good November 26, 2008
it took awhile for me get into it but after that i really like it! can't wait to see the movie! it was moving and i loved it!
 Shouldn't this be in the "young adults" section??? November 25, 2008
It was cute, I'll give it that. And being a true southerner, I did enjoy some of the cultural references, but I have a really hard time believing this book was written for an adult audience. I think it would really appeal to a girl the same age as (or a little younger than) the first-person narrator, a girl of 15. But as a thirty-something-year-old woman, it left me intellectually and emotionally hungry. The style of writing is pleasant (reminiscent of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter) but the content is lacking. The ideas are there, but the execution is too juvenile to make it believable. If you're old enough to drive, skip the book and just see the movie and save yourself several hours. I wish I had.
My Favorite Book November 25, 2008
The Secret Lives of Bees is easily my favorite. I read it quiet a while ago, and recently re-read it. I fell in love with May, June and August all over again. The chemisty between the characters is vivid. There is not many books out there that I can picture/imagine as I read it, except this one. Each sentence I read is like I am watching or I am actually there. The authors diction pulls the audience in and captures you. This is a fast read, which also makes it very enjoyable. From begining, middle, to end I was hooked all the way through. I also appreciated the potilical relevance to this particular time period as it takes place in the 1960's, the heart of civil rights movement. After reading the Secret Lives of Bees I tried picking up her Mermaid book but did not find it half as good as this one. I would recommend this book to anyone female of any age. I would especially recommend reading it before the movie comes out, which looks fantastic.
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