The Secret Life of Bees

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My View:   This book can only be described as a rare diamond in the often dull literary world. The author's voice is entertaining, depicting a totally realistic set of characters, with real voices reaching out to the imperfect places in all of us, and I quickly found myself wondering if she had written anything else. The imagery was amazing, and every inch of the pink house is open to interpretation, yet incredibly well described. Natural reading progression continues throughout the book, and the quotes from bee books are expertly placed at the beginning of each chapter to provide thought-provoking messages that connect to each chapter's plot content. Although the story is innocent enough to remain essentially simple, it is also grown-up enough to reach out to women of all ages. The ever-present figure of Lily's mother, playing a very real and nearly tangible role as a guardian angel, carries a wonderful undertone of a feminine perfection. At the end, I loved the bees, and I wanted this book to be longer! Weeks after reading it, I was still thinking about it.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Bees

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Bees-Monk-Kidd/dp/0142001740

General Information:

Method of Reading	Personally owned paperback novel, 302 pages
Dates of Reading	August 28, 2009-September 5, 2009
Author	Sue Monk Kidd
Publication Year	2002
Recommended To:	In my opinion (and probably the opinion of hundreds of other readers), every girl should read this book at some point in their young lives. Maybe even several times. The youngest age I would recommend it to is an 11-year-old. They could understand it. However, I wouldn't want to see a girl that young reading it. Language, random content issues, and a wonderful story that could be wasted on eyes too young to fully understand it, wouldn't make this the special book it should be. I would really love to give it to a 13- or 14-year-old girl and watch them read it. Any girl over that age should never hesitate to read it. But I hate to think that any girl could go through her life without reading the book.
Quotes:	"Sometimes you want to fall on your knees and thank God in heaven for all the poor news reporting that goes on in the world" (66). "I want to tell the truth, which means the worst parts" (78). "'You've got to hear of these things before you can imagine them.'     'Bull****. You gotta imagine what's never been'" (120). "She said I was living in a dream world. … Every time I shot back, What's wrong with living in a dream world? And she'd say, You have to wake up" (121). "[I] wondered how he could stand me. In one short morning I had exhibited insane laughter, hidden lust, p*ssy behavior, self-pity, and hysterical crying" (128). "when it's time to live, live. Don't sort-of-maybe live, but live like you're going all out, like you're not afraid" (211). "I took a breath instead. Throwing fits wasn't all that satisfying, I'd found out" (262). "If you need something from somebody, always give that person a way to hand it to you" (298). "I believe in the goodness of imagination" (300).
Movie?	Yep, just a few years ago. I never ended up seeing it (yet), but it's supposed to be really good. An all-star cast, from what I've heard.

Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic info:
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.