PENGUIN The Secret Life of Bees

Loved this book. It is beautifully written and captures the time it was written in, very well. There are references to public events which helps to take the reader to that time, and addresses some of the less attractive aspects of American culture without taking away from the main storyline. The story flows beautifully, at times making you laugh, smile, and at other time, cry. Given all this it is still an easy read with plenty of empathy, wisdom, and compassion.

There were black and orange stains on the cover of the book. Weird.

Lily, a 14-year-old girl who lives with her abusive father and has a foggy memory of her mother's murder, is the subject of the story The Secret Lives of Bees. It takes place in South Carolina in 1964, when there was racial discrimination. We also have Rosaleen, who has been the family's maid for almost ten years and serves as Lily's mother figure. This book tells the story of Lily's search for her mother and how, in some ways, it relates to beekeeping.

イギリスからなのに早く届きました。 まだ読んでないので４★。（ちなみにMermaid Chairは５★）

The book struck a deeply personal chord with me on many levels. It perfectly captures the racial tensions of the era, bringing back memories of my own youth and the baffling prejudice I witnessed just for crossing lines to talk to a Black friend in the school hallway. Yet, beyond the social commentary, this is a story of deep heart and spirituality. The beautiful focus on the Virgin Mary and the rosary touched my Catholic roots deeply, highlighting the message that true faith is something you must feel in your heart rather than just a physical object. The emotional highs and lows are brilliant, making me laugh one moment and cry the next. As a fellow book lover and writer, I deeply appreciate this author's spectacular ability to entertain and move her audience. An absolute must-read! Why it took me this long to finally read this number-one bestseller is beyond me! The Secret Life of Bees is an incredibly moving novel that resonates just as strongly today as it did when it was written. Sue Monk Kidd draws her characters so vividly that you feel like you are watching a movie play out right face-to-face. Set in 1964, the story follows 14-year-old Lily, a girl carrying the crushing weight of wondering if she accidentally killed her own mother. I utterly despised her father, T. Ray. He is a worthless, quick-tempered man, and it is hard to fathom a father treating his daughter with such cruelty. In fact, Kidd writes him so powerfully that a nagging thought stayed in the back of my mind: did he actually kill Lily’s mother and try all those year’s to pin it on her? I was so relieved to learn later that the author’s real father was the exact opposite of T. Ray which was mentioned in notes in the back of the book. As someone who also had a wonderful dad, I deeply appreciate the profound emotional research and precarious headspace it took for her to write a villain that a reader could detest so intensely. Just a horribly I was able to dislike her dad, Kidd was able to bring a far different emotion for several of the women characters in the book. It’s as if she had 8 mothers standing there in the room and fashioning character before your eyes. She makes it all look so easy but believe me, as a fellow writer I can tell you it is not. They each have to carry a certain depth that again Sue Monk Kidd captured beautifully. The book struck a deeply personal chord with me on many levels. It perfectly captures the racial tensions of the era, bringing back memories of my own youth and the baffling prejudice I witnessed just for crossing lines to talk to a Black friend in the school hallway. Our lunchroom was another battle field and I was branded as badly as some of the my friends just because we had different skin color. Beyond the social commentary, this is a story of deep heart and spirituality. The beautiful focus on the Virgin Mary and the rosary touched my Catholic roots deeply, highlighting the message that true faith is something you must feel in your heart rather than just a physical object. The emotional highs and lows are brilliant, making me laugh one moment and cry the next. As a fellow book lover and writer, I deeply appreciate this author's spectacular ability to entertain and move her audience. An absolute must-read for best seller book lovers