Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 50
 My Favorite Book November 25, 2008
Kendall Hellman
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.
loved it1 November 25, 2008
Laurel Enders (San Francisco, CA)
When I began reading the book, I felt myself quickly drop into the main character's mind. Sue Monk Kidd does a good job of putting the reader right into a scene, describing the story of a young girl's journey toward healing, and learning the intrinsic sacredness of living in the world.
The religion of the three sisters plays a big roll in the book. Although some may criticize its incorrect content, I enjoyed stepping into somebody else's world. One character, August, actually calls it a flavor of Catholicism. I embraced the women's culture despite parts of it being untrue, not matching up to the Catholic bible. This story proves that faith is found anywhere a person wishes it to be. We learn about their version of religion, these women's hidden faith that keeps everyone strong in the midst of a crisis, with a young white girl absorbing all that she can.
The book kept me entertained the whole way through, although I had trouble believing a few scenes due to the racial tension. In one scene Lily and Zach (a young back boy) drive into town. I worried that they would be stopped and interrogated by bystanders. Back then it wasn't normal for races to interact, and even though they hug in public, not a single person is paying attention. At the time, that would have been a big deal and probably would've stirred up a problem in town. Still, the riveting tale of Southern racial issues, loss, and hope is far from letting me down.
I love that Lily finds her happiness in a welcoming home. One of my best friends had a mother who died when we were nine years old, so reading this story gave me better insight on the deep and personal yearning of maternal love that I have yet to experience. We've talked a lot about her mother's passing, but reading this gave all the details that nobody likes to talk about. Lily's strength, depsite T. Ray's unwillingess to love, gives young girls all over the country hope, and a meaning to the phrase "this too shall pass".
Overall, I found the novel to be an uplifting story about mothers and daughters, and the women that become our mothers in place. It possesses a rare wisdom about life that keeps you coming back for more. Full of feminine spirituality, racial tension, and maturing due to love, loss and change, we come along for an eccentric and imaginative ride.
Great Read November 24, 2008
Sondra Sweeney (USA)
Great book, my second time reading it and I enjoyed it even more this time around.
10 stars out of 5 November 24, 2008
Vampara (Tampa, FL)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
absolutely positevely without a doubt in my heart, flesh and soul 150% recommend this book!
P.S. The movie is very accurate to the book!
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 Pretty good, but no classic November 20, 2008
Ben Dover
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is above average and well worth the reader's time. Some reviewers think its one of the all-time greats, but I wouldn't go that far. Its too naive and unrealistic at times and jarringly anachronistic at others. I realize that when reading fiction the reader should just let themselves be carried along and suspend disbelief and all that. But Ms. Kidd wrote some passages that just snap the reader out of their reverie. For example, I'm not sure Zach and Lily could ride around town together in the Boatwright's truck without serious consequences for Zach. Surely August and June would know better than that. Any interracial relationships would have to be conducted as privately as possible back then, I think. Also, this book has that same old cliched notion of kindly, wise and mystical-seeming black people imparting life-altering knowledge to young white people at a crucial crossroads in their lives. And now that a black family will be in the White House in a few weeks maybe its time to give that formula a rest for a while.
That's enough negativity, though. Like I said, this is an enjoyable, well-intentioned book that wears its heart on its sleeve. It has some very well written female characters. This is rare in fiction. For the most part, its necessary to read books authored by women in order to get this depth of feminine portrayals and Ms. Kidd certainly delivers. I bought the book because I liked the movie, which followed the book pretty closely. The movie has some excellent work by some very talented women and is also well worth the viewer's time and money.
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