Secret Life of Bees: CD | 
 enlarge | Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Publisher: Highbridge Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $20.78
You Save: $14.17 (41%)
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Rating:  1440 reviews
Sales Rank: 10077
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Pages: 10
Number Of Items: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 5.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1565115392
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
UPC: 025024890734
EAN: 9781565115392
ASIN: 1565115392
Publication Date: January 28, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Serving Book Lovers Since 1980. Brand New!
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Amazon.com Review
In Sue Monk Kidd's IThe Secret Life of Bees/I, 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, IThe Secret Life of Bees/I 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. I--Regina Marler/I
Product Description
Fourteen-year-old Lily Owens lost her beloved mother when she was only four#x2014;under tragic circumstances clouded by time and secrecy. She later found a fiercely protective "stand-in," her abusive father's outspoken housekeeper, Rosaleen. Ignoring differences in age and color#x2014;and the fact that racial hatred seethed during the summer of 1964 in rural South Carolina#x2014;these two unlikely companions set off on a seemingly aimless pilgrimage that ends at the home of a trio of eccentric bee-keeping black sisters.PLily tells her remarkable tale of longing and love in an idiom and accent heard far south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but the lessons learned during her odyssey into the world of bees and their "secret life" are universal and everlasting.PIn her debut novel, Sue Monk Kidd proves herself adept both at storytelling and at creating characters who are simultaneously outlandish and credible#x2014;in other words, worthy to join the ranks of such first-rate Southern stylists as Kaye Gibbons, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Ellen Gilchrist.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1435 more reviews...
 Pretty good, but no classic November 20, 2008
Ben Dover
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've had to be as private as possible back then, I think. Also, this book has that same 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. br / br /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. br /
 An Excellent Read! November 19, 2008
Ann K. Adams (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
I found this book to be well written, not at all the obvious work of a beginning writer, as some reviewers have intimated. It flowed well, and there were just enough characters to make it interesting. Thnak you, Sue Monk Kidd, for an enjoyable novel!
The Secret Life of Bees November 19, 2008
Anna (Mission, Texas, USA)
This is a good book and I read it because I was inspired by the movie. I received the book in record time and at a very good price with the cover on it of the movie's trailer. The movie is pretty much true to the book and I was not disappointed at reading it. A very enjoyable read!
great read, very moving and realistic for the time period November 18, 2008
Victoria Gordon
For those of us who grew up during the civil rights movement or on the fringe and are now seeing the change The Secret Life of Bees is a clear reminder of where the march begins in a place we can clearly see and feel. Take the chance and go back to that place, feel the feelings and be empowered. br /
Good Read November 18, 2008
Yo-Yo (Albany, CA)
This book makes for a great read. 'Secret Life' provokes the reader to reflect on all of the positive changes that America has undergone since the 1960's. Additionally, any woman/little girl who has struggled to find her true identity can relate to Lily's plight. With that being said, however great the movie, I do not believe that the actresses chosen to portray the book's characters match each character's true essence. I am glad that I make it a point to read the book prior to watching the movie adaptation.
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