Secret Life of Bees, The
Kidd, Sue MonkSet in 1960s southern USA, Lily, a motherless white teenager, lives with her embittered father, but is raised by her black housekeeper, Rosaleen. Following a racist incident, Lily and Rosaleen become fugitives from justice, finding refuge in the home of three bee keeping sisters. It is in this unique community that Lily comes to terms with her life and the death and loss of her mother. What's Hot - June 2013 [Larger font]
Comments from Groups
"Wonderful read. Stirred some religious debate, some quite fiery!" Wanganui 005 "Original, quirky,memorable, 'feel good'." Havelock North 008 "Compelling reading, interesting political time. Good group discussion and enjoyed on several levels." Christchurch 222 "Just what we needed post quake! Easy read." Diamond Harbour 001 "It was a wonderful portrayal of humanity overcoming the scourge of racism. The characters were so real, the humour was delightful..." Nelson 019
Pages
374
374
Year
2001
2001
Reviews
10-04-2024
The group had interesting discussion on mothering and how all these different women were a mother to Lily in some way. A very interesting story and the majority of the group loved it.
25-09-2023
We all really enjoyed this book - loved the tone of it and the characters. While it does cover some dark and disturbing times and incidents the overall positivity and resilience of the main characters was heart-warming - we all wanted more...
03-11-2021
We really loved this book. A beautiful story with great characters.
27-09-2021
Loved it! Great character development. Altogether believable and down to earth.
05-07-2021
Really enjoyed the book, and many enjoyed the style of writing.
19-05-2021
Excellent read, we really enjoyed it.
21-04-2021
"A good read" was the almost 100% response to this book. Comments covered many aspects - bees, Black Madonnas, civil rights, storytelling and the excellent use of simple language. We gave it our highest ever score!
16-01-2019
Very colourful characters and a great story about relationships and acceptance. Beautifully woven together showing a positive aspect of biracial interactions.
16-01-2019
Yahoo! Another good book that we all loved. Well-written and full of love, but some sadness as well. An insight into relationships in the Southern States of America. Can recommend.
16-01-2019
Everyone loved the book. It has been a highlight for many members. We loved the characters and the concept of all the women coming together, and the mothering roles they provided for Lilly. It generated lots of interesting discussion about childhood and memories. We were shocked at how late women got the vote, and by the racism the characters faced. Several members bought their own copy.
16-01-2019
"A clutch of deliciously eccentric characters". We all enjoyed the story and the quality of writing. Excellent.
16-01-2019
Our group all loved this book. We enjoyed the characters and themes, and we found the conversations it generated very interesting.
16-01-2019
A 'light' read. Too fictional to be able to relate to - a good 'wet day' book, or 'time-filler'.
16-01-2019
Superb! Extremely well-written and easy to read. Everyone loved this book - many had also seen the movie and were delighted that it was so true to the book. Highly recommended.