“Bee” Minus
Sue Monk Kidd’s “Secret Life of Bees”
It’s a fairly slow moving book, largely about character development. It’s inspired at least 1 woman I know to take up bee-keeping, which seems like an odd hobby, but the book does make it more appealing.
I didn’t find the book’s religious views very appealing (a kind of hybrid of superstition and Christianity), but that may just be me.
If you’re looking for a book about the development of women, this is okay. I liked “The Elegant Gathering of White Snows” by Kris Radish better.
If you’ve actually lost your mother, I strongly recommend the book “Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss”
Thanks to Laura H for recommending this book to me.
Posted in Chick Lit
August 30th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Bees, was one of the first books I’ve read with too much character development. Simply not enough plot to carry such complex and interesting female characters. The development of the male characters lacks the same depth and leaves the book unbalanced.
I found the religious views interesting especially as they provided strength and comfort to the main character. I happened to read the majority of the book on August 15 – the Feast of the Assumption – which gave that aspect of the book special meaning to me. In my opinion, however, the same message about Mary could have been delivered without several of the longer passages in the book.
Like others, this book did increase my appreciation of bee keeping. I felt, however, that it created another plot fragment and the level of bee keeping detail was not necessary to move the main plot forward.
Like Biblioholic, there are other choices I would recommend before this one.