Review of “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

Note: This review is by my husband Jim.

In a well-written and poignant book, Sue Monk Kidd tells the story of Lily Owens, a fourteen-year-old girl living in South Carolina in 1964. Lily is abused by her redneck father, whom she calls T. Ray rather than “Daddy” or some other family name that would indicate closeness and protection. Lily feels unloved and misses her mother, who died when Lily was only four years old. The only person in her life who seems to love her is Rosaleen, her black nanny. Lily cherishes and keeps hidden a few items once owned by her mother, one of which is a jar of honey featuring a black Madonna on the label and referring to Tiburon, a nearby town.

When Rosaleen runs into trouble for trying to vote, she and Lily run away and head for Tiburon. Aside from securing safety for Rosaleen, Lily hopes to find out something about her mother.

In Tiburon, Lily and Rosaleen are taken in and given succor by the Boatwright sisters: May, June, and August (jocularly referred to as the “calendar girls”). The women are beekeepers and sell their honey under a label featuring a black Madonna, just like the one found among Lily’s mother’s things. The Boatwrights are black, which doesn’t bother them or Lily, but their white neighbors are sorely troubled by that fact.

The Boatwrights and some of their friends practice some odd religious-like behaviors featuring devotion to a black Madonna. Lily comes to realize that the strength of the black Madonna actually lies within those who honor her. Similarly, Lily sees that she herself has to be the source of her own strength. But she also learns from studying the social interactions of bees in their hives that the ability to be effective and realize power can come from collaboration as well as from individual efforts.

Evaluation: This is a creative coming-of-age story nested inside a social and racial justice parable. It begins as a tale of a teenager who is unloved (by her father), and possibly abandoned (by her mother). She ultimately finds love and self worth by running away from what would traditionally be considered “home,” and finding “real” family with a group of nurturing women. All of the characters are well-wrought and either sympathetic or, where appropriate, despicable.

Rating: 4/5

Published by Viking Penguin, 2002