Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove
Okay, so lately I have been a reading fiend. (Probably one of the main reasons why I haven’t posted in a bit.) I’ve been spending more time reading than any other thing (except going to work, bah.) My house is laid out randomly, but with bookshelves everywhere. Those shelves hold the key to my entertainment — tons and tons of books I’ve been storing away like a pack rat, but haven’t read yet.
The other day, I went perusing through my bookshelves and came across a little book called The Secret Life of Bees. It’s written by Sue Monk Kidd, an author that I had heard much about, but had never experience for myself. Published a little over two years ago, I have found the book to be a treasure in my library.
It’s about a young girl named Lily Owens, who is coping with the fact that she may or may not have accidentally shot her own mother when she was a toddler. Her father is abusive, and offers few answers to the mysteries that circle around her mother’s death. But still, she spends her days daydreaming about what her mother was like and the short-lived relationship they once shared.
The book is set during the Civil Rights movement. Lily’s black housekeeper, Rosaleen, tries to register to vote and ends up being locked away in prison, not to mention beaten by prejudice townspeople. So Lily busts Rosaleen out of jail and they both flee to a bee farm and live with a group of beekeeper sisters. The farm, however, draws Lily to it by the only clue her mother left behind: a small picture of a black Mary with the town of the bee farm written on the back of it.
Throughout the story, she tries to piece together things about her mother and learn how to care for bees as well. In the end, she finds out that her mother had spent time on the very same farm with the very same sisters. It is up to her to decide how to process all the information she finds about her mother.
I think Sue Monk Kidd’s writing style is one of the most eloquent and beautiful I have ever read. It gives you just enough, reels you out, then pulls you back in stronger than before. Her attention to small details makes it special and her words fill you up with a cozy feeling inside. This book is also great commentary on racial struggles during the Civil Rights movement. This is a great book.
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