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Title:
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Secret Life of Bees, The |
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Authors:
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Kidd, Sue Monk |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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374 |
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Year:
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2001 |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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Set 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
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Categories:
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Fiction, Culture/Ethnic/Racial, Human Rights, USA, Argentina, Blind Low Vision library, Larger font |
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By: OHOPE 002
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2025-06-09 18:57:17 |
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This book was rated a 5 by most members, some of whom also saw the movie. It explained an interesting time in American history and the characters were very appealing. An enjoyable read and a great discussion was forthcoming. |
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By: BREAM 001
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2025-03-19 14:02:37 |
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The group absolutely loved this book. We found it really easy to read, it was very well-written with interesting thought provoking and surprising parts. One member said it was one of the best books we have read! |
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By: HAMIL 062
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2024-09-05 11:20:22 |
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Everyone loved the book, enjoyable easy read with great descriptive phrases. Though it explored the dark topic of racism and domestic violence, it had a lot of warmth, positivity and humor. The main female characters were very likeable and had courage, wisdom, insight intelligence and kindness. Educated us about the civil rights unrest and bees in an interesting way. Some readers felt the black Madonna part of the book felt a bit long, boring and wandering. Others felt aspects of the story weren't credible, like Lily springing Rosaleen from prison and finding the pink house so easily. |
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By: PICT 007
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2024-04-09 20:45:39 |
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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. |
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By: DUNED 092
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2023-09-24 16:28:01 |
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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... |
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By: CHCH 369
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2021-11-03 12:03:32 |
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We really loved this book. A beautiful story with great characters. |
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By: OPOTI 001
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2021-09-27 13:52:17 |
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Loved it! Great character development. Altogether believable and down to earth. |
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By: AKAR 007
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2021-07-05 14:03:55 |
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Really enjoyed the book, and many enjoyed the style of writing. |
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By: CHCH 501
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2021-05-19 11:57:05 |
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Excellent read, we really enjoyed it. |
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By: WELL 213
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2021-04-21 13:30:41 |
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"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! |
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By: AUCK 255
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2019-01-16 14:01:08 |
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Very colourful characters and a great story about relationships and acceptance. Beautifully woven together showing a positive aspect of biracial interactions. |
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By: NAP 021
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2019-01-16 13:59:30 |
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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. |
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By: CHCH 363
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2019-01-16 13:54:24 |
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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. |
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By: TAUR 005
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2019-01-16 13:49:34 |
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"A clutch of deliciously eccentric characters". We all enjoyed the story and the quality of writing. Excellent. |
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By: AUCK 406
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2019-01-16 13:46:49 |
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Our group all loved this book. We enjoyed the characters and themes, and we found the conversations it generated very interesting. |
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By: STEW 001
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2019-01-16 13:45:33 |
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A 'light' read. Too fictional to be able to relate to - a good 'wet day' book, or 'time-filler'. |
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By: BALCL 001
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2019-01-16 13:43:57 |
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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. |
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