Author:  Sue Monk Kidd

Year of Publication: 8th November, 2001

PLOT: 3.9/5

CHARACTERS: 4.6/5

WRITING: 4.8/5

CLIMAX: 5/5

ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5

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Plot:

The Hidden Life of Bees is a narrative about Lily, a 14-year-old girl who lives with her abusive father and has a hazy recollection of her mother being murdered. It is set in 1964 South Carolina during a time of racial persecution. We also have Rosaleen, who has been working as a maid for the family for almost ten years and who acts as a mother figure to Lily.

Rosaleen makes the decision to register to vote after seeing the then-president sign the civil rights act on television one day. She went to the town with Lily to register. They were unaware that only white people occupied key positions, and that obtaining one of those posts was not an easy feat.

Rosaleen was being harassed by three white males when she accidentally spilled something on their shoes in an effort to defend herself. As those men became enraged, they started beating Rosaleen and took her and Lily to jail. T-Ray, Lily’s father, goes to the police station to get her daughter out of trouble but does nothing to aid Rosaleen. He flatly dismisses Lily’s request for assistance for Rosaleen and asserts that the likelihood of Rosaleen being killed in custody is extremely high. Lily was devastated by this and made plans to save her.

Rosaleen was saved by Lily, who used some of her mother’s valuables. The two afterwards travelled to Tilburon, South Carolina Lily is highly optimistic that this location is somehow related to her mother. Following her mothers images she lands up in Boatright house where August Boatright and her sisters, May and June, run a successful honey business on twenty-eight acres of land. Lily makes new friends and learns about beekeeping here. Since this story reveals further details, Lily’s strong belief in the relationship between her mother and the Boatright sisters is confirmed.

In the end when Lily is aware of all her mother’s secret, she is all filled up with mixed emotions. At the same time her abusive father comes to take her back. Will she go back to her past life or continue her life in the Boatright house?

What I liked about the book?

1. The circumstances under which people of colour lived are described in this book. The hostility and unfairness done to them was intolerable. It was remarkable to hear how they never gave up and battled for their rights in every way possible despite the frequent denial of basic rights like the ability to vote.
2. This book also teaches us that a person’s behaviour may be influenced by a variety of factors. Even after learning the truth, Lily somehow continued to blame her mother for not loving her enough. Yet, there is always another side to any story that we should never ignore. Lily always believed that her mother had abandoned her and did not love her.

Who should read this?

Everyone should read this book once. This is a beautiful book full of longing, mysteries and love.

Final Verdict

i loved this book, and, yes, you definitely need to read this. While I liked the story line , I also loved how author had metaphorically connected the behavior of bees to our human world.