The Secret Life of Bees.

The Secret Life of Bees

Sue Monk Kidd

Viking/Penguin Putnam

375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

ISBN: 0670894605 $24.95 302 pp.

In The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd describes with accuracy and warmth the journey of an adolescent girl in search of familial love. Lily, our central character, leaves "home," a peach farm in South Carolina, with her African-American nanny, Rosaleen. Her leaving is not so much a running away, as it is the beginning of her trek to find love. Her abusive father, T.Ray, whom she cannot even bear to call Dad, and mysterious objects left by her deceased mother, lead Lily to flee the peach farm and find herself in the home of the Boatwright sisters. Along the way, Lily breaks the law and the unwritten societal rules of the Civil Rights Act era in the South.

Kidd realistically depicts the mixed swirl emotions experienced by the adolescent Lily as she contemplates her mother's death, and her personal memories of her mother. As the story is written in first person, the reader is keenly aware of Lily's innermost thoughts. She experiences great conflict, internally seesaws between hatred and love, as she searches for the answer: did her mother desert her? Did she ever have the intention of coming back to get her? Lily, at times, shows the stubbornness of an adolescent, the innocence and dependence of a child, and the rationality of an adult.

Not only are the characters and story engaging and loveable, but Kidd's description of rural South Carolina in the dead of summer charms a reader as well. She writes of the smells and sounds of the region, the affects of the stifling heat and humidity on human capability and last but certainly not least, the natural process of bee-keeping. Bee-keeping is central to the story, as it is the Boatwright sister's livelihood, but it also serves as metaphor for Lily's search for her mother's love. The book is infused with scenes of nature and organic living. Readers can almost smell Lily's sweat as she works in the honey house, or the South Carolina jasmine in bloom.

In the genre of Southern fiction, especially that which is intended for a female audience, The Secret Life of Bees is a confident and insightful effort by the author. The story and setting are entrancing. The book is nearly impossible to put down, even after a long day at work. The intriguing characters as well as the glimpse into the Southern summer, make for a highly enjoyable, yet intelligent, read.