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cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition
1.0
I thought this book was so terrible I am not even going to waste more time on it by writing a review.
therearenobadbooks's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
xeyra's review
4.0
When I was reading this novel and attempted to start another book, I had to put that one down because I could not possibly read it without frowning at how lackluster the writing was... This had nothing to do with that particular second book but with Bee Season itself and the way its author's writing flows. Goldberg's writing is beautiful, poetic, evokative, masterfully weaving the story of a disjuncted, disfuntional family, each with their particular dreams, hopes, fears, secrets and characteristics.
At first one might be trhown by the use of first person present tense, but as you keep on reading, you realize the novel could not have been written any other way. The richness of its writing makes this one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading this year. This does not make it perfect, though. I fell in love with this novel when I first started it, but somewhere along the middle, the focus of the novel changes somewhat and becomes no longer a story about a family that's falling apart at the seams and their inability to do something about it, but a spiritual journey: Aaron's, the eldest son, and his attempt to childishly, I may say, go against his father's religion and his fears of telling him of his decision about his new way of life; and Saul's and Eliza's, in their search for Kabbalistic enlightnment... Instead of having this family and Eliza's new spelling talent as the focus, it changes into a well-worded but sometimes confusing and belwildering religious dissertation. Maybe that's why I couldn't rate this higher...
Despite this, it's a novel that I found impossible to put down, and I ended up enjoying the new focus of the novel, wanting to know what choices the characters made, how they might end up "fixing" their family life, and how would the conflicts that arose be settled. Bee Season is a masterfully-told story about the unraveling of a family which was clinging together by the barest of threads and I must say I really liked it.
At first one might be trhown by the use of first person present tense, but as you keep on reading, you realize the novel could not have been written any other way. The richness of its writing makes this one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading this year. This does not make it perfect, though. I fell in love with this novel when I first started it, but somewhere along the middle, the focus of the novel changes somewhat and becomes no longer a story about a family that's falling apart at the seams and their inability to do something about it, but a spiritual journey: Aaron's, the eldest son, and his attempt to childishly, I may say, go against his father's religion and his fears of telling him of his decision about his new way of life; and Saul's and Eliza's, in their search for Kabbalistic enlightnment... Instead of having this family and Eliza's new spelling talent as the focus, it changes into a well-worded but sometimes confusing and belwildering religious dissertation. Maybe that's why I couldn't rate this higher...
Despite this, it's a novel that I found impossible to put down, and I ended up enjoying the new focus of the novel, wanting to know what choices the characters made, how they might end up "fixing" their family life, and how would the conflicts that arose be settled. Bee Season is a masterfully-told story about the unraveling of a family which was clinging together by the barest of threads and I must say I really liked it.
bta's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mojostdennis's review against another edition
3.0
popsugar challenge 2017: read a book you bought on a trip
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A disturbing reflection of a family who bases their children's worth in their achievements while not nurturing a relationship outside of what is deemed 'worthy'. Saul has such a laser focus that he acts as though he only has one kid at a time, to the detriment of the family. I don't even know what to say about Miriam. Still not convinced that the temple Aaron has found isn't a rather culty sect of a larger legitimate religion. This is one of those situations where all I can think to fix it is to go back and stop it all from happening. At least at the end, we get to see Eliza starting to take steps toward her own agency.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexual content
higgbemine's review against another edition
2.0
something strange happened with this book. when i was 222 pages in i had the feeling that i had read this book before. i still can't say for certain if its true or not but i have a sneaking suspicion it is true.
this book read like a study on neurosis and bad parenting- no one comes away clean.
this book read like a study on neurosis and bad parenting- no one comes away clean.
heyyyther's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me feel nostalgia and sadness for a childhood that I didn’t live. Fantastic writing, fantastic book