Scan barcode
A review by stephaniekane
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So, I picked this book up off the street. It was recommended to me about a decade ago, and decided now that it was being offered up to me for free, I might as well finally read it.
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily, a fourteen-year-old white girl, and Rosaleen, her Black maid, after they run away from Lily's abusive father T. Ray. They find themselves in the home of the Boatwright sisters, three Black women who are also beekeepers. In the Boatwright home, Lily not only begins to learn the true story of her mother (who died in a tragic accident when she was only four), but also learns the true meaning of motherhood and family.
This book has what I call "Big Hairspray Energy." Don't get me wrong, I love Hairspray, it is a perfectly constructed musical with many certified bops. What I mean when I say something has "Big Hairspray Energy" is that it perpetuates the myth of Good White People (not racists) and Bad White People (overt racists who use the n-word and are proponents of segregation and often enact racialized violence). At least the white-centering of Hairspray is focused on Tracy Turnblad, who faces very real fatphobia and can draw comparisons to being unfairly judged in her own life.
I'm sure if I had read this book when it was recommended to me when I was 15, I would have found it very moving. Like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help, it tells a story of systemic, but as a piece of historical fiction it can be easy to point too as the kind of thing that doesn't happen anymore, while the events of the book, including voter suppression, racialized violence, school segregation, and unfair imprisonment, are all still real issues. Additionally, Lily, like Tracy or Scout or Scooter, gets to be the young white woman who just doesn't understand how people can be so awful towards Black people. If only they knew them. If only they fell in love with them. It seems so simple.
In short, this book just didn't age well, and that's a good thing! We've moved past this kind of narrative, and have passed the mic to people of color so they can tell their own stories, rather than a white woman's version of the segregated south.
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily, a fourteen-year-old white girl, and Rosaleen, her Black maid, after they run away from Lily's abusive father T. Ray. They find themselves in the home of the Boatwright sisters, three Black women who are also beekeepers. In the Boatwright home, Lily not only begins to learn the true story of her mother (who died in a tragic accident when she was only four), but also learns the true meaning of motherhood and family.
This book has what I call "Big Hairspray Energy." Don't get me wrong, I love Hairspray, it is a perfectly constructed musical with many certified bops. What I mean when I say something has "Big Hairspray Energy" is that it perpetuates the myth of Good White People (not racists) and Bad White People (overt racists who use the n-word and are proponents of segregation and often enact racialized violence). At least the white-centering of Hairspray is focused on Tracy Turnblad, who faces very real fatphobia and can draw comparisons to being unfairly judged in her own life.
I'm sure if I had read this book when it was recommended to me when I was 15, I would have found it very moving. Like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help, it tells a story of systemic, but as a piece of historical fiction it can be easy to point too as the kind of thing that doesn't happen anymore, while the events of the book, including voter suppression, racialized violence, school segregation, and unfair imprisonment, are all still real issues. Additionally, Lily, like Tracy or Scout or Scooter, gets to be the young white woman who just doesn't understand how people can be so awful towards Black people. If only they knew them. If only they fell in love with them. It seems so simple.
In short, this book just didn't age well, and that's a good thing! We've moved past this kind of narrative, and have passed the mic to people of color so they can tell their own stories, rather than a white woman's version of the segregated south.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence and Racial slurs