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A review by scorpstar77
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
5.0
I'm a seasoned Myla Goldberg reader now, after my second reading of Bee Season. I've read two of her other books as well - [b:The False Friend|8008197|The False Friend|Myla Goldberg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278017324s/8008197.jpg|12545660] and [b:Wickett's Remedy|8531443|Wickett's Remedy|Myla Goldberg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278113505s/8531443.jpg|1756651] - and enjoyed both of them immensely. But Goldberg's debut novel remains my favorite.
Bee Season is the story of a family falling apart at the seams. The Naumanns have lived for years in a delicate balance. Saul, the patriarch, is confident that he knows and understands every member of his family and prides himself on his understanding and ability to help them all be the very best people they can be. Miriam, his wife, is an obsessive-compulsive neat-freak of an attorney who doesn't seem to really know what to do with any member of her family, especially her children. Aaron, the eldest child, is a teenager struggling with his life-long Jewish beliefs and his recent loss of his father's attention. He loses his dad's attention when Eliza, the youngest, unexpectedly proves herself to be a spelling bee prodigy after a lifetime, to that point, of absolute academic mediocrity. The day of Eliza's first two bees - winning her class bee and then the school bee - is the day that upsets the delicate balance and sends the family spiraling toward disaster.
I've read in other reviews that they didn't like this book because the family is dysfunctional. Well...DUH. Did you want to read a story about a perfectly happy family? Of course not; how boring that would be. The Naumanns are absolutely dysfunctional, but they're fascinating. I've been dissecting the book a bit more in my head this time, and I think I've come up with two main points from the book: first, none of us ever truly know any other person, no matter how close to them we think we are; and second, that placing our own expectations on other people is at best pointless and at worst destructive. Every bad thing that happens in the book is brought about by the heavy weight of one person trying and failing to live up to another person's expectations. That cycle is brought to an end on the last page, when Eliza intentionally shrugs off her father's expectations of her, hoping that will begin a process of healing for her family.
I still love this book. The second time around I still eagerly devoured it in less than 24 hours. I am still blown away by its beauty and complexity in such a quick read.
Following is my original review from the first time I read this book in 2007. Holy shit. That's about all I can say after having finished this book in less than 24 hours. I am completely blown away by the intensity portrayed here and the weird interconnectedness Goldberg brings to spelling bees and Kabbalism and Eastern mysticism and family dynamics and mental illness and giftedness... It is a book that defies description, and one of the best and most powerful I've ever read.
Bee Season is the story of a family falling apart at the seams. The Naumanns have lived for years in a delicate balance. Saul, the patriarch, is confident that he knows and understands every member of his family and prides himself on his understanding and ability to help them all be the very best people they can be. Miriam, his wife, is an obsessive-compulsive neat-freak of an attorney who doesn't seem to really know what to do with any member of her family, especially her children. Aaron, the eldest child, is a teenager struggling with his life-long Jewish beliefs and his recent loss of his father's attention. He loses his dad's attention when Eliza, the youngest, unexpectedly proves herself to be a spelling bee prodigy after a lifetime, to that point, of absolute academic mediocrity. The day of Eliza's first two bees - winning her class bee and then the school bee - is the day that upsets the delicate balance and sends the family spiraling toward disaster.
I've read in other reviews that they didn't like this book because the family is dysfunctional. Well...DUH. Did you want to read a story about a perfectly happy family? Of course not; how boring that would be. The Naumanns are absolutely dysfunctional, but they're fascinating. I've been dissecting the book a bit more in my head this time, and I think I've come up with two main points from the book: first, none of us ever truly know any other person, no matter how close to them we think we are; and second, that placing our own expectations on other people is at best pointless and at worst destructive. Every bad thing that happens in the book is brought about by the heavy weight of one person trying and failing to live up to another person's expectations. That cycle is brought to an end on the last page, when Eliza intentionally shrugs off her father's expectations of her, hoping that will begin a process of healing for her family.
I still love this book. The second time around I still eagerly devoured it in less than 24 hours. I am still blown away by its beauty and complexity in such a quick read.
Following is my original review from the first time I read this book in 2007. Holy shit. That's about all I can say after having finished this book in less than 24 hours. I am completely blown away by the intensity portrayed here and the weird interconnectedness Goldberg brings to spelling bees and Kabbalism and Eastern mysticism and family dynamics and mental illness and giftedness... It is a book that defies description, and one of the best and most powerful I've ever read.