The Secret Life of Bees
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| The Secret Life of Bees | |
 The Secret Life of Bees cover |
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| Author | Sue Monk Kidd |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Penguin Publishing |
| Publication date | January 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN |
The Secret Life of Bees is a 2002 bestselling novel by American author Sue Monk Kidd. It has received much critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller. It has won the Orange Prize. The novel has been adapted into a film by Gina Prince-Bythewood that stars Dakota Fanning, Hilarie Burton, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah. The film will be released in fall 2008.
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[edit] Synopsis
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in-mother", Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free from jail. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina -- a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Mary (Black Madonna).
[edit] Plot Summary
Lily Owens is the protagonist and narrator of the story; her mother was killed and her father (T-Ray) abuses her. Lily has a vague memory of her mother from when she was four. Lily asks her father how her mother died, Lily's father leads her to believe that she was the one who accidentally shot her mother, plaguing her with guilt. Her father, T. Ray, often mistreats her, such as making her kneel on dry grits for hours at a time.
On her way to register to vote, Rosaleen, Lily's nanny and stand-in mother, steals two church fans and pours snuff juice on the shoes of the three most racist men in town after being verbally assaulted with racial slurs. Rosaleen is then arrested for assault, disturbing the peace, and theft. After being beaten with a flashlight by one of the racists and being beaten again in her cell, Rosaleen is sent to the hospital. That very same day, T. Ray had told Lily that her mother never loved her and in fact left her behind when she was little. Hurt and badly shaken up about this, Lily runs away from home and breaks Rosaleen out of jail. Together, Lily and Rosaleen hitchhike to Tiburon, South Carolina on the hunch that Lily's mother, who had written the city name on the back of a photo of the Black Mary, had once lived there.
After arriving in Tiburon, Lily spots the Black Madonna on a jar of honey in a store. Lily goes to the beekeeper's pink house and is taken in by the three black Boatwright sisters: May, June, and August. They supply Rosaleen and Lily with housing, and Lily becomes an apprentice beekeeper under the guidance of August, the head of the household. The whole time at the Boatwright house, Lily faces inner conflict with wanting to know about her mother, but being too afraid to ask any of the Boatwright sisters.
Zachary Taylor, a high school student who works at the apiary to pay for college and become a lawyer, who courts Lily while working alongside her assisting August, is arrested after refusing to tell which one of his friends threw a bottle at a racist white man. When May, one of the sisters who suffers from depression ever since her twin sister died years ago, hears of this, she commits suicide by drowning herself in the river.
Lily finally gets her answers about Deborah (her mother) from August. But the truth is overwhelming for her. What her father said about her mother was true, but August points out that Lily's mother did try to fix her mistake...but it cost her her life. She was coming back for Lily after leaving her and then the accident with the gun happened. It takes Lily a while before she forgives her mother.
Shortly after, T. Ray finds Lily at the Boatwright household, and tries to take her back with him. He is caught up in an angry rage as he thinks his daughter is really his dead wife who he loved very much even though she ran away from him. Lily snaps him out of it by calling him Daddy, which she never had before. After hearing this and coming to his senses, T. Ray lets her stay with the beekeeping sisters after realizing that it would be best for Lily, but more importantly best for him too. Lily is then put into school and makes a new friend. Lily has finally found the mothers inside of her and they are "the moons shining over her".
[edit] Characters in The Secret Life of Bees
- Lily Owens: The fourteen-year-old girl who finds herself on the Boatwright bee farm after escaping her torturous life at home. protagonist and narrator of the story.
- Terrence Ray Owens ("T. Ray"): A peach farmer, father to Lily Owens, and abusive widower.
- Deborah Fontanel Owens: Mother of Lily. She was shot by 4-year old Lily while packing her things.
- Rosaleen Daise: A caring, persistent worker on T. Ray's peach farm, the only "mother figure" Lily has ever known.
- May Boatwright: An emotionally challenged sister of August. Every misfortune in the world affects May. Suffers from depression since her twin sister, April, died.
- June Boatwright: August's other sister who dislikes Lily because she also disliked her mother during the beginning of her stay with the Boatwrights.
- August Boatwright: A caring beekeeper and ex-Nanny to Deborah when she was younger, who takes Lily under her wing.
- The Daughters of Mary: A group of women (and one man) led by August who worship Mary, mother of Jesus, as a Godly figure. The members of the Daughters of Mary are: Queenie, her daughter Violet, Mabelee, Cressie, Lunelle, Sugar-Girl, and her husband Otis.
- Zachary Taylor: A 16 year-old black teenager with whom Lily eventually falls in love. He studies to become a lawyer one day.
[edit] Influences
As a child, Kidd, like Lily, also had a nanny who habitually chewed snuff. She included a few traits and sayings from her own nanny to Rosaleen. Although the author wasn't forced to kneel on grits as punishment, both she and Lily share the same disaffection for them.
[edit] Awards and nominations
In addition to being a New York Times bestseller, The Secret Life of Bees has been selected by Good Morning America's "Read This!" Book Club. It won the 2003 Southeastern Book Sellers Association Award for Best Fiction Novel.
[edit] Film adaptation
The Secret Life of Bees has been adapted into a film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Dakota Fanning portrays the main character and narrator Lily Owens, and Jennifer Hudson portrays Lily's caregiver and only friend, Rosaleen. The Boatwright sisters—August, May and June—will be played by Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys respectively. Hilarie Burton will play Deborah Owens and Paul Bettany will also play T Ray, Lily's abusive father. Production began on January 7, 2008, in Lumberton, North Carolina.[1] It will be released on October 17 2008.
