Link to Terri's post:
http://jaarb.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-secret-life-of-bees-spoiler-alerts.html
I really enjoyed reading Terri's post on The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I, too, have read the book and enjoyed it immensely (it is still one of my favourites). I agree with Terri, the book is indeed quite heart-warming, but also slightly heart-breaking (especially at the part of the discovery of May's suicide/death). I thought the book was written beautifully as each part of the story used enough description that I could truly visualize what happened around the main character, Lily. I agree with how Terri said that she was glad that it wasn't a "perfect", no real problem story (as those stories are too surreal to relate to). I remember that the story said that May felt others' pain. Again, I agree with Terri as feeling others' pain at such a time in history (when life was full of racism against African Americans) truly is too hard/painful of a burden to carry, especially since she could not share it with anyone, not even her twin sister, as her sister is dead. It was heart-breaking when May wrote in her suicide note telling her family to keep living. I thought of how impossible that seems when someone you love is dead. I thought of how painful May's burden must be if even death by drowning seems to be a better option than living. She is a very brave character, as only those who are brave have the courage to take their own life, and I think that she is a very important character in the story. I loved how Terri said that we should live life to the fullest, trying to correct the world, for I think this was one of the lessons of the book.
I like how she explained how Lily's image of her mother dropped from perfect after she learned the truth. I believe this is another reason why sometimes ignorance is bliss: when we don't know about the bad things in life, life seems perfect. I also liked how she explained why Lily's father was so cruel to her. I would not say that what T. Ray did was right for it surely was not, but he lost his true love and it broke him completely, so I think he deserves perhaps not pity, but like what Terri said, understanding.
I have read many posts by Terri but this one stood out to me because I read this book before and I wanted to see what she thought about the book and how her thoughts differed from mine. I never truly paid attention to how the racism in the story came from both whites and African Americans, so I am glad that Terri explained this point thoroughly. It also stood out to me because the post had many thoughts and details and is one of the longer posts she has written.
I liked how her post was written. Her summary was thorough but was not a retell and her thoughts on the book flowed well throughout her post. It was as though her thoughts on the book created the summary and I liked that a lot. Although her post was quite long, it was definitely worth reading and I did not feel bored as I sometimes do when reading lengthy texts. Perhaps this is because, again, her thoughts flowed well and blended with the facts about the story.
I really liked her last sentence: "It only takes some time to look for the lessons." I liked it because I felt that it was entirely true. After finishing the book, I did not immediately understand the life lessons taught in this book. Only after I thought about it more did I understand. The Secret Life of Bees is a book worth reading and I am glad that Terri enjoyed the book as much as I did.
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