The Secret Life of Bees

I promise I've been reading this whole time since I last blogged. I just needed a break from blogging to collect my thoughts and figure out what exactly I thought about The Secret Life of Bees. Mostly I just don't like what I've done thus far in my blog... which is to give little more than a book summary. What I want this blog to be is a collection of short personal essays about how a book makes me feel. Sure I might include some thoughts about different things that I liked or disliked stylistically (mostly so I can use them for papers later on), but really I want this to be a journal of what I learn and how I grow while I'm reading. It probably won't include as much personal detail as my journal does because I don't know who--if anyone--reads this. (Sidenote: if there is anyone out there in cyberland who reads this, PLEASE comment! Let me know you're out there!) So on to the book.

I loved this book. It took me a little while to figure out why but I finally did. This book is a gorgeous book about looking outside yourself for answers. They may not be the most pleasant answers, and the trip to find them may not be the funnest, but this book taught me the importance of having the truth. The main character in the book goes through an intense emotional and spiritual journey as she learns the truth about her mother who had died when she was four years old. She confronts racial barriers without becoming bitter about society or consumed with the problem.

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is the connection between the quotations at the beginning of each chapter and the content of each chapter. Sometimes I wish that the author would repeat the quotation at the end of the chapter so that you can read the quote at the beginning so that as you read you can think about it and then read it again at the end and have your "aha" moment.