I was a bit dismayed when I saw this title on the reading list for our course, as it was the third of the five that I had read before. I remembered that although I had been the person who suggested our book club read it, I was disappointed in the discussion it generated.
There is quite a trick to choosing just the right book for a group to discuss, and I’m convinced that, sadly, a lovely book like The Secret Life of Bees often fails to truly engage the group simply because it is just too well-written and enjoyable. Our discussion fizzled out fairly quickly because everyone adored it. They loved the universal themes of sisterhood and acceptance. They loved the characters and their interactions. They loved Lily’s first person narration and colorful word choice. They found the father and the racist environment of the South in the 1960’s despicable and so on.
Our discussion quickly faltered because we agreed on nearly every aspect of the book. No one piped up to say, “Well, I hate to say anything, but I really just didn’t like the book!”…the fightin’ words that usually galvanize our longstanding group of friends into a rollicking free ranging conversation.
So, although this book is a keeper, I would not recommend it necessarily for a book group choice unless you are dead set on having a book that will fit right in with decorum, carefully polite conversation, crustless tea sandwiches and decaf beverages. Our group has more of the wine and peanut m&m type of gal who enjoys a little bit of a book brawl—not literally, of course!
My perspective about this novel did change, though, because of an experience I had this past year. I changed jobs and was pushed a bit out of my comfort level when I was hired for a new grade level—8th grade. The literary centerpiece of the curriculum is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
These two books are tremendous companion pieces and have myriad similarities. This one would be a wonderful follow up to Lee’s book and help students understand the pace of the change that is occurring and why there is still such a problem in this country. My Johnson County children of affluence do not always see that larger canvas. Both novels have a motherless girl as the narrator, although Lily is a bit older than Scout in TKM. Both novels make a strong statement about social justice and the role of the individual. You can easily draw parallels between Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird and Rosaleen in The Secret Life of Bees. Each woman is a staunch defender of the child they are helping to raise and both have the courage to take small steps toward creating a better world.
It’s almost as if Sue Monk Kidd’s book takes up the same theme a few years later. Sadly, not a lot has changed in the South during the intervening years. Zack still has to be careful around Lily because she is a “white girl” and black people are still beaten and arrested for no cause. In both books, the racism extends both ways, and Lily and Scout both walk in someone else’s shoes, as Atticus in Mockingbird says we must to understand each other. They discover what it is like to be judged simply by the color of their skin. Both authors explore what happens when people begin to see others just as fellow human beings, and both become anthems to the power and grace that accompanies being involved in a just cause even if there is no hope of an immediate victory.
Perhaps comparing these two books rather than discussing just one would have generated a livelier conversation. For everything that had changed from the Depression Era to the 1960’s to 2008, there is still work to be done. As Zack told Lily, “We can’t think of changing our skin...Change the world—that’s how we gotta think” (Monk Kidd 216).
5 comments:
Becky,
I too love this book and tend to gush about sensory imagery and vivid verb choice when I talk about it. I also made the connection between it and Lee's classic, not only for their similarities in plot and setting, but because both books are so well crafted. And you are definitely right when you say that this is a timeless book in that we still have so far to go to truly walk in another person's shoes.
I also wondered if you have read Kidd's The Mermaid Chair. Still well-crafted and a beautiful read, but I think it generates a bit more discussion than Bees because readers tend not to approve of every choice made by the main character. You might be able to generate a better book brawl from it. By the way, your book group sounds great. I don't know of any discussion that can't be made better with wine and M & Ms.
I was at musical theater camp this past week with 60 teenagers, and I cannot tell you how many of those girls had also read this book. When I tried to talk with them about it, all they talked about was how much they loved it, and how good the book was! They didn't help give me any ideas at all to write about at all either!
I found your comments about the lack of lively discussion to be interesting-I totally agree! What is not to like about this book??! It is very similar in a lot of ways to "Mockingbird", although certainly Atticus is a much nicer and caring father. I, too, have read it before and came at it from a completely new perspective this time due to life experience. What I got out of it this time was a resounding "Women don't really need men to take care of them" lesson. I think there are many of us who might have had mothers that held fast to the opposite idea, and it is wonderful to have a book reinforce what we already know to be true. We can take care of ourselves.
I enjoyed this book and would read it again to see if I could find the lessons or comments that I have read on the Blogs. But I was surprised at how many schools have picked this up as a required book to read. I had four girls tell me that their summer reading was this exact book. It is a winner.
I like the analogy to Mockingbird. Scout and Lily are both young, female narrators who have lost a parent. Their level of naivete seems quite a bit different, and the parental affection they receive is completely opposite. Would you compare the wisdom of Atticus and August?
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