The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

OK, so I know I am about 100 years behind popular literature and the best seller lists by just getting around to reading this book now. It's been out and talked about for years. A movie's been made and everything. But, my mom just gave me the book, said she loved it and thought I would love it too. And she was right.

Bees is Kidd's first fictional work. Always one to do things backwards, I read Kidd's second fiction novel The Mermaid Chair a year or two ago after happening upon it at the Planned Parenthood Book Sale. I liked it well enough and always planned to read Bees but I never seemed to come across it until my mom gave it to me recently.

Bees is set in 1960's South Carolina in the midst of the civil rights turmoil of the era. The protagonist, Lily Owens, is a 14 year old girl living alone with her abusive father (a man she can't even bring herself to call "dad" and instead calls "T. Ray") on his peach plantation. Her mother died when Lily was very young - the victim of a very tragic accident. Lily does, however, have the comfort and love of her African American nanny-of-sorts, Rosaleen but has always longed for the love of a family in general and the love of her mother in particular.

After some misfortunes and bad decisions, Lily and Rosaleen run away from home - Lily in search of information about her mom and Rosaleen in search of freedom. They end up in Tiburon, South Carolina. Lily is drawn there by a small icon of a Black Madonna she found with her mother's possession with the town's name written on the back. The Black Madonna turns out to be a honey jar label produced by three African American sisters. Sensing the distress and danger surrounding Lily and Rosaleen, the three sisters - August, June and May - take them in and provide them with the security and sense of family Lily has been searching so desperately for.

Bees is an enchanting coming-of-age and finding-your-place-in-the-world story. Kidd being from South Carolina is able to paint an idyllic portrait of the unique state while at the same time highlighting some of the socials ills that were prolific in the south during the '60s. Racism and the civil rights movement play a central role in the story but isn't presented so harshly as to be a downer, so to speak.

Bees, as you might guess from the title, also play a central role in the novel. The sisters - primarily August, the matriarch figure of the sisters - are beekeepers and lots of bee facts and tidbits are woven throughout the story. I love an author that does his or her research enough that I'll leave a book with a few nuggets of useless knowledge about an obscure topic. Like the bees in a hive will all simultaneously flap their wings to cool the hive down; a form of air conditioning of sorts. Or the fact that a hive of bees will swarm (leave the hive in mass) if they lose their queen.

There were instances, being the cynic that I am, where I questioned the motivation of the sisters for taking in these two complete strangers who knocked on their door. It just seemed a little too convenient for the story's purposes. Although Kidd does try to explain it a bit at that end, it still never seemed quite realistic to me. But I guess that's why we read books. To be entertained. Not to hear stories that we hear every day or see everyday in reality. In Kidd's lovely South Carolinian world, strangers take in, clothe, and feed perfect strangers for nothing in return. You kind of wish stuff like that could happen now without the threat of being strangled in your sleep or at the very least, robbed blind. Oh wait, I guess it does happen now.

Overall, I liked this book a lot. It was a quick, easy read that made me feel warm and fuzzy at the end. I like that feeling. And for that, I am going to give The Secret Life of Bees four and a half bows. I highly recommend it. And let me know what you all thought of the book as I'm sure you all read it year ago. Until then, happy reading!

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris *PLUS* Bonus Commentary on David Sedaris' Personal Appearance

I'm sure everyone remembers my obsession with David Sedaris. As he is one of my very favorite authors, I have been eagerly anticipating his newest book, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, for some time. The book hit store shelves a couple weeks ago and I ran directly over to B&N right after work to pick up my copy.

A departure from Sedaris' normal writings (which consist almost entirely of funny autobiographical short stories), Squirrel is filled solely with anthropomorphic animal short stories. "Strange," you might say. Yes it is, but only if you don't get Sedaris' unique brand of humor.

Each story is written from the point of view of a particular animal. Each animal seems to embody Sedaris' sardonic wit and cynicism. It's almost as if the stories are told by the animal version of Sedaris. We meet adulterous dogs, racist ducks, deluded rats and a very, very accommodating gerbil.

I've talked to some who were disappointed in the book. People want to read about Sedaris' interesting life and crazy family: Amy, the drunk parents and most of all The Rooster. And I do too. But you have to think he is starting to run out of autobiographical material after seven books. If we want to continue enjoying his writing talent, we're going to have to adjust to the transition to fiction. I'm ready for that transition.

However, the book was short. A short book of short stories makes for short reading. I read it in one sitting of just a couple hours. And for that I give Squirrel four and a half bows . If I'm spending fifteen or twenty bucks on a book, I want it to last longer than two hours. And I know, I know. Before you say: "But Shannon, weren't you just bitching about a book taking too long to read?" Yes, I was. But I'm a woman. Incongruity is my birthright so get over it.

BONUS FEATURE

My friend Reeney and I made the trek up to CY Stephens in Ames to hear Sedaris speak last Thursday. This was the third time I heard him speak, each occasion at a progressively larger venue.

Prior to the show, Reeney and I thought we would grab a bite to eat at Black Market Pizza on the north side of town. Adam Richman of Man vs Food visited there in his recent Des Moines episode so we thought we would give it a shot. After chit chatting a bit with the friendly proprietor, Reeney and I split an order of garlic squares (square garlic bread dipped in a light marinara) and shared two small pizzas - a Double Bacon Cheeseburger and a Tree Hugger (ie veggie). The food was only special in the aspect of what it did to us each a little later.

I was quite sick by the time we reached Stephens, which was around 7:00 PM. Show started at 7:30. Sedaris was signing books in the lobby so Reeney held our place in line while I ran not so quickly to the bathroom. Upon returning some time later, Reeney had patiently held our spot and almost reached the front of the line only to be turned away just short of our goal. We were assured, however, that Mr. Sedaris would stay and sign everyone's books after the show.

We made our way to our seats and waited for the show to begin. I was made to feel even worse by the lovely gay gentleman who sat beside us and told us he and his friend had eaten at The Cafe, a restaurant just a few doors down from Black Market Pizza, and told us how wonderful the food was. Nothing makes you more mad after a bad meal than hearing about a just missed wonderful meal.

As for the show itself, Sedaris, as always, was delightful and entertaining. He read a story from Squirrel as well as a few other short stories I had never heard from other publications. Midway though the show, our pizza began to effect Reeney much the same way it had effected me earlier.

Near the end, Sedaris opened the floor up for questions and I will say that one bright spot of the evening was the fact that I was able to ask him a question, albeit a dumb, pointless, non-literary question which I am now quite embarrassed of but couldn't think of anything better to ask at the time.

Faced with an insanely long line and matching stomach ailments, Reeney and I decided to hit I-35 and head back to Des Moines without signed books. So thank you Black Market Pizza for ruining an evening we had been looking forward to for months. You suck.

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Hello again all you lovely book nerds! Happy 10/10/10! Today I will be reviewing The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman. This is the first in Hoffman's yet to be published Cale Trilogy - Cale being the hero's name.

I am really not sure what drew me to buying this book. Perhaps it was the super cool cover (exhibit left). Perhaps it was the fact that I was in Kansas City at a giant chain book store called Books-A-Million and was giddy with all the options. I don't know. Nevertheless, this isn't a genre I am normally drawn to. But what that genre is, I can't quite put my finger on either. Is it fantasy? Is it young adult? Is it a thriller? Is it Sci Fi? All of the above, I think.

The book is set in a strange and foreign land. Whether it is medieval Earth, post apocalyptic Earth, or some other made up parallel universe, I don't know that either. Sorry I can't be of more help here. Cale is a young boy (14 or 15 at the book's beginning) trapped in a sort of military monastery called the Sanctuary run by an uber-religious group called the Redeemers. The Redeemers' religion has definite Christian parallels. They have priests and masses and a savior called "The Hanged Redeemer". But the Redeemers' religion isn't quite as benevolent.

The Sanctuary's main purpose is to train young boys, called Acolytes, into becoming fearsome soldiers in the Redeemers' century long battle with their arch enemies, the Antagonists. What the Antagonists ever did to piss the Redeemers off so bad, we never know. And how exactly the Redeemers acquire these young boys (usually at ages as young as 5) we never know either. What we do know is the boys' lives are filled with military training, sparse food and constant beatings with always the threat of a public hanging if they screw up too much.

Cale and two of his friends, Kleist and Vague Henri (although friendship is expressly forbidden by the Redeemers) find themselves in a dire predicament and out of necessity, Cale hatches an escape plot. Very few Acolytes have ever escaped the Sanctuary. And those that did, were never gone longer than 48 hours before the Redeemer search parties found them and executed them. But Cale is not like other Acolytes, as the author is clear to point out early on. He thinks independently and out of the box (another punishable offense in the Sanctuary) and is able to get he and his friends to the large nearby city of Memphis where he proceeds to make a name for himself as a fearsome killer and loose cannon.

I truly went back and forth on my opinion of this book. It varied depending on the page. Hoffman has created an engaging world albeit not all that original. Any ordinary reader will find parallels between this book and The Bible, Lord of the Rings and even Star Wars. Cale is the prototypical hero/bad boy. Raised a killer, he can't deny his nature. But, at the same time, he also has that bad boy heart of gold that's just so irresistible to the ladies. It's very cliche.

I also mentioned this is part one of a trilogy, so, yeah it's a cliffhanger. Grrrrrr! BUT, it's a cliffhanger that may get me to read the second book when it comes out. Circumstances change so considerably at the end of this book, I can't help but be curious as to what happens next.

I think, in the end, I'm just not that into the fantasy genre. I mean, I felt a little ridiculous just describing the plot points above. I know lots of people love fantasy/sci fi and I know it's big business, but I'm not one of those people. Far be it from me to criticize people's literary preferences. As long as you're reading, good on you. So, all that being said, I am giving The Left Hand of God two and a half bows . It's not my cup of tea but I will probably read the follow up book. Feel free to disagree with me, agree with me and/or verbally berate me in the comments section. Until then, happy reading!