The Secret Life of Bees Audiobook By Sue Monk Kidd cover art

The Secret Life of Bees

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The Secret Life of Bees

By: Sue Monk Kidd
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
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Don't miss the extraordinary new novel from Sue Monk Kidd, The Book of Longings - published on 21st April 2020, and available to pre-order now.

A fabulous coming-of-age debut novel that has sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and has been made into a movie starring Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Paul Bettany.

Lily has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother when she was four. She not only has her own memory of holding the gun, but her father's account of the event. Now 14, she yearns for her mother, and for forgiveness. Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her father, she has only one friend: Rosaleen, a black servant whose sharp exterior hides a tender heart.

South Carolina in the '60s is a place where segregation is still considered a cause worth fighting for. When racial tension explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, Lily is compelled to act. Fugitives from justice and from Lily's harsh and unyielding father, they follow a trail left by the woman who died 10 years before.

Finding sanctuary in the home of three beekeeping sisters, Lily starts a journey as much about her understanding of the world, as about the mystery surrounding her mother.

©2003 Sue Monk Kidd (P)2008 Penguin Audio Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Southern United States World Literature Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Wonderfully written, powerful, poignant, and humorous... Do read it" (Joanna Trollope)
'This is a wonderful book, by turns funny, sad, full of incident and shot through with grown-up magic reminiscent of Joanne Harris' Daily Telegraph
All stars
Most relevant  
This book are filled with wit & wisdom. Lilly and August's friendship goes from a carer to a mother. An astonishing great narrator. I will come back to the secret life of bees again and again.

Wisdom comes in many different ways

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I’m in love with her voice. I’m in love with the story. Took me to a completely different world.

In love

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Set in a sliver of tumultuous contemporary American history, the story follows Lilly's search for her true self and is warm, funny, sad, tragic, comical, romantic, instructive, serendipitous and slowly unravelling a raw truth and a bond that draws all the characters together. An unexpected joy.

Deeply personal and heart wrenching

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Beautifully written and perfectly performed. I can recommend wholeheartedly. Loved the Southern twang. * * * * *

Beautiful!

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Beautifully read
Beautifully written with great compassion
I loved the writing style and descriptive quality of this book
Sad in so many places but written with a great sense of how a child thinks and with a good sense of humor

Suemallon@online.de

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The performance is one of the best I’ve heard. It really bought the book to life.
The story itself was interesting and beautifully written. Absolutely recommend

Great book, fantastic narration

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Heartbreakingly beautiful story with outstanding narration. I loved every second of this audiobook and will likely listen to it again in the near future.

Beautiful!

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I saw the film before listening to this and it’s such a rich and wonder-filled story. Thankyou to author and narrator!

Gorgeous story, beautifully read

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I love this author. The book bored me to death. It did not help that I endured it as an audible. I do not recommend it to anyone

Boring

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I really struggled to finish the book it was too drawn out towards the end not a bad book but not one I will re-read

the ending

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