To Bee or not to bee...?

It is two days until Christmas, and other than the first half of "A Berenstein Bear's Christmas" that I read to a passle full of hungry children to keep them out of the kitchen at a party the other night, I haven't read a blessed Christmas book this year. But the new year is coming, and that calls for stories of new beginnings, starting over, and hope resurfacing. I need these types of stories to motivate me past sub-zero weather and gloomy gray skies. So, in a pinch, I'm turning to an old book with a new movie, and one of my all time favorites: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (also the author of "The Mermaid Chair" - another excellant new year's book, though currently movie-less).

In October of this year, this story of personal growth and redemption was released on the Big Screen, starring such names as Quenn Latifah, Dakato Fanning, and Paul Bettany. However, since we live in a podunk town, I would wager to guess that most Warsaw-ians won't see it until it comes out on DVD. Which leaves you plently of time to still read the book, if you haven't already, or reread it before seeing the movie! (Because the truth of the matter is that a good movie is only ever the shadow of the book behind it....)

I think I fell in love with this story because it bridges the girl-woman gap. In a hundred and fifty pages or so, Lilly, the stereotypical eleven year old - who loves the memory of her mother, Southern mornings, and the house cook, and who has seemingly learned how to manage her cranky father - sees racism, emotional disabilities, and the bloody intracacies of love in all their vibrant colors through previously blinded eyes. As much as you learn about the South during the 60's, and as interesting as the characters are, it is the story of coming into oneself, and learning the strength of patience through pain.

I'm excited to see the movie - the story line is interesting, and caries the energy of a moutain creek, simultaneously meandering and rushing over scenes and characters. But I doubt they will be able to capture the poetry of Lilly's thoughts, her musings and verbal snap shots of life. (I do have faith, though, that if any child star in Hollywood can be both emo and charming, it is Dakato Fanning!) And this was by far my favorite part of the whole book - Sue Monk Kidd captures the essence of pre-teen feeling - putting into words that time of life, giving it its voice. It runs across the generations, because every woman has been there, and every man has known a girl there (and wondered what was wrong with her!)

I'm much better at opening lines than closing lines, so in conclusion - if you get a chance, read the book, see the movie....let us know what you think!