I was channel surfin last night and saw you on CNN!!!!! I immediately called Mary. She was ruining her rice and dissin' you for bein late ...."She's a big celebrity now. No time for book blog." ;)

I read the book over a year ago and need to get a copy and refresh my memory so I can participate more betterer.

But from memory - the sister who absorbed everyone's pain....I adored her.

barbara | March 22, 2005 10:07 AM

I read the book about a year ago myself, at the recommendation of a co-worker, and thought it was a bit overwrought. It was almost like a fairy tale...mean old daddy that makes you kneel on grits, and then your sweet nanny takes you away to a mystical world full of bees and honey and dear old ladies.

I did like the three beekeeping sisters, though, particularly the one Barbara mentions above (sorry, it's been too long for the names to come back to me). I liked the weeping wall (was that what it was called?) and the idea that the little girl and her companion slept in the honey house. The whole Black Madonna concept was too farfetched for me, though; the kid saw a honey label and fled to a place where three women are happy to take in two refugees?

daisy | March 22, 2005 4:16 PM

I agree with Daisy that the story is a little overwrought. But, at the same time I found comfort in the fairy tale happy ending and the generous mothering that was going on. (for me, a good change of pace from my steady diet of dark and disturbing stuff)

The overall storyline is farfetched - but my affection for the characters moved me easily into a very willing suspension of disbelief.

The black madonna icon and rituals were new and unfamiliar. Is that based on some faction (faction? I didn't want to say cult...) of relgious practice I not aware of?

barbara | March 22, 2005 4:40 PM

I thought the story was very charming and interesting. I liked that it took place in the '60s. I like reading up on that period of time in history. The character in this book that I liked the least was the father. He was absolutely nuts, and I'm glad Lily left and found out more about her mother. Doing that seemed to help complete her life and get to know who her mother really was... Good book overall.

Carol | March 22, 2005 7:25 PM

Hey All! It's been a while since I posted, but I stopped by to see what we were reading... and read it.

I thought the book was very busy. So much stuff going on. I liked the civil rights aspect of the book, and then it went no where really. A white lawyer came and saved them all. The black boy got to go to an all white school. The little white girl learned she wasn't superior to black people.

I really liked the bees. I can't say that I liked the fictional religion that the ladies had made, and that the child came to participate in.

I'm looking forward to discussing this more.

manda | March 22, 2005 7:39 PM

My sister and a friend recommended this book to me a long time ago, and when I saw that you were going to discuss it I thought it might be time to read it :-) My least favorite character was the father, but the dead mother came in a close second. On the whole I enjoyed the book, but I did think it was full of cliches.

eva | March 23, 2005 12:10 AM

Carol, may I ask your age? You see, I'm 45 and it just tickles me that you view the 60's as history. To me - it's my childhood! (I'm teasing - I know you were referring to the "era")

Eva - what cliches did you find?

barbara | March 23, 2005 9:21 AM

um. hello? is anybody there?

barbara | March 23, 2005 4:30 PM

I enjoyed all three sisters but I have to say that May was my favorite. The wailing wall really appealed to me - I could use one of them around here. I was very upset when May committed suicide. I did like all three Boatwright sisters. As for which character I disliked, obviously, it was T. Ray.

Kate | March 23, 2005 8:06 PM

I read this book a year ago, so my memory is a bit hazy, but I have to admit, I really liked the three beekeeping sisters. The rest of the story, though, felt very contrived and very PC.

enygma | March 23, 2005 8:39 PM

As for cliches, the scene that made me roll my eyes was when T.J. mistook his daughter for his dead wife, which explained why he couldn't love her. I'm pretty darn sure I've seen that in more than one romance novel! And didn't the white southern lawyer with the young daughter remind you of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Eva | March 24, 2005 9:13 AM