The Secret Life of Bees

I had meant to read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd BEFORE seeing the movie, but it did not happen that way.  I think I saw the movie on TV or netflix over a year or more ago.  Reading the book helped me to have an even greater appreciation for the film.  The film captured the feeling and atmosphere of the book very well.  I do not specifically remember if the film was true to the book in details, but it was definitely true to the book in heart. 

I also really liked the way that the book tied in facts about bees with every chapter.  The bees of the story were another character that reacted to the events going on in the lives of the Boatwrights, Lily, Rosaleen and the whole of South Carolina as momentous changes are going on in the US as a result of the Civil Rights Act.  I guess that kind of makes this a semi-historical piece with the way the characters are affected by the goings on in the country.  I highly enjoyed this book, but I do wish that I had not watched the movie first as I would have liked to generate my own images of the characters instead of remembering the actors from the movie.