Journal Entry 1 by k00kaburra from San Jose, California USA on Sunday, April 02, 2006

I had a coupon for an extra 15% off on a Barnes & Noble purchase, so I picked up this book because I loved The Secret Life of Bees.

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Amazon.com: Kidd's debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees (2000), is a bona fide publishing success story: it was on the New York Times paperback best-seller list for 81 weeks. Her follow-up, while quite different in plot, shares some themes with its predecessor. Forty-three-year old Jessie Sullivan is pulled out of her staid life in Atlanta with her husband and daughter, back to her childhood home on Egret Island after her mother, Nelle, cuts off one of her own fingers. Jessie has been uneasy with the island since her beloved father died when she was nine in a boating accident, a tragedy Jessie has always felt partially responsible for. At the behest of her mother's best friend, Jessie journeys back to the island to try to reconnect with the mother she's never been close to. Jessie wants to know what drove her obviously disturbed mother to sever her finger, and she thinks Father Dominic, one of the Benedictine monks who resides in a nearby monastery, might know more about her mother's state of mind. But it is another monk who claims Jessie's attention--handsome Brother Thomas, who ignites in Jessie a passion so intense it overwhelms her, leading her to question her marriage and rediscover her artistic drive. Kidd's second offering is just as gracefully written as her first and possesses an equally compelling story. It should appeal to the many readers who made her first novel a hit with book clubs. 

Journal Entry 2 by k00kaburra from San Jose, California USA on Friday, April 07, 2006

Journal Entry 3 by k00kaburra from San Jose, California USA on Tuesday, April 11, 2006

I finished the book today with a sigh - the emotions in the book are powerful and struck me right to the core. Jessie's emotional rebirth and artistic flowering really draw you in, and the descriptions of her feelings and environment are so vivid that you really get sucked in.

I hope everyone else enjoys it when they get the book! 

Journal Entry 4 by k00kaburra at Mailed out in Snail Mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Released 6 yrs ago (4/18/2006 UTC) at Mailed out in Snail Mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed out to rooshill today - the book ring has begun! 

Journal Entry 5 by rooshill from Foresthill, California USA on Friday, April 21, 2006

Oh, no fair! (Sending me two rings on the same day!)
:) I'll get to them both as soon as I finish the one I'm reading now. Thanks for setting up the rings. 

Journal Entry 6 by rooshill from Foresthill, California USA on Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I PMed DianaCoats and she said she'd just received a copy, so I'll try rhythmbiscuit now. Will be back to do my review before I mail it. :) 

Journal Entry 7 by rooshill from Foresthill, California USA on Friday, June 02, 2006

rhythmbiscuit asked to be skipped, so I'll be PMing glitterspank now.

I liked this book, but didn't get as emotionally wrapped up in it as I've heard others did. I don't think it's a shortcoming in the book, but a case of bad timing for me for two reasons: first, I felt rushed because I have a lot of "required" reading I'm doing right now and had to sneak this in when I could (didn't get to just relax and get involved) and second...dun, dun, dun...I think the subject matter hit too close to home for me. I had to put some distance between myself and Jessie just to be safe.
I think answering the questions at the back is a fun idea, k00kaburra, but I also think it's not a good idea for me right now.
Thanks for the chance to read it. 

Journal Entry 8 by glitterspank from Indianapolis, Indiana USA on Thursday, June 15, 2006

Received a few days ago (sorry for the delayed journal entry, my internet hasn't been working at my new place). Currently reading and will send along ASAP. 

Journal Entry 9 by glitterspank from Indianapolis, Indiana USA on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Finished a couple of days ago and trying to pass it on down the chain. Ariesgirl29 is out of the ring since she bought a copy for her bookclub, and I am currently awaiting a response from rhythmbiscuit.

I enjoyed the book, though as someone who has never even been close to marrying and has no qualms about bailing immediately when a situation gets boring or otherwise not great, I didn't relate to Jessie that deeply at all. The book is very well written though and I loved that it didn't end exactly as I expected. 

Journal Entry 10 by glitterspank from Indianapolis, Indiana USA on Thursday, June 29, 2006

En route to rhythmbiscuit. 

Journal Entry 11 by rhythmbiscuit from Thornton, Colorado USA on Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I was out of town, so I'm sorry I didn't journal earlier. The book arrived safely, and I will start reading it ASAP! 

Journal Entry 12 by rhythmbiscuit from Thornton, Colorado USA on Thursday, August 03, 2006

I drank up this book, especially as I neared the end.

Question 4. "Jessie feels that she has found a soul mate in Whit. Do you find this word inviting or repellent? When we speak of looking for a soul mate, what do we mean? Is there really such a thing?"

I find the word "soul mate" immensely inviting. I believe there are such people. I believe soul mates are people who help us to awaken our own souls. I think that's what happened to Jessie. Whit helped her to love herself again, to claim herself. By falling in love with him, she was able to see that she was more than Hugh's wife and Dee's mother. And I think that Jessie's paintings--fiery, passionate, cathartic--were inspired not only by her falling in love with Whit but more so by her awakening soul/self.

I have contacted thistlechick73 for her address. 

Journal Entry 13 by rhythmbiscuit at Sent to another bookcrosser in n/a, Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Monday, August 07, 2006

Released 5 yrs ago (8/7/2006 UTC) at Sent to another bookcrosser in n/a, Bookray -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Journal Entry 14 by thistlechick73 from Ishpeming, Michigan USA on Friday, August 11, 2006

Thank you! Reading commences.... NOW! =) 

Journal Entry 15 by thistlechick73 from Ishpeming, Michigan USA on Saturday, August 26, 2006

hmmm... the Mermaid's Chair was just not as good as Bee Season... I couldn't relate to the characters and found it all around disappointing and cliche. Certainly, a well written book, but for a different audience that is not me.

Question #2. Jessie comes to believe that an essential problem in her marriage is not that she and Hugh have grown apart, but that they have grown "too much together." What do you think she means by that? How important is it for Jessie to find her "solitude of being"? How does a woman balance apartness and togehterness in a relationship?

Jessie & Hugh have unconsiously turned their marriage into a co-dependent relationhip where she cannot be independent due to her need for a father-figure in her life, and he cannot seperate his work from his home life. She depends on her husband to take care of her, and he depends on her to be weak and child-like to enhance his role as psyciatrist and father. She is unable to "think outside the box" (literally and figuratively) while living with him and must remove herself from the situation to have the opportunity to grow. In her attempts to reconnect with herself she finds herself instantly involved with another man, thus defeating her goal of finding her own "solitude of being", as she believes she is only able to find it by being in a relationship. The book tries to make us believe that in the end she has found herself and is able to return to her marriage and become her own person in it... but I find this highly improbable and idealistic.



 

Journal Entry 16 by thistlechick73 from Ishpeming, Michigan USA on Monday, September 18, 2006

Sorry for the delay... this book is now on it's way to aannddee =) 

Journal Entry 17 by aannddee from Arden Hills, Minnesota USA on Thursday, October 05, 2006

This came about 2 weeks ago, and I pulled it from my mailbox as I was heading out of town so was not able to journal that it had been received. I'm about halfway through the book and will journal again when I have finished it. Many thanks!!