Saturday, March 14, 2009 By: Suzanne

The Secret Life of Bees: Audio


I just finished the audiobook of the story by Sue Monk Kidd. I won't take the time to type out the description of the book or it's back cover since most people have either seen the movie or know what it's about by now. I saw the movie first, which (if you read my blog) you'll know that I recommend for most movies that have been made into books. I loved the movie and cried (like I always do) at all the sappy scenes. I believe that Dakota Fanning is doing a fine job of moving from child star to adult actress. Yeah, yeah, I know she's still a child but it's seems she's taking roles that are more about putting her in the public's attention as an ACTRESS not a child star. That appears pretty hard to do in Hollywood. At least from the perspective of someone sitting on her couch writing about the book that spawned her movie! I just wish she wasn't so da** skinny! She looks like a Holocaust victim.

On to the book. I also loved the book and cried at the sappy parts. The girl reading the story, Jenna Lamia, had a very infectious accent. Not sure if it's real or she just took it on for this reading, but I couldn't stop thinking in my head like I was from South Carolina myself. This happens sometimes when I listen too much to a type of accent. If I'm watching too many British movies,my thoughts take on a British accent. I can easily see why some people "lose" their accents when they move to another country. What they're really doing is picking up the accent they're hearing all around them because their thoughts are now in this accent!

Lily's story is one that I felt was at once just too sad (her mother's death and the circumstances around it) and too unrealistic (being able to live with black women in the 60s without more repercussions than people throwing paper at her). I loved both aspects of the story though. It reminded me that in all of our trials and sorrows there are wonderful things that can be happening if we just look in the right direction.

What impressed me was how true the movie seems to be to the book. Except for the ages of some of the characters (which annoys SOME people to no end!), the storyline was the same. I even noticed little nuances in the book, like Lily's actions when she received the hat box with her mother's things, that are just the same in the movie. I love touches like that.

3 comments:

Jenn said...

I need to read that one! That's awesome that the book and movie follow each other so well-that's often rare that you can feel that way after reading/watching both. You go Book Review Woman!

Suzanne said...

hahaha! I'm really having a good time doing book reviews. I think that if I hadn't done music I would have found a way to be a book editor. I still think that would be a pretty cool career.

Andrea Aponte said...

I love how I'm referred to as "SOME" people. lol. I also loved the voice and accent of the girl reading the book--very sweet and infectious but unassuming.

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