Recent Reviews
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is one of my favorite books. Published in 2002, I have now read this beautiful novel three times.
The year is 1964, racism is rampant, and Martin Luther King and his followers are fighting for equal rights. Lily Owens is 14 years old and lives with her abusive father Terrance Roy and is taken care of by a kind African-American housekeeper, Rosaleen. Lily longs to know about her deceased mother and, more importantly, Lily wants to know that her mother loved her despite her father’s cruel taunts suggesting otherwise.
When Rosaleen attempt to register to vote in Sylvan, South Carolina, three white men taunt her and accuse her of stealing. They beat her and - because it is 1964 - she is arrested. While visiting Rosaleen in the hospital after the ugly incident, Lily and Rosaleen escape. In a sparse but treasured bag of her mother’s possessions, Lily cherishes a picture of a Black Madonna with the words Tiburon, South Carolina written on the back. Eventually, Rosaleen and Lily arrive in Tiburon and are curiously welcomed to the home of May, June, and August Boatright, three African-American sisters who keep bees and sell their Black Madonna Honey. Rosaleen and Lily have found a welcoming space.
In the Boatwright home, there is plenty of patience, lots of love, and many wonderful characters. Lily doesn’t tell them the totality of her story and they don’t tell her what they know about her. Eventually, Lily asks August why August never told Lily that she knew her mother. August replies, “Because you weren’t ready to know about her. I didn’t want to risk you running away again. I wanted you to have a chance to get yourself on solid ground, get your heart bolstered up first.”
Finally feeling safe, Lily sheds the weight of her sorrow with August. She says, “It was scary, my secrets spilled out across the room, like a garbage truck had backed up and dumped its sorry contents across the floor for her to sort through.” Lily sobs as she shares the stories and feelings that have consumed her little life. August listens and comforts Lily, “She was like a sponge absorbing what I couldn’t hold anymore.”
Filled with spiritual themes, this novel provides an example of what our world might feel like if there was a divine mother figure rather than a paternalist father deity. At one level, the book is the articulation of an unconscious desire for a feminine divinity and a repudiation of a dominant male deity. Lily and August spend time in the honey house where August explains to Lily the beehive’s social structure. The queen bee, Lily learns, is central to the functioning of the hive, a parallel to the power of the Madonna. The Boatright sisters are part of a group of African-American women who call themselves Daughters of Mary. They embrace Lily and encourage her to feel empowered despite life's setbacks. And they should know. August says, “Our lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother. She’s not the statue in the parlor. She’s something inside of you.”
Kidd’s book deftly deals with family dynamics, civil disobedience, mental illness, race relations, friendship, mothering, religion, and spirituality, all subjects that interest me. The book is spiritually compelling and emotionally resonant. Lily comes to know her own mother through the love of these three sisters and the Daughters of Mary. There is tenderness in Kidd’s writing. She conveys understanding and empathy. She allows us the privilege of walking in Lily’s shoes and to experience her healing as Lily comes to an understanding of her mother and her own role in her mother’s death. By the end of the book, Lily forgives herself and begins to heal and feel worthy of love. If you are looking for a book that engages your mind while touching your heart, I highly recommend The Secret Life of Bees.
The Good Psychologist by Noam Shpancer
There is a lot to love about Noam Shpancer’s quirky novel about a psychologist who sees patients during the day and teaches would-be therapists at night. For people who have never been in therapy, the book is a wonderful introduction to the therapeutic process. For those who have spent time in therapy, the book provides a deeper understanding of this unique and complex process from the perspective of the therapist.
The reader is introduced to the good psychologist, a middle aged divorced practitioner, who is thoughtful, reflective, and intentional. In keeping with the principle of clinical distance, Shpancer does not even tell us his name; however, we do meet the psychologist’s patients and experience their sessions. The primary plot involves an abused exotic dancer who has developed anxiety about performing. I am not sure why Shpancer chooses this client given his otherwise ordinary and pedagogical tone. Nonetheless, the book is serious about therapy and the potential to heal large or small pieces of oneself through describing, analyzing, and understanding one’s actions with the guidance of a trained therapist. The good psychologist says, “ The therapist is like a driving instructor, not a chauffeur.”
The book effectively introduces both the theory and practice of therapy. The novel’s strength is the way the good psychologist shares his thoughts as he teachers his classes and treats his patients. He illuminates the ways in which patients do or don't form a bond with him as illustrative of how that person might form relationships in his or her life. The novel also shows how components of therapy such as payments, missed appointments, and tardiness reveal emotional patterns about a patient that can be deconstructed in the therapeutic process. And he touches on the ways Freudians, cognitivists, and Behaviorists might differ in their approaches to helping a client confront their pain.
The relationship between a therapist and a patient is simultaneously limited and limitless. The good psychologist is well aware of this fact. He says, “In trying to map the depth of the internal realm, all we have at our disposal are primitive tools: conversations, observation, and introspection. And even with all our tools, we are lucky to ever break through even the outermost layer.” Yet he persists because there are few better options for helping people understand their internal worlds. He says, “One hour a week of battering against the walls cannot breach a fortress built over many long years. The lessons learned in a session must be translated into everyday practice. The shape of one’s life, in the final analysis, emerges from the sum of one’s everydays.” And he believes he does help facilitate change in people’s everyday lives.
Inevitably, the good psychologist’s issues emerge. Though we learn about neurosis, anxiety, OCD, and panic attacks through his patients, the psychologist’s angst feels like aching melancholy and existential loneliness. I wonder if knowing the enormous complexity of the human psyche leads him to a self imposed isolation. As the novel ends, we don’t learn the good psychologist’s name, but we do learn about his lonely life, his hurting heart, and the blurring of professional boundaries. The good psychologist exposes us to the theory, the practice, and sometimes the magic of therapy, but now he needs to find himself a good psychologist.
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Why does a person change? Because he or she wants to change? Because he or she needs to change? Or, as in the case of Kitty Fain, the protagonist in the novel The Painted Veil, because her very life depends on it. Written by W. Somerset Maugham and published in 1925, this novel explores yet another twist on an archetypal love triangle.
Dr. Walter Fain marries Kitty Garstin even though he is aware that she doesn’t love him. Living in London in the 1920’s when women had limited opportunities for education or employment, Kitty’s primary purpose is to find a husband. So when Kitty’s younger sister becomes engaged, Kitty agrees to marry Walter Fain, a British civil servant who has fallen in love with her. The newlyweds move to Hong Kong where Walter will work for the British Government as a bacteriologist. Kitty treats Walter with disdain and disrespect, behaviors she learned by observing her mother talk to her father. Kitty is pretty, vapid and self-centered. She lacks a moral compass and possesses little regard for other people’s feelings. It may be possible that Maugham imagines her as a metaphor for British Colonialism.
Kitty begins an affair with Walter’s boss, Charles Townsend. When Walter learns of her betrayal, he is devastated. Kitty deludes herself into believing that Charles is in love with her and will divorce his wife; however, she learns quite quickly that Charles has no such intention. With her options narrowed, Kitty has little choice but to travel with her husband to a rural and isolated part of China where he will begin work on solving the cholera epidemic.
Unmoored from the rigid class structure of British society, Kitty must rely on her own innate traits and characteristics. Watching her awareness develop makes the book feel suspenseful. As each chapter unfolds, the reader senses that Kitty and Walter might come to a mutual understanding about their shared past. But Walter’s hurt over Kitty’s betrayal is so deep that he jeopardizes his own happiness to secure Kitty’s suffering. Walter wishes he could forgive Kitty, but he is unable. His equilibrium is the tragic victim of Kitty’s carelessness.
The novel’s power derives from the uncertainty of how Kitty and Walter will deal with this new set of circumstances. Though Walter and Kitty are both victims of their own limitations, Kitty is able to grow. In the jungle, she reflects on her foolishness, her vanity, and her self-centered behavior. Kitty’s growth inspires and provides hope to Maugham’s readers. She does arrive at an understanding of herself and the choices she has made, but not through the luxury of a therapist’s couch. Instead, her understanding is gained through witnessing the suffering and cruelty experienced by her fellow human beings. She leaves her narcissistic bubble and and feels compelled to ameliorate the pain of others. Kitty Fain develops a conscience and a consciousness that allows her to forgive herself and move on. Maugham creates a rich, textured, and hopeful story of how people, sometimes in spite of themselves, can grow and change.
