lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition
3.0
A book about sacrificing yourself for those you love. A book about finding yourself.
I thought the author made very whole characters. The plot was good and the ending left you wanting more from the family’s story.
I thought the author made very whole characters. The plot was good and the ending left you wanting more from the family’s story.
jtlars7's review against another edition
3.0
Good . . . and uinque. Each member of the family is on a very different spiritual quest.
plattin's review against another edition
1.0
I really liked the thought of a book about a speller. There were some passages about words that were fantastic. However, this was strange and really, kind of boring.
msjaquiss's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. The story gripped me from the beginning and held on through the end. The relationships among the family members were difficult, loving and poignant.
kbratten's review against another edition
4.0
I'm sure this book is not for everyone but I really enjoyed it. I loved the mysticism, ever-present and expressed so differently in each of the family members. I loved the small moments of family dynamics--quiet looks, vying for attention, keeping things secret. I think I'd have enjoyed a little more resolution but as it ended, a enjoyed it.
yaelgelman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition
1.0
I thought this book was so terrible I am not even going to waste more time on it by writing a review.
therearenobadbooks's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
xeyra's review against another edition
4.0
When I was reading this novel and attempted to start another book, I had to put that one down because I could not possibly read it without frowning at how lackluster the writing was... This had nothing to do with that particular second book but with Bee Season itself and the way its author's writing flows. Goldberg's writing is beautiful, poetic, evokative, masterfully weaving the story of a disjuncted, disfuntional family, each with their particular dreams, hopes, fears, secrets and characteristics.
At first one might be trhown by the use of first person present tense, but as you keep on reading, you realize the novel could not have been written any other way. The richness of its writing makes this one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading this year. This does not make it perfect, though. I fell in love with this novel when I first started it, but somewhere along the middle, the focus of the novel changes somewhat and becomes no longer a story about a family that's falling apart at the seams and their inability to do something about it, but a spiritual journey: Aaron's, the eldest son, and his attempt to childishly, I may say, go against his father's religion and his fears of telling him of his decision about his new way of life; and Saul's and Eliza's, in their search for Kabbalistic enlightnment... Instead of having this family and Eliza's new spelling talent as the focus, it changes into a well-worded but sometimes confusing and belwildering religious dissertation. Maybe that's why I couldn't rate this higher...
Despite this, it's a novel that I found impossible to put down, and I ended up enjoying the new focus of the novel, wanting to know what choices the characters made, how they might end up "fixing" their family life, and how would the conflicts that arose be settled. Bee Season is a masterfully-told story about the unraveling of a family which was clinging together by the barest of threads and I must say I really liked it.
At first one might be trhown by the use of first person present tense, but as you keep on reading, you realize the novel could not have been written any other way. The richness of its writing makes this one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading this year. This does not make it perfect, though. I fell in love with this novel when I first started it, but somewhere along the middle, the focus of the novel changes somewhat and becomes no longer a story about a family that's falling apart at the seams and their inability to do something about it, but a spiritual journey: Aaron's, the eldest son, and his attempt to childishly, I may say, go against his father's religion and his fears of telling him of his decision about his new way of life; and Saul's and Eliza's, in their search for Kabbalistic enlightnment... Instead of having this family and Eliza's new spelling talent as the focus, it changes into a well-worded but sometimes confusing and belwildering religious dissertation. Maybe that's why I couldn't rate this higher...
Despite this, it's a novel that I found impossible to put down, and I ended up enjoying the new focus of the novel, wanting to know what choices the characters made, how they might end up "fixing" their family life, and how would the conflicts that arose be settled. Bee Season is a masterfully-told story about the unraveling of a family which was clinging together by the barest of threads and I must say I really liked it.
bta's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0