This book was yet another nauseatingly obvious choice at this moment in my life, thick as it is with the themes of motherhood. I finished it over a week ago, have been meaning to write and yet can’t. I think that revolves around the treatment of Our Lady in the book. She is, to say the least, a central character.

SPOILER ALERT!
(I’m trying not to say anything directly spoiling-ish, but if you plan on reading this book and want to do so without prejudice, perhaps ignore me for now. You should probably ignore me anyway.)

And while I am pleased to see devotion to her used almost casually in fiction – finally someone brave enough to think us as something other than a cult – I am displeased at the author’s transformation of Mary into a universal feminine deity. Which is a complicated thought. Because even as I, a Catholic, think of her as a mother, do I believe that she is not the same consoling presence to a person of another faith? And let’s just skip over the diety bit as a non-issue. She’s not God and she’s not worshipped – ever.

But I do imagine her as a person, complete as we all are, with personality. Perhaps I was reading too much between the lines, or even oversensitive, but what turns me off is the perhaps portrayal of Mary as a spiritual feminine not uniquely herself. Almost become any of the mother legends – Isis, Gaia, Hera – with all of the proper virtues of course, but you could have swapped her icon on the jars of honey for any of their images and the story would have been the same.

Of the things to enjoy in this book, the metaphors drawn between the life of a bee and the life of the women are an entrapment I’d quickly betray myself for again. Perfect and surprising parallels. You actually learn quite alot about bees. But then again, metaphors are simply my weakness.

The characters are also very well drawn. I appreciated being brought into another culture and the perspective of Lily as the only white girl amongst a family of black sisters and their friends.

The eldest of the sisters, August Boatwright, is the keeper of wisdom among them, presenting a beautiful gem again and again. Right when you think all is lost or all is won, the next step is always one of her magical lines. It’s as if the plot skips from one beautiful stone to another.

I know, I know. I’m brief on the good stuff, heavy on the criticism. But it’s yet another of my reads to be turned into a movie. I’m going to have to find something to read that’s off the bestseller list. lol

Thank you for the boudin and the view of the plains
I’d forgotten what freedom felt like.

Thank you for the reminders – I like my fingernails shiny
my catfish blackened and cracklins fresh on a February morn.

Thank you for the dances and wooden floors,
fresh young voices floating off the stage,
Intoxication of mind and senses
set straight so many strange paths in my mind.

Without you, there would be no
red shoes, short curls
silly t-shirts or big earrings.
half of myself, for sure.

Thanks for the heat and the sweat
and the dips in cool cold water,
where children become fish
and fear stays at bay.

Thank you for cradling
my mother in your grasses
and keeping the breeze
fresh through her chimes.

I built a nest and left my love
upon a corner of two buildings
Felt a stranger in another once my home
but walked boldly between them all on naked toes.

So many things to chasten you over,
but the tide will stay as it is
because false traditions fell apart
and finally the shallow brown water moved.

There rose myself, like never before,
the moment I came through the back door.

As soon as we came up to Canada, I noticed the “green” bags at the front of stores. You know the re-usable sort that cost you a buck each and are supposed to replace the seemingly self-replicating plastic film versions.

My first thought centered on – Hey, how great that everyone is on board for reducing waste and preserving the earth. This was even reinforced by the products for sale – biodegradable dish soap, laundry soap, and all purpose cleaner next to paper towels and toilet tissue made from 100% recycled materials.

But then I noticed that all the greenies weren’t the same. And that this chain of food stores had one style, this line of pharmacies another. In all, I’ve probably seen almost ten different versions!

Ah, so the truth is revealed. As always, the fad has less to do with altruism and much more to do with marketing.

Does that mean someone is going to stop me from going into Sobey’s if I’m carrying the Shoppers Drug Mart bag? Or not let me into Wal-mart carrying the Canadian Tire tote?

That would make it pretty rough on green impulse shopping, don’t you think? So probably the answer is no, they’ll let me in and pray that I’ve worn my current greenie out just as I walk into their store.

These non-retail affiliated bags caught my eye when I saw them, but I finally broke down and bought a pair from my local grocery. I have been here all month, shopping every grocery in town to find my favorite. Silly me, the best and cheapest is actually the one closest to me and so earned my coveted two dollars!

Just wondering, do you use these and how do you get in the habit of taking them with you?

This little clip of a conversation comes from the novel, The Secret Life of Bees. August Boatwright, a beekeeper by trade, is sharing seasoned wisdom with Lily Owens, a runaway girl who has become her apprentice, as she recounts why she chose to paint her beloved house bright pink.

“You know, some things don’t matter that much, Lily. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person’s heart – now, that matters. The whole problem with people is -”

“They don’t know what matters and what doesn’t,” I said, filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.

“I was gonna say, The problem is they know what matters, but they don’t choose it. You know how hard that is, Lily? I love May, but it was still so hard to choose Caribbean Pink. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters.”