Bee Season by Myla Goldberg

Summary

This is the story of the downfall of a family instigated by nine-year old Eliza (who had before always been an underachiever) winning her school and then district spelling bee. Her father Saul, a cantor and religious scholar, begins to pay more attention to his daughter by helping her to study for the national spelling bee. Saul had previously devoted the majority of his time to his son, Aaron with whom he had almost daily studied religion and played guitar. When Saul sees how Eliza transcends into a different state when spelling, he encourages her to explore shefa- a mystical state which is the influx of God knowledge. Eliza dedicates herself to achieving this mystical state which results in a twisted ending. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is unraveling with Aaron’s decision to join the Hare Krishna faith and the mother Miriam’s shocking secret life is finally revealed. This book is not just a coming of age story, it provides a deep look into the modern (albeit dysfunctional) family and the roles that education and religion play in the family.

Discussion

-This is a thought provoking novel on many levels - religion, mysticism, mental illness, family dynamics, teenage discovery, etc. We all enjoyed this book and the descriptions of the complexities of family life in this novel.

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