for lovers of literature and culture
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. […]
“That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” The Alchemist is a should-be-classic classic. I didn’t know about the admiration behind Coelho and his most famous work when I picked it up. It was just a small book I had heard […]
The novel follows a young boy of immigrants in southwest America. His character is hopelessly naive and simultaneously mature beyond his years. He finds himself partnered with a woman who can only be truly described by her name: Ultima. Her mysticism and wisdom are striking and moving and timelessly enjoyable; the world they live in only reinforces these qualities.
[TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault; This book opened a lot of mental blocks that I had put up. I want to share and talk about those things in the first half of this review so if this topic is sensitive to you or makes you uncomfortable, I encourage you to stop here.] I have to […]
H O L L Y + O A T E S 