Bee Season

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

'An eccentric family falls apart at the seams in an absorbing debut that find congruencies between the school spelling-bee circuit, Jewish mysticism, Eastern religious cults and compulsive behaviour. Eleven-year-old Eliza Naumann feels like the dullest resident of her household - her elder brother is an overachiever; her mother is a lawyer and her father is a self-taught scholar. She surprises herself and the rest of her family when she discovers a rare aptitude for spelling, winning her school and district competitions with a surreal surge of mystical insight Goldberg's insights into religious devotion, gulit, love, obsessive personalities and family dynamics ring true. Her quiet wit, animated by an empathetic understanding of human foibles, animates every page, and her unerring knack for telling details captures a child's perceptions with touching acuity. While coming of age tales all bear a certain similarity, Goldberg strikes new ground here, and displays a fresh, distinctive and totally winning voice.' Publishers Weekly (US)

Reviews

'Bee Season reads like a spiky, artfully twisted Allegra Goodman novel it's Kaaterskill Falls meets American Beauty.' New York Times 'Bee Season is a profound delight, an amazement, a beauty, and is, I hope, a book of the longest of seasons. Jane Hamilton, author of A Map of the World 'Bee Season is a bittersweet coming-of-age tale in which wise little Eliza Naumann's quirky passion for spelling bees unites and divides her family while revealing universal truths about the often crippling pain of love.' Martha McPhee, author of Bright Angel Time

Author Bio

myla goldberg lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband. This is her first book.