Myla Goldberg
Bee Season (2000)
Author: Myla Goldberg
Genre: Literary/Inspirational (Jewish)
Plot Summary:
In New York City, at the end of the millennium, 9-year-old Eliza, the daughter of a rabbi and a lawyer, wins her class, and subsequently her school’s, spelling bee contest. Rabbi Saul Newmann, Eliza’s father, who is close to giving up expecting any academic achievements from his younger daughter, becomes fascinated both with his daughter’s enchantment with words and letters, and with her winning prospects at the national spelling bee contest. Saul’s elder son, Aaron, who is, up to this point, the prize studious child of the family, particularly in his father’s eyes, finds himself neglected and disappointed by his father’s new discovery. In search of a new spiritual and familial nurturing environment, he finds Buddhism and is adopted into a Buddhist temple, by which he radically undergoes, first in secret and eventually out in the open, major changes in his religion, dietary habits and sartorial manner. Simultaneously, Miriam, Eliza and Aaron’s mother, a successful lawyer, nurtures a dark side of her own which she pursues in an undisclosed fashion, until, eventually and painfully, discovered. While Rabbi Saul presumes himself to be the proud and winning leader of a family and a congregation respectively, the harsh reality of what is effectively happening in his family, rudely awakens him. While studying together for the national spelling bee, a contest quite representative of American culture, Eliza and her father’s fascination with words and numerology, becomes a Cabbalistic journey of mysticism and ancient Jewish hermeneutics. It is a journey of spirituality, pain, faith and its lack there of, hopes and broken dreams.
Geographical Setting: New York City, USA
Time Period: End of the 21st century
Appeal Characteristics:
Jewish cabala and mysticism have always obtained a certain enchantment with Jewish and gentile audiences alike. Being limited as a subject of study and exploration, amongst religious Jews, to males over 30 only, Cabala attracted many scholars and enthusiasts over the years in particular over the course of the 20th century and the evolution of Cabala also as a secular scholarly study. In addition, the Jewish people, who have always been called the People of the Book, are represented in this novel indeed das people of learning and pursuit of knowledge along their representation as insatiable readers. Thus the characters of Saul, Aaron and Eliza respectively are strong, passionate and three-dimensional as envoys of the Jewish adoration of knowledge and the magnitude, charm and mysticism of the written word. While by no means a comforting story, it is an inspirational Jewish narrative. Goldberg’s storytelling is magnetic and her prose rich and beautiful. The troubled souls of the Newmann families on the one hand, alongside descriptions of Jewish rituals like Shabbat, holidays and worship ceremonies, are genuine and beautiful. Goldberg is both a true observant and a linguistic artist in illustrating some of the predicaments challenging a modern people facing their ancient beliefs against the demands and frictions of modern American life. The story’s enchantment lies in its juxtaposition of the Spelling bee, a national American characteristics, with ancient Jewish beliefs, perceptions and dilemmas. Thus the spelling bee becomes a symbol of pursuit, commitment, belonging, achievement and failure on both a personal and national level. This novel was also the winner of: Library Journal award for Best Fiction (2000) and The New York Times Notable book List Award , which recommends distinguished titles in the categories of: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and Children's Books. Mystery and Science Fiction.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoyed Bee Season for its themes of Jewish beliefs, Jewish mysticism, teenage angst, misfit teenagers or spelling contests will enjoy: The Tormented Master (1988) by Arthur Green, Never Let Me Go (2006) by Kazuo Ishiguro, Someone to Run With (2004), by David Grossman, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) by Michael Chabon and Everything is Illuminated (2002) by Jonathan Safran Foer. Tormented Master tells the life-story of 18th century Braslav Hasidic movement founder rabbi Nachman of Braslav, his search for strong faith, mysticism, divine recognition and high providence and his short and tormented life as the leader and founder of a new mystic Jewish Hasidic group. Never let me Go is the story of a group of odd children growing into their late 20s in the late 21st century England. While not surrounding around Jewish, or, for that matter, any other faith, the children of Hailsham are odds and misfits and through the novel the reader discovers their characteristics and source of misfit. Grossman’s Someone to Run With brings a literary account of disturbed and lost teenagers in Jerusalem, Israel, in the 1990s, while dealing with a rich subtext of words, language, music and clues as basis for communication between them. Both The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Everything is Illuminated use the Holocaust as a premise for stories about survived Eastern-European Jews who make it to America and, while searching for their doomed and lost past, they embark on magical fantastic journeys which help them better understand their roots, as well as create an imaginary beautiful escapist way to come to terms with it, with a rich usage of graphic art and written words respectively. The latter also dives deeply into the issue of the importance of books in the Jewish narrative, both as a narrative and national characteristics.
Red Flags: Family disputes, parents and children’s alienation, teenage angst, dishonesty, loneliness, religious uncertainties, faith issues, insanity, childhood disenchantments.
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