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Title: First novel just did too well...
Review: I have nothing against Sue Monk Kidd--she is a good writer. Although I was not nuts about SECRET LIFE OF BEES--this one makes the former seem to be masterful by comparison. At least there was heart and sincerity in SECRET...this is just a mishmash of concepts thrown about and again as others have also stated, there are the implausibility issues (I saw some of this with SECRET--but it's a bit worse here.) The mermaid chair is just not a believable object in this context. Just as the three nice black ladies opening their home and everything esle to these strangers is not so believable. But BEES did have charm and a warmth that so many readers responded to. The characters were likable! Not so--this.
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