When I started reading The Secret Life of Bees and realised it was going to be about race relations in America's south… I admit to being reluctant. It's probably not politically correct to get tired of certain stories, and as I read further, I realised that it is important to keep telling stories.

In reality, this is less about race relations - that is simply the context - but much more about identity, and wholeness, and finding home.

Those sorts of stories need to be told again and again. It is also about justice and truth and respect and tolerance; and those stories need to be told again and again.

It is also about sin and forgiveness and grace; and those stories need to be told again and again.

It is about 14-year-old Lily who lives with her Dad, T-Ray, on his peach farm. She accidentally killed her Mum when she was four, and has been brought up by the housekeeper Rosaleen. T-Ray is still struggling with the violent death of his wife, and is a harsh and remote father.

I was cautious about a white woman writing about black history, but the novel is narrated by Lily, and this lends legitimacy to the perspective taken. In fact Sue Monk Kidd used the process of writing to make sense of some of the images she had of cruelty to black people which she witnessed as a child. However, rather than "personal catharsis", she says she intended to offer up her images "in hope of a wider redemption".

The author has one of the most interesting websites I have ever seen. It is really worth visiting; especially if you enjoy writing or her books. This book has some deeply spiritual elements, and a visit to her website helps explain why.

Kidd went through a process of spiritual awakening in her early 30s, reading Christian mystics, Carl Jung, and especially Thomas Merton. She then catalogued her spiritual journey in two books: God's Joyful Surprise and When the Heart Waits. After that, she turned to an exploration of feminist theology and wrote The Dance of the Dissident Daughter.

Bees is her first novel, and was a big success. A movie adaption has just been released to lukewarm critical acclaim, but it fails to capture some of the complexity of the book.
There are two interesting themes in the novel. One is the weaving of bee lore through the story; and the other is the powerful motif of a black Madonna.

Kidd explains that bees and honey have an ancient attraction. Honey was seen as a sacred substance, and bees were seen as a symbol of soul, death and rebirth. At the beginning of each chapter is a quote from bee lore which relates to the content of the chapter. It is the same technique used by Annie Proulx with her knot explanations in The Shipping News.

There is also a link from bees to the theme of Mary. In medieval hymns, Mary was sometimes portrayed as the hive, with Christ the honey, poured out for all. Mary is portrayed as the ultimate symbol of motherhood in the novel. She is the means of redemption, the source of courage, and she is the symbol of home.

This focus on Mary, in the novel portrayed as a black Madonna, rankled with me. If only Lily could have discovered all her "yeses" being met in Christ? However, there are a couple of salient points. Firstly, Lily has not had positive experiences of men. Her father has been harsh, she would probably regard Jesus with suspicion. She really needs the maternal side of God, she needs to be gathered in like a hen gathers her chicks. Mary is the closest she can come to touching the spiritual, and receiving the mothering her spirit needs.

The second point is black versus white. Even though Jesus was probably a lovely olive colour, he tends to be portrayed as snowy white. I can understand that a black Madonna would be a powerful spiritual image for black women. Through history she has been the symbol of revolution in places like Central and South America. Kidd uses her in this novel as a symbol of freedom and consolation.

Although some have described the book as "maudlin", I became entranced by the characters and the story. I loved the women in the "hive" that Lily and Rosaleen enter: August, who is wise and subtle and courageous; and June who is emotional, unpredictable and passionate; and May who is vulnerable and tender and fun.

It is affirming to read about feminine qualities that are not soft and submissive, but intuitive and assertive. This novel may be an entry point for those wanting to explore the links between the feminine and Christian spirituality, but I fear that the image of the black Madonna may distract the reader from seeing Jesus as the heart's true home.