Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never tofit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed inhis study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of hisfather's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom,Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees inquick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined forgreatness. In this altered reality, Saul inducts her into his hallowedstudy and lavishes upon her the attention previously reserved forAaron, who in his displacement embarks upon a lone quest for spiritualfulfillment. When Miriam's secret life triggers a familial explosion,it is Eliza who must order the chaos.

Myla Goldberg's keen eye for detail brings Eliza's journey tothree-dimensional life. As she rises from classroom obscurity to theblinding lights and outsized expectations of the National Bee, Eliza'ssmall pains and large joys are finely wrought and deeply felt.

Not merely a coming-of-age story, Goldberg's first novel delicatelyexamines the unraveling fabric of one family. The outcome of this taleis as startling and unconventional as her prose, which wields itsmetaphors sharply and rings with maturity. The work of a lyrical andgifted storyteller, Bee Season marks the arrival of anextraordinarily talented new writer.

"Bee Season is a profound delight, an amazement, a beauty, andis, I hope, a book of the longest of seasons."
   , AUTHOR OF AND THE BOOK OF RUTH

Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never tofit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed inhis study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of hisfather's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom,Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees inquick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined forgreatness. In this altered reality, Saul inducts her into his hallowedstudy and lavishes upon her the attention previously reserved forAaron, who in his displacement embarks upon a lone quest for spiritualfulfillment. When Miriam's secret life triggers a familial explosion,it is Eliza who must order the chaos.

Myla Goldberg's keen eye for detail brings Eliza's journey tothree-dimensional life. As she rises from classroom obscurity to theblinding lights and outsized expectations of the National Bee, Eliza'ssmall pains and large joys are finely wrought and deeply felt.

Not merely a coming-of-age story, Goldberg's first novel delicatelyexamines the unraveling fabric of one family. The outcome of this taleis as startling and unconventional as her prose, which wields itsmetaphors sharply and rings with maturity. The work of a lyrical andgifted storyteller, Bee Season marks the arrival of anextraordinarily talented new writer.

"Bee Season is a profound delight, an amazement, a beauty, andis, I hope, a book of the longest of seasons."
   , AUTHOR OF AND THE BOOK OF RUTH