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Little Bee

by Chris Cleave (Goodreads Author)

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 · rating details · 101,649 ratings · 14,819 reviews

We don t want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there, but the book doesn't. And it's what happens afterwards that is most important. Once you have read it, you ll...more

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Published (first published August 7th 2008)

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Mar 24, 2009 Michelle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to like Little Bee. The reviews for it are exceptional. Book List starred it, Amazon named it among their “February Best of the Month” picks, O Magazine fondly mentions it. I mean come on, Library Journal labels it “the next Kite Runner” for goodness sakes! I couldn’t wait to be swept away. And I was… for the first couple of chapters. Little Bee’s character came on very strong and distinct. I felt like I could pick her out of a crowd and guess what she was thinking. But I gradually star...more I wanted to like Little Bee. The reviews for it are exceptional. Book List starred it, Amazon named it among their “February Best of the Month” picks, O Magazine fondly mentions it. I mean come on, Library Journal labels it “the next Kite Runner” for goodness sakes! I couldn’t wait to be swept away. And I was… for the first couple of chapters. Little Bee’s character came on very strong and distinct. I felt like I could pick her out of a crowd and guess what she was thinking. But I gradually started rolling my eyes and questioning plot details and characterization.

For example, Sarah’s mom and sister are briefly mentioned; they come to her house after the funeral, but she begs them to leave her alone. There’s no mention of their reaction to the fact that there is suddenly a Nigerian girl living at her house. ???

Also, according to the timeline description it seems that Charlie begins wearing the Batman costume before his father passes. It would make more sense if he began wearing it after the passing based on his reasons for wearing it. ???

And seriously, the cops caught Little Bee because she was at the scene of Charlie’s near disappearance? Seriously?

Sarah’s relationship with Lawrence is odd, Charlie draws conclusions unbelieving for a four year old, and the ending is rushed and unmoving. There’s just this hokey feel to it that I couldn’t get past.

This is the first time ever for me that I could tell that the author was not the same sex as his main characters, more so when it came to Sarah rather than Little Bee. The way Sarah thinks, the things she says, her observations, and even her interactions with her son just don’t make sense. It is clear that Cleave failed to unearth his female voice.

Speaking of voice, Little Bee’s chapters were much more convincing and enjoyable than Sarah’s. The entire book written from Little Bee’s point of view would have probably been a much better read.

I’m not giving this book only 1 star because it was too sad, or too graphic, or too haunting. It just fell flat. It wasn’t convincing. All the ends didn’t meet nor were all the i’s dotted, t’s crossed. It just didn’t do it for me, and it is most certainly NOT the next Kite Runner. Good grief, it doesn’t even compare. (less)

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Sep 30, 2008 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would have ranked this higher, were it not for the ridiculous hype on the jacket and the annoying Editor's letter at the front; all of which tell me that is book will change my life, that it's a masterpiece. This book stands on its own without needing it.

I also pretty fundamentally disagreed with the assertion that "it's hilarious - although the scene on the African beach is horrific".

This is not a 'hilarious' book - it is one of the most challenging reads I have had this year. It tells the de...more

135 likes · like · see review

Jun 23, 2010 smetchie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to smetchie by: Jamie Chamberlin

Shelves: listened-on-ipod, book-club, cover-crushes

Have you ever met someone you idolized? (An artist or singer, maybe. Someone super talented or brilliant or famous.) But then when you met them in person you found out they were lame? What a rip-off!

That’s sort of how I feel about this book.

It's the story of two women and how their lives converge. Little Bee is a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee who has seen her entire village and family brutally murdered. Sarah is a 30-something suburbanite juggling career and family. The two women met once on a be...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Eleanor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Chris Cleave's ability to float effortlessly between two distinct ethnic voices (Little Bee, a refugee from Nigeria, and Sarah, a young widow in England) as their stories spin out and around and through one another was nearly mystical.

Years before this book opens, the lives of Sarah and Little Bee violently collided on a beach in Nigeria, and when sheer determination and courage bring them back together again every secret of their hearts is unfolded before our eyes.

I found myself reading and rer...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, holocaust-and-atrocities, reviewed, challenge-1010

I had hoped this would be a really incredible gut-wrencher, heartbreaker of a book, but I feel like it didn't really live up to the potential it had. Like it was a little scattered and unfocused, so instead of showing us exactly what we should see, we are instead shown the things that lie around the thing that we should see, and we have to put the picture of the thing together on our own.

If this book had just been about the relationship of two women who share a horrible event in their history,...more I had hoped this would be a really incredible gut-wrencher, heartbreaker of a book, but I feel like it didn't really live up to the potential it had. Like it was a little scattered and unfocused, so instead of showing us exactly what we should see, we are instead shown the things that lie around the thing that we should see, and we have to put the picture of the thing together on our own.

If this book had just been about the relationship of two women who share a horrible event in their history, then this could have been a great book for me. But the 'issues' that were folded into this story left me feeling a little unsatisfied. One needs to be ballsy when dealing with these kinds of issues, if one is going to include them in their book. One needs to be willing to make it REAL, to make the reader ache for the characters that go through the things you show them. I've read a lot of gut-wrenching books. I was hoping that this would be one that would make me sit up and take notice... but it didn't.

I didn't really feel like I could identify with any of the characters. Little Bee was a bit of an anomaly, being where she's been and where she is now. I found it hard to really understand her, even though it's apparent that she's meant to bridge the gap between her world and ours and allow us to empathize for those enduring such cruelty. But I didn't GET her, even though I mostly liked her and had my fingers crossed that she'd be OK. Sarah wasn't much better for me, either. I could understand her better, but I didn't like her. I thought that she was incredibly selfish and uncaring in her "Suburban Early-30s Professional" life. The way she derailed Little Bee's story with her own petty concerns and tedious details (those about her career and Lawrence) annoyed me. I understand the point to the story, I do, I just didn't care because I didn't much like her. She did grow up and mature over the course of the book, but the damage was done.

All of this is not to say that this book isn't good. It is, but it's JUST good. It works out that way sometimes. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - the writing is gorgeous, and there are so many lines that are quotable gems strewn throughout... but great novels are more than just pretty words. I had hoped to really experience this one, to be thrown into the lives of these women and see something amazing through their eyes. I didn't get that, but for the potential and the beautiful writing, this gets a two. If it had been gutsy, and been focused, it could have easily been a five star book. Too bad.(less)

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May 23, 2010 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

As other reviewers already noted, I think I would have enjoyed this book much more were it not for the smugness of the book's own cover jacket and editor's note. A book that is truly a masterpiece doesn't need quite so much unnecessary self-praise to sell itself. It built the story up too much.

I also would disagree with the back cover's claim that the book is "often hilarious." This book is anything but hilarious. While there are indeed moments of light reprieve through Little Bee's witty observ...more As other reviewers already noted, I think I would have enjoyed this book much more were it not for the smugness of the book's own cover jacket and editor's note. A book that is truly a masterpiece doesn't need quite so much unnecessary self-praise to sell itself. It built the story up too much.

I also would disagree with the back cover's claim that the book is "often hilarious." This book is anything but hilarious. While there are indeed moments of light reprieve through Little Bee's witty observations and Charlie's adamant insistence of keeping his Batman costume on at all times (to ward off the "baddies"), this book is much more often dark and disturbing.

In short, the book is about a British couple with a troubled marriage who, while vacationing on the beaches of Nigeria in an effort to rekindle their relationship, encounter two young refugee girls fleeing from soldiers. What happens next I'm not supposed to say (according to the editor's note) as it would spoil the story too much. But the lives of these four people are all forever changed by the encounter, and in some pretty dreadful ways.

There are some truly wonderful moments in this book, and I particularly enjoyed the chapters told from Little Bee's perspective. Her voice felt very genuine and alive, and I personally think the book may have been more powerful had it been told entirely from her point of view. The chapters told from the perspective of Sarah (the wife of the above-mentioned British couple) just seemed to fall flat for me. Other parts of the book also didn't fully meet my expectations (particularly the ending) and I can't pinpoint exactly why. Again, I think perhaps because the book set its own standards too high and promised me a magical journey, and it just didn't fully deliver.

As I write this, I realize it sounds like I didn't enjoy the book. I actually did. In fact, I feel the chapters from the POV of Little Bee are at least 4-star worthy. I just wish the book hadn't built itself up so much, and had been more confident in letting the story unfold quietly on its own. I think I would have been pleasantly surprised instead of somewhat disappointed.
(less)

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Aug 27, 2008 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

After reading Incendiary a while back I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of this book. It did not disappoint me. I started reading on Saturday morning and from page one I was totally hooked. I found it really difficult to put down, even when cooking. So many books around in my local book shop are "Summer Reads" so this was a refreshing change.

It's the story of Little Bee, a teenage refugee from Nigeria, and Sarah O'Rourke a British magazine editor. Horror makes their worlds collide and...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Petra X rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is a book you should buy and not borrow from the library. Just to reward the author for such an amazing and exhilarating experience. Its as much like watching a film as it reading a book because the writing is so extraordinarily good (and clever). And this review is so dry because the author wants nothing of his book revealed. "The magic is in the way the story unfolds," he's said, and yes, it is.

And I am sooo going to enjoy hand-selling people this book in my shop. I will have so many hap...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: group-read, library-read

I'm sort of bouncing back and forth between 2 and 3. I need time to think about it.

***

I've decided to give it 2 1/2, because it was pretty good - and that's how I'm rating it. Not in the sense that "I liked it" as much as in the sense that "It was pretty good".

Overall, I liked the chapters that were narrated by Little Bee better than the chapters narrated by Sarah. Little Bee seemed more real - her chapters had humor and pathos - were touching and heart-breaking and funny.

I liked when she descri...more I'm sort of bouncing back and forth between 2 and 3. I need time to think about it.

***

I've decided to give it 2 1/2, because it was pretty good - and that's how I'm rating it. Not in the sense that "I liked it" as much as in the sense that "It was pretty good".

Overall, I liked the chapters that were narrated by Little Bee better than the chapters narrated by Sarah. Little Bee seemed more real - her chapters had humor and pathos - were touching and heart-breaking and funny.

I liked when she described how our language is like sorcery, because of how slippery it is. I liked how she talked about scars and sad stories being beautiful, because it meant that a person was alive. And I liked how she would stop and tell us how she would have to explain things to the girls back home, because of the way we take certain understandings for granted.

Sarah seemed less real of a person to me, though. Everyone on the British side of things seemed more like stand-ins for certain views and representations of types. I hated Lawrence, and was ambivalent towards dislike for Andrew. But everything in Sarah's chapters seemed unnatural - the dialogue, the situations, the way people reacted and her/their motivations... it was all rather stilted and awkard. A bit heavy-handed in certain aspects, I suppose, but not horribly so.

Even as I started liking and sympathizing more with Sarah as the story progressed, I still didn't really like the chapters that were from her perspective - so I think it has to do more with the writing and less with the character.

Anyway - I'm left feeling like the situation in the book, the way that refugees are treated and the conditions they are left in, is terrible, but without any real sense that there's anything I can do about it.

And I'm not really sure what I think of the end. (view spoiler)

Oh well.

At the end of the day there's one lesson that I've learned myself that I feel might be reflected a bit in the book, and that's this: No one can change the world. But we might be able to improve our little part of it in small but important ways.(less)

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Mar 07, 2011 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: other, own-read, read-in-2011

This isn't something I would normally pick up. In the past, I've stuck pretty close to my safe genres; fantasy, historical fiction, suspense/horror. I don't usually pick up the popular "it" books, or they "issues" books, so to speak. But I've been trying to branch out, and aside from that, I was sort of "forced" to read this one. But I'm glad for that! As it turned out, I actually enjoyed it.

I had never heard of this book before I was told I was being forced to read it, and I had no idea it was...more

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May 24, 2010 Toni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lynne & Chrissie

Shelves: general-fiction, historical-fiction, multi-cultural

Early on Little Bee says, "Sad words are just another beauty. A sad story means, the storyteller is alive."

Little Bee is a very sad story, but she has such beauty that her story is well worth reading.

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Sep 21, 2009 Aimee rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Isn't it funny when novels from their origin countries are marketed in the ol' U. S. of A. under a different title because it will 'sell better'. I can just imagine the pain the author must feel when they find that the title that represents their book seems as if it's just not good enough for the American public. I can think of a few such occasions where such a thing has happened:

*Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman = The Golden Compass.

*Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling = Har...more

24 likes · like · see review

Dec 21, 2008 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as the back cover blurb is particularly vague. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a book that dealt with some really significant issues, such as refugees, in such an approachable and readable way.

The central characters were interesting and well written and despite the heavy themes, the book was quite humorous at times. I liked that the connections between characters were complex - not just simple stereotypes of 'supportive best friend' 'emotionally...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fiction

I generally pass on books written by a man in the voice of a woman. And a white man writing in a black woman's voice? No, thanks. But this book gives nothing away up front, and I was hooked before I could worry much about the writer's intentions.

The chapters alternate between Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah, an English suburban mom. They are drawn together under extraordinary circumstances, and I found myself regularly surprised by the turn of events. I didn't know how things were goin...more

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May 28, 2009 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Chris Cleave is nothing if not ambitious. In Little Bee, he not only takes on the issues of immigration, globalization, imperialism, and personal responsibility, but does so in the voices of two unforgettable women, one a solidly middle-class English fashion magazine editor, the other a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee. As you might imagine, Cleave doesn't deal with these issues in a pat way, nor does he allow his readers to do so. And although parts of this book are very, very difficult to read --...more

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Feb 22, 2009 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jeanette by: TKE

Shelves: all-fiction, europe-and-british-isles, africa, four-star-fiction

This book WILL:

1)Make you laugh hysterically.
2)Disturb you mightily.
3)Make you think A LOT.
4)Make you examine your conscience,(provided you actually have one to examine). Especially with regard to immigration issues and the tendency of wealthier nations to throw money at every problem in the hopes of making it go away.

This book MAY:

1)Horrify you.
2)Make you angry.
3)Shock you.
4)Make you cry.

The basic story involves the relationship that develops between Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee girl, and Sa...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Damn, thought I'd reviewed this when I read it. You're going to hear a lot of hype; I picked it up based on hype out of England. It's not as great as all that, and the ambitious marketer who changed the title from the more thematically astute "The Other Hand" to the cloying "Little Bee" (and penned the flap-copy about not wanting to ruin the story) owes the author a more cautious introduction to the more jaundiced audience who might, regrettably, set it aside. Then again, the author deserves a b...more

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Jun 15, 2009 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm still not really sure what I think of this book. The story is gripping and as I was reading it I felt that it had a lot of potential. However, by the last page I was still waiting for this potential to be fulfilled.
I found the characters rather hard to empathise with, which is perhaps the reason that I wasn't as moved by the story as I thought I should be. Overall, I think this book dealt with the issue of refuges in modern-day England effectively and sensitively, but that's as far as it goe...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Annalisa by: Janessa

Shelves: book-club, literary

Cleave wrote this book to expose conditions in British detention centers, and he got me with the detention scenes, made me feel the indignation for change he was going for. I read so much of Cleave in Andrew's character, so much so that I pictured him as Andrew, the journalist overwhelmed with wanting to tell this story. Even though the detention center is such a small facet of the book, it works. Cleave can write and when he wants impact, he gives us impact.

I enjoyed Little Bee. The scenes from...more Cleave wrote this book to expose conditions in British detention centers, and he got me with the detention scenes, made me feel the indignation for change he was going for. I read so much of Cleave in Andrew's character, so much so that I pictured him as Andrew, the journalist overwhelmed with wanting to tell this story. Even though the detention center is such a small facet of the book, it works. Cleave can write and when he wants impact, he gives us impact.

I enjoyed Little Bee. The scenes from her POV are often powerful and moving. I loved her voice and her thoughts and her struggles. She gave me a lot think about and a new world to explore. I felt Africa when reading her chapters. She was someone I could root for, someone whose story I wanted to follow.

But I didn't like Sarah. I don't even think I got Sarah. On the one hand, she's a shallow editor for a fashion magazine who doesn't care about anyone but herself (and when it counts, her son). She doesn't want to be troubled with other people's problems or anything serious. But on the other hand, she wants to be a journalist that makes a difference. She wants to change the world and be the person who would make the tough decisions, sacrificing herself enough, to save the world. These two halves are too much at odd and never meld into a viable person. Sarah was not a conflicted person, but a bundle of contractions.

The scene where you finally discover what happens on that Nigerian beach was a disappointment for me. It wasn't as gruesome as I expected. I wasn't sure why, because it is gruesome, but I didn't believe it. And then I realized it wasn't what happened to Bee or her sister that I didn't believe. It was Sarah and her reactions. Instead of saving Little Bee's story for me, she ruined it. Had her story been as strong as Little Bee's, I may have loved the story, but she not only ruined the beginning, she ruined the ending too.

As a sidenote, I'm glad I didn't bother reading the foreword. I'm not a fan of pretentious declarations of importance. Read the book, not its self praise.(less)

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Oct 26, 2011 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: fiction, nigeria, 2011-reads, audiobook-e-book, uk

Little Bee chronicles the story of a sixteen-year old Nigerian girl whose life is disrupted by Nigerian oil wars. The narration flips back and forth between Little Bee and Sarah, a white woman who becomes an integral part of her life.

Sometimes when I finish a book I'm grateful that I read it because it touches my heart. This is one of those books. The story serves as a reminder of the cruelty and unfairness of war, but also how it is possible to rise above it.

The only negative about this book w...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Laila Haerian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Things that I really liked:
The real name of little bee was not revealed until the very end of the book and its meaning was so relevant to the whole story.
Little bee kept saying throughout the book how she found it difficult to explain the stuff to girls back home (mostly things she saw or experienced in England), at the end of the book when she saw white blonde Charlie playing happily with black Nigerian kids at the beach, she described it as "Beautiful" and felt that finally here was something...more Things that I really liked:
The real name of little bee was not revealed until the very end of the book and its meaning was so relevant to the whole story.
Little bee kept saying throughout the book how she found it difficult to explain the stuff to girls back home (mostly things she saw or experienced in England), at the end of the book when she saw white blonde Charlie playing happily with black Nigerian kids at the beach, she described it as "Beautiful" and felt that finally here was something she didn't need to explain to the girls back home since they would also find it beautiful.
Little bee was always feeling unsafe and imagining how she could kill herself in different situations if the men suddenly came, (sometimes she was imagining herself in funny situations like in a party with the queen of England). At the very end of the book, when “the men” finally got her, she felt calm and peaceful and that was because she found herself as a small price for her story and similar stories to be told and re-told.

One might think that the story was too much of a coincidence … but then I think all of the horrible stories in real life are somehow odd and unique in their own way!

Liked:
“We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, 'I survived'.”

"Little bee told me that her big sister was a very pretty girl. She was the kind of girl the men said could make them forget their troubles. She was the kind of girl the women said was trouble. Little bee wondered which it was going to be?"

"Tea is the taste of my land: it is bitter and warm, strong, and sharp with memory. It tastes of longing. It tastes of the distance between where you are and where you come from. Also it vanishes — the taste of it vanishes from your tongue while your lips are still hot from the cup. It disappears, like plantations stretching up into the mist. I have heard that your country drinks more tea than any other. How sad that must make you — like children who long for absent mothers. I am sorry."

"What is “yours” real name? He whispered. I smiled, "My name is Udo", Udo means peace. ... Peace is a time when people can tell each other their real names.
...
The soldiers were walking across the sand toward us now. They were walking slowly, with their rifles in their hands pointing down at the sand, … “

"If your face is swollen from the severe beatings of life, smile and pretend to be a fat man." (Nigerian proverb)
(less)

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Mar 24, 2011 Barb rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, read-in-2011, book-club-reads, most-disappointing, books-everyone-but-me-loves

A slice of literary brilliance sprinkled with what I can only think of as literary cow pies.

I can't figure out why Chris Cleave created so many beautifully written passages and then with the same keystrokes inserted such a horribly rendered and completely unnecessary character as Laurence into his story. I felt this juxtaposition of brilliantly imagined and horribly depicted (and or completely unbelievable) wove its way through the entire novel. I wonder if some of what I thought was ridiculous...more

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Oct 26, 2008 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mike by: the Guardian's review

I would probably, as one other reviewer noted, go 3 1/2 stars, as well...

there were these moments where the heightened melodrama of the plot veered into the bathetic, where I found myself distanced from emotion and almost uncomfortably aware of the author behind the voices of Little Bee and Sarah (and, most often, and most especially, Sarah's boy Charlie, aka Batman) -- whimsy wrestled with pathos, and the reader loses....

but then there will be a scene of clear-eyed, unadorned horror, and I'd fi...more

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Feb 11, 2009 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: littry-fiction, distant-lands

i cant say anything about the plot of this book because the dust jacket pleads with me not to and i am nothing if not obedient. (but you can read plot points in all the other reviews by rebels) i will say i loved it enough to order in and set aside his earlier book, which had never called out to me before. and this is my favorite cover ... ever.

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Mar 16, 2009 Danica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the first half of the book, but had a hard time getting through the second half. Little Bee, a Nigerian girl who escaped her country after a series of horrific killings, ends up in England. The story follows Little Bee from her time in Nigeria to her difficult transition to England; as well as a British couple, whose lives become deeply entwined with Little Bee. A lot of the effectiveness of the book comes from the plot twists, so I'll leave the plot description at that.

In my opinion, t...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The first three pages of this book deserve 5 stars. Absolutely. Little Bee is an excellent narrator and they were positively engaging/hilarious/touching/curiosity-inducing.

After that, the story gets pretty heavy. That's not a problem, but it struck me as a uncomfortably incongruous with the cutesy publisher's note on the front book jacket flap. It's got a coy little tone with some stylized all-caps, teasing about spoiling for the story for us, the readers, who are about to go on a magnificent ad...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Robyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not a marketer. I am not a publisher. But I am a consumer, an avid reader, and (I would venture to hope) an intelligent person. As such I can say with no reservations whatsoever that to proclaim that a book is so astonishingly good that they are incapable of giving anything away to a potential reader is a dangerous game to play. And I don't think that they've won this round.

This book is quite good. It's not brilliant. It doesn't deserve the mega hype, nor the publishers' desperate pleas to...more I am not a marketer. I am not a publisher. But I am a consumer, an avid reader, and (I would venture to hope) an intelligent person. As such I can say with no reservations whatsoever that to proclaim that a book is so astonishingly good that they are incapable of giving anything away to a potential reader is a dangerous game to play. And I don't think that they've won this round.

This book is quite good. It's not brilliant. It doesn't deserve the mega hype, nor the publishers' desperate pleas to spread the good word without giving anything away. There's little to give away; there are no major plot twists, nor huge, story-altering revelations which must be kept secret at all costs. If I tell you that the story revolves around a Nigerian refugee and a white woman from Kingston upon Thames who meet on a beach in Nigeria and affect each others' lives in ways that they couldn't possibly fathom, then that gives away precisely nothing. And you're unlikely to feel contempt and resentment if you finish the novel and remain unmoved. Plus, it would probably intrigue a reader far more than a cryptic promise that it's the best book you're ever likely to read but we can't give anything away because it's Just That Good.

The two female protagonists are well-developed, identifiable and likeable whilst remaining flawed enough to maintain the reader's interest. Unfortunately the background characters are cardboard cut-outs. There is a child who, after the first couple of chapters, becomes supremely irritating, his speech patterns unrealistic and his demeanour grating. Certain elements of the both main characters are questionable and serve to make them less believable, not more. I stumbled over sketchy timelines, unfeasible practicalities and unrealistic physical descriptions which seemed implausible and forced, thus jolting me out of the story and making me suspicious of the parts I'd previously had no reason to doubt.

The main point of the book was obviously to make people question the way they feel about asylum seekers, in a time when Britons view them in a negative, uncaring light. In parts it did shock me, and I suspect that I will indeed view refugees differently than I have done in the past. But it left a sour taste in my mouth due to the stereotypes which he not only fails to overturn, but in some cases actually presents without a hint of irony. Some people have accused the author of racism but I don't think it's that simple. He means well, but he is using such a grossly simplified idea to deal with a complicated situation that it smacks of armchair psychology and is guaranteed to offend in both directions. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't think that Nigerians would like to be portrayed the way Little Bee is in the novel any more than I am happy comparing myself to Sarah, a white middle-class woman from Kingston upon Thames (which, as it happens, I am myself). But more than that, it's the simplification of the delicate, complicated background to Africa's political situation which is hard to swallow. I felt in some ways the same anger and distaste towards The Other Hand as I did towards My Sister's Keeper; it's admirable to try and tackle such a controversial subject in a commercial novel, but the ineffectual nature of the end result is flimsy enough that it feels like a set-back, not an advance. Some people will be affected for the better, and that's fantastic. If it makes us question our judgements and our actions then the novel has, arguably, already done its job. But if we view this as a masterpiece or panacea for the West's behaviour towards Africa then, much like the marketing ploy, we are on dangerous grounds indeed.(less)

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Sep 28, 2010 Regina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: available-at-library, available-audio-library, book-club-10-11, literature, 2010-reads

This is a book that compelled me to keep reading and had me thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. So that is why I gave it 3 stars -- books that can do that are worth it.

My main issue is that the characters seemed to be not real, but metaphors for problems in society and I feel like the end message was that the problems facing refugees and aslyees are bigger than the average citizen and it isn't worth it to get involved -- we cannot change the country dynamics and the bureacracy challenge...more

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Michelle Well what were your final thoughts? lol Should I go get a copy or wait until I happen upon one?
Sep 29, 2010 08:36am

Regina I don't know. It is a book that compelled me to keep reading and had me thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. So that is why I gave it 4 stars -...more
updated Sep 29, 2010 08:43am

Michelle Good to know! I will put word out that I am looking for a copy and if I happen to stumble upon one at a thrift store or garage sale I'll pick it up. A...more
Sep 29, 2010 08:50am

Jan 09, 2011 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: other-cultures, general-fiction, bookgroup

Amazing. This was an uncomfortable book to read, with an important story to tell. Despite that, there was a marvelous narrative flow that just pulled me right through the worst of the scenes and made me love Little Bee and Sarah and Charlie. Men, though--- you gotta hate them all. I was told once in a Lit course that if there is so much gender bias that you love the women and hate the men without exception, then the agenda is not to be trusted. Although this is a Message Narrative, I really do t...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Kristen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have an almost uncanny ability to bring the absolute wrong books on vacation. Particularly if it’s a trip to a tropical destination, or a trip to a developing country (for example, reading “Fingersmith” in Costa Rica, “Corelli’s Mandolin” in Italy, “The Lost Child” in Czech Republic, etc). I brought this book because a good friend recommended it a few years ago, and the back-of-the-book synopsis intentionally reveals very little about the story. In fact, if there is a Mad Men-esque publishing...more

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About Chris Cleave

Chris Cleave was born in London and spent his early years in Cameroon. He studied experimental psychology at Balliol College, Oxford. His debut novel, INCENDIARY, won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and is now a feature film. His second novel, LITTLE BEE, is a New York Times #1 bestseller with over 2 million copies in print. GOLD is his thir...more

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“We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, 'I survived'.” — 232 people liked it

“On the girl's brown legs there were many small white scars. I was thinking, Do those scars cover the whole of you, like the stars and the moons on your dress? I thought that would be pretty too, and I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.” — 196 people liked it

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