Little Bee

[Jessika]

Kimberly and I are planning on reading Little Bee mid-February. Anyone is welcome to join!

[Kimberly]

Thanks for setting up this thread. :)

[Susan]

I'm in!

[Jessika]

awesome!

[Kimberly]

When would you like to start? :)

[Jessika]

We can start tomorrow if you'd like! I've been in a reading slump lately, so maybe knowing someone is checking up on me will help!

[Kimberly]

Perfect! I'll download it today. :)

[Kimberly]

I've read (well, listened to) the first 2 chapters. I'm not sure why, but I thought this was a book of historical fiction. It's not. It's quite contemporary - but thoroughly enjoyable so far. I'm on my phone so I can't write spoilers so I'll be vague. I'm very curious to find out what happened on the beach.

[Kimberly]

I've read (well, listened to) the first 2 chapters. I'm not sure why, but I thought this was a book of historical fiction. It's not. It's quite contemporary - but thoroughly enjoyable so far. I'm on my phone so I can't write spoilers so I'll be vague. I'm very curious to find out what happened on the beach.

[Kimberly]

I just finished Little Bee. I'm happy to talk about it if anyone wants to...?

[Jessika]

I made good progress today, but not done yet. I think I'll be done by Saturday, so go ahead and put down any thoughts you'd like to discuss while the book is still fresh on your mind, and I will catch up this weekend.

[Jessika]

Finished! I'll post some of the discussion questions from the back of the book.

1. (view spoiler)["Sad words are just another beauty. A sad story means, this storyteller is alive" (p. 9). For Little Bee and other asylum seekers, the story of their life thus far is often all they have. What happens to the characters that carry their stories with them, both physically and mentally? What happens when we try to forget our past? How much control over their own stories do the characters in the book seem to have? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

2. (view spoiler)[Little Bee tells the reader, "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" (p. 9). Which characters in the story are left with physical scars? Emotional scars? Do they embrace them as beautiful? Do you have any scars you've come to embrace? Did you feel more connected to Little Bee as a narrator after this pact? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

3. (view spoiler)[ Little Bee strives to learn the Queen's English in order to survive in the detention center. How does her grasp of the language compare with Charlie's? How does the way each of these two characters handle the English language help to characterize them? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

4. (view spoiler)[ How did it affect your reading experience to have two narrators? Did you trust one woman more than the other? Did you prefer the voice of one above the other? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

5. (view spoiler)[ Little Bee credits a small bottle of nail polish for "saving her life" while she was in the detention center (p. 7). Is there any object or act that helps you feel alive and beautiful, even when everything else seems to be falling apart? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

6. (view spoiler)[ Of the English language Little Bee says, "Every word can defend itself. Just when you go to grab it, it can split into two separate meanings so the understanding closes on empty air" (p. 12). What do you think she means by this? Can you think of any examples of English words that defend themselves? Why is language so important to Little Bee? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

7. (view spoiler)[ Little Bee says of horror films, "Horror in your country is something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it" (p. 45). Do you agree? Was reading this novel in any way a dose of horror for you? How did it help you reflect on the presence or lack of horror in your own life? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

8. (view spoiler)[ Little Bee figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case "the men come suddenly." How do these plans help Little Bee reclaim some power? Were you disturbed by this, or were you able to find the humor in some of the scenarios she imagines? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

9. (view spoiler)[ What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

10. (view spoiler)[ "To have an affair, I began to realize, was a relatively minor transgression. But to really escape from Andrew, to really become myself, I had to go the whole way and fall in love" (p. 161-162). Do you agree with Sarah that an affair is a minor transgression? How did falling in love with someone else help Sarah become herself? What role did Andrew play in perpetuating Sarah's extramarital affair? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

11. (view spoiler)[ When Little Bee finds that Andrew has hanged himself she thinks, "Of course I must save him, whatever it costs me, because he is a human being." And then she thinks, "Of course I must save myself, because I am a human being too" (p. 194). How do the characters in the story decide when to put themselves first and when to offer charity? Is one human life ever more valuable than another? What if one of the lives in question is your own? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

My responses:

3. (view spoiler)[Little Bee's grasp of language is very advanced, and yet she still struggles with some of the intricacies and idioms (I.e., when she calls the cab driver a cock.) Charlie, though his grammar is poor due to his age, is able to read into the intricacies of language in regards to his father's death, his mother's relationship with Lawrence, etc., with understanding that I would consider beyond his age. (hide spoiler)]

4. (view spoiler)[I liked the effect of having two narrators. That way, as the reader, I was able to get the story from both Little Bee's and Sarah's POV. I think I trust Little Bee more as the narrator, because she doesn't hide behind the mask of being "proper" like Sarah tries to. Sarah, I feel, is in denial much of the story, and is basically lying to herself, which in turn deceives the reader. (hide spoiler)]

6. (view spoiler)[ I think Little Bee experienced the difficulty many people share when learning a second language. Words have different meanings that we use to fit our situations. Native speakers figure out the meaning by context clues, but learners of the language may only know one meaning to each word. Language is so important to Little Bee because she thinks that language will be her ticket to fitting in and adapting in a strange world she didn't grow up in. See, I just did it without realizing it. Of course, I didn't mean a physical ticket, but native speakers and some non-native speakers, pick up on my meaning. (hide spoiler)]

[Jessika]

My responses:

7. (view spoiler)[Wow, that quote hit me pretty hard when I was reading. I think many of us in what we would consider the "Western" world DO exactly what Little Bee said when it comes to horror. Of course, terrible things happen, but how many of us have thought daily about the Sandy Hook shooting, or the Aurora shooting, or any number of other tragedies unless they affect us in a personal way? We take horror in little doses, recognizing it when it happens, but it soon gets pushed to the back of our minds because, as Little Bee said, we aren't suffering from it on a daily basis. I don't risk getting my house burned down, raped in the street, shot and then eaten by dogs in my town. A bad day for me is being stuck at work late then getting stuck in traffic. I'm grateful that I don't constantly live in fear for my life, and while this book did help open my eyes to the horrors going on around the world, in a few days or weeks, I'll be back to my privileged life, unaffected by the horror. Is it right? Absolutely not. But what to do about it...? (hide spoiler)]

8. (view spoiler)[I feel sad for Little Bee, that she lived in constant fear, ready to kill herself quickly to save herself from the horrors of what would happen to her if the men came suddenly. I think she reclaimed some power in doing this, because she would choose to die with dignity and not give the men the satisfaction of tormenting her in her last moments of life. (hide spoiler)]

9. (view spoiler)[ On pg 207, Lawrence says to Sarah, "Save her (Little Bee) and there's a whole world of them behind her. A whole swam of Little Bee's coming here to feed." To which Sarah responds, "Or to pollinate." I think that is the essence of Little Bee's name and also her character. Her reason for staying with Sarah and Charlie is to help them grow and thrive, which is what bees help plants do when they are pollinated. Also, she changes her name because Udo means peace, and in that moment at the beach, her life is anything but peaceful. She knew this, and knew that her name no longer fit her. (hide spoiler)]