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Loading... Little Bee: A Novel (edition 2009)by Chris Cleave
Work InformationThe Other Hand by Chris Cleave
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Interesting read about a Nigerian refugee in England, who meets up with a woman she briefly encountered in Nigeria. There is some mystery about what happened there, ultimately described as a violent and deadly encounter. The story continues to tell of both the refugee's and the woman's life after they meet again. Part of the book were very good, others were okay. Did not care for the ending. ( ) This book sells itself by not telling you anything about the story. The summary on Amazon says WE DO NOT WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THIS BOOK. I admit, the secrecy made me want to read the book more, however, I think it's completlely unnecessary. They could explain the plot without it cheaping the reading experience in any way. Little Bee is a quick read -- it took me about two days to finish it. I found some of the passages beautiful but overall I found the book disappointing. Some of the characters, Little Bee in particular, have a lovely take on the world, but the overall plot is unfulfilling. My biggest problem is that the book is sad, overwhelmingly sad, and since I read for pleasure that's really not what I'm looking for in a novel. My recomendation: get it from the library, don't buy it. Also, don't read if you don't want sad. And don't expect a mystery. The book jacket says "We don't want to tell you WHAT HAPPENS in this book. It is truly SPECIAL STORY and we don't want to spoil it." The back cover has excerpts from ten or more newspapers acclaiming the book as "Ambitious and Fearless", "Stunning", "...Poignant and Compelling," "A Mesmerizing Tour De Force", and on and on. As a result, I suspect my expectations were too high because I was disappointed with the book. I liked the character of Little Bee but didn't care at all about Sarah, who is central to the story. The ending was a mess and without giving anything away here, I find it difficult to believe a mother would willingly put her son in such a dangerous situation. On the plus side, it did call attention to the dehumanizing conditions of the British Immigration and Detention Center and the evils resulting from takeovers of oil rich lands. Very nicely written, poignant, touching - tragic and horrific in parts. Well depicted characters and an engaging plot too (although I couldn't quite buy the final section of the book). Only drawback was that I felt quite manipulated while reading it - many things seemed a little calculated to play on your emotions, and particularly on 1st world guilt. Also! This was my first Flipback book, and I enjoyed it a lot. I think it's a good format, particularly for commuting. Hopefully they can get the price down a bit.
While the pretext of “Little Bee” initially seems contrived — two strangers, a British woman and a Nigerian girl, meet on a lonely African beach and become inextricably bound through the horror imprinted on their encounter — its impact is hardly shallow. Rather than focusing on postcolonial guilt or African angst, Cleave uses his emotionally charged narrative to challenge his readers’ conceptions of civility, of ethical choice. "Little Bee" leaves little doubt that Cleave deserves the praise. He has carved two indelible characters whose choices in even the most straitened circumstances permit them dignity -- if they are willing to sacrifice for it. "Little Bee" is the best kind of political novel: You're almost entirely unaware of its politics because the book doesn't deal in abstractions but in human beings. "Little Bee" is the best kind of political novel: You're almost entirely unaware of its politics because the book doesn't deal in abstractions but in human beings. Book clubs in search of the next "Kite Runner" need look no further than this astonishing, flawless novel about what happens when ordinary, mundane Western lives are thrown into stark contrast against the terrifying realities of war-torn Africa. Cleave has a sharp cinematic eye, but the plot is undermined by weak motivations and coincidences. Belongs to Publisher SeriesFlipback (1) AwardsNotable Lists
A haunting novel about the tenuous friendship that blooms between two disparate strangers--one an illegal Nigerian refugee, the other a recent widow from suburban London. No library descriptions found.
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumChris Cleave's book Little Bee was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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