Customer Reviews

Little Bee

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow....this is a book you need to read. Yes - need.

Quoting from the flyleaf of Little Bee:

"We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something , so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again. The story starts there. Once you have read it you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how it unfolds."

Okay I was sceptical when I first saw the flyleaf, but then I started to read, and I couldn't put it down. And guess what? - I 'm going to honour the request to not tell you what happens. I know - what kind of review is that? But I think this book is a journey every reader should take on their own. What I will tell you is that author Chris Cleave has created a powerful, moving, exceptional story. The idea was inspired by his childhood in West Africa and by a visit to a British immigration detention centre. The character of Little Bee and her views of the world and life are heartbreaking and compelling. Cleave has created amazing prose, such as:

"Learning the Queen's English is like scrubbing off the bright red varnish from your toenails, the morning after a dance. It takes a long time and there is always a little bit left at the end, a stain of red along the growing edges to remind you of the good time you had."

The narrative moves between Little Bee and Sarah. What is interesting are their differing views on the same events. All of the supporting characters, Sarah's husband, lover and son are all powerfully written, provoking strong reaction and emotion. There is some violence in the book, but it is integral to the story. The ending is heartbreaking, uplifting and gives hope to our future.

Strong stuff? Yes it is - but it's a book you'll be glad you read. As I work with new Canadians every day, I will be recommending this book to co workers. It forces you to see the world through a different set of eyes.

This novel, told from multiple points of view, sears in at least as many ways, testimony to the author's abilities.

Having lived in the UK, I found myself nodding along with some of the sections, while wincing in others. 'Little Bee' manages to inform without resorting to preaching, and even the heightened drama bits were executed so well as to retain their effectiveness.

Mr. Cleave gets the voices right, gets the characters right, and in the end, gets the story right.

While not an 'easy read', the novel is more than worth the effort required to get through the heartbreaking passages. It reminds us of circumstances most are unfamiliar with, and of our -sometimes lacking- humanity.

This is the first book I've read written by Chris Cleave, and found his crisp writing to be highly readable, entertaining, and at the same time Little Bee has that unmistakable power rekindling reader's interest exploring the painful reality that many fellow human beings go through every single day around the globe.

The central character Little Bee, whose real name is Udo, meaning peace, recollects childhood memories with her family, adventures with elder sister, and horror in the forms of boots and guns that came to their village, robbing her childhood innocence, while fleeing to a promised land does not bring that very promise of sheltering persecution from the paid thugs.

Involvement of a family of journalist, the 1 meter height "batman", gives this tragic story another dimension and perspective, from the eyes of a protector, who feels so helpless protecting a refugee child from the onslaught of endless bureaucracy, and bullets. Amid the gloom and waves of sorrow, also lies satire from Little Bee, whose "Queen English" describing the promised land, her native country's convoluted politics, though piercing, provide light way of responding to constricting cruelty with refreshing humor.

Great book and a great story! Kudos to the author Chris Cleave writing a courageous book for the dispossessed, and the world of refugees.

Wow, I don't quite know how to go about reviewing this book as the publishers don't want to give away any of the story. There isn't even a synopsis of the novel on the book cover or inside the book!! So...I suppose I'll say that I was completely pulled into the story by `Little Bee', a sixteen-year-old `orphan' from Nigeria. Little Bee is one of two narrators, the other being Sarah who lives in England and is helping Little Bee.

I found the voices of Little Bee and Sarah captivating and couldn't see my way clear to even put the novel down until it was done. Now, I wish I hadn't read so quickly as I want to go back now and hear their voices again.

This was a wonderful story that was inspirational yet heartbreaking. You will come to deeply appreciate what we have in this country after reading Little Bee. You'll no longer take for granted the choices and decisions that you get to make of your own free will each day. Or, just enjoying the simple pleasures of every day life.

Little Bee will open your eyes in ways you hadn't thought possible. Kudos to Mr. Cleave for his ingenious ability to pen a novel that digs deep into your psyche without you even realizing that it's happening. A book for everyone!

The book jacket cover asks that readers not tell others about the story. I think it's a great marketing ploy as it creates curiosity in the potential reader. It worked for my book club and we picked it due to the mystery. I on the other hand would've liked to know certain facts about the story before diving in.

Yes it's about two women who's lives are connected. But I would've liked to know that the story is based in England and Nigeria as I have a fascination with locations of plots, etc.

I will honour the book jacket marketing ploy and not describe the plot or characters. I will however say that I was not wowed by the book. I appreciate it and enjoyed reading it but it was not a wow factor for me.

In my opinion, this is one of the best novels I've read in the past six months. The plot itself is not what makes this such a good book, but its depth, its symbolism, its philosophical message, and a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism give this novel some real bite.

I will admit, the story is slightly contrived. But one must look beyond to analyze the deeper meanings of the characters and what they say. In this way, Cleave is more artist and poet than he is storyteller with his diction and heavy use of metaphors. The concepts are abstract yet delivered in an interesting manner. For example, the protagonist Little Bee, is actually more philosophical than the adult main character Sarah. Charlie's Batman facade is symbolic of the inner and outer consciousness.

Just a wonderful Commonwealth novel with a deep philosophical message. If you like novels that really challenge you to think about the deeper meanings in life, this is the book for you.

A violent confrontation between an English couple and rebel soldiers lies at the heart of this novel where the moral culpability of the main protagonist, journalist Sarah O'Rourke is bought into question. Meanwhile, the strong-willed Nigerian girl Little Bee flees from cruelty, stowing away on a "on a great steel boat" and then landing in England. Eventually placed in detention at the Essex immigration center, the only connection that she has is Sarah's husband's, Andrew's driver's license in a see through plastic bag left on the beach.

Gifted and sensitive, Little Bee is possessed of a sharp intelligence who dreams of being a British pound coin and of the life she once had with her older sister Nkiruka, The first to confess that she's only alive because she learnt the Queen's English, Little Bee's adventure truly begins as she is released into the bright days of Essex sunshine. Even as she leaves her fellow inmates, Bee is battered by shame and memory, and all through the night is it as though Nkiruka walks beside her. Even as Andrew picks up Bee`s telephone call from the center, he suddenly admits that can't face seeing her again. Five days later Andrew has killed himself by hanging. When Bee arrives on the doorstep of their house in Kingston-upon-Thames, she sees a shattered spirit for Sarah was unable to counteract her husband's long slow slide into depression. After five thousand miles and two years, Little Bee has arrived just in time for his funeral.

The intervening two years has bought on a series of worsening premonitions and indeed the only souvenir that Sarah has of their first meeting is an absence where the middle-finger of her left hand used to be. Still, Sarah's loveable son Charlie constantly filling out his batman costume, is delighted with his new playmate, luxuriating in the brand new intimacies secrets and shared experiences, with Bee's compassion offering a partial solution to the loss of his father. Even as the six suited undertakers lower Andrew's coffin with its thick green silky ropes, Charlie squirms in his mum's arms, asking the question again and again: "Mummy, where's mine daddy exactly now?"

With its developing world of inner-badness and questions of sanctuary and refuge, Little Bee is all about "the forked tongue of grief." Meanwhile, Cleave's emotional novel charts two lives falling apart: Sarah with her house, her job and the grief "all shrinking to a point behind her," along with her dissatisfaction at her affair with Lawrence. The essence of her problem is that she's wracked with guilt that she destroyed her husband and cheated on him with another man. But it is Little Bee, having lost both her parents and her sister, who has the real struggle - that of surviving and she doesn't count on the threats from Laurence to turn her in. In a final struggle, Sarah and Bee, vowing to help each other, return to Nigeria to confront both of their demons and the fear that has ruled their lives. Here a fight is waged between two realities, both a white woman and black girl back on the beach, almost like exiles from reality. As Little Bee's past comes to haunt her, her life in Nigeria, her lost sister, and her whole family once sacrificed at the alter of hard-line oil men, Cleave unfurls a haunting work of human triumph and the perils of globalization where girls like Little Bee are just silhouettes, expendable products in a world that is shifting and changing. Mike Leonard April 09.

I had a terrible time getting through this book! It has such excellent reviews, it felt like I had picked up the wrong book! Besides the fact that there is a completely unbelievably written child, this is probably the single, most depressing book I have ever read. As a result, it was a struggle to get through. I had to physically force myself to keep picking up the book to get through it.
The main character Little Bee makes for an interesting tragic heroine, but her one track mind (with regards to the many ways she will kill herself), gets beyond depressing.
Sara, the other antagonist, for the first three quarters of the book, is completely unlikeable. The very last bit of the book, she starts to turn around, but...well I won't give things away, but the end of the book, is ridiculous in the choices these adults make, feels very rushed given the dragging on and on of the first 3/4 of the book, and ends abruptly, leaving you feeling empty and dissatisfied.
I honestly feel like people say they like this book because it tackles difficult topics and forces the reader (by saying straight up) to pay attention to issues we are generally unaware of and try to ignore, choosing instead to remain hiding in our happy worlds. But that is not enough of a reason to enjoy a book, in my mind. I don't like being guilted into liking something and I would NOT recommend this book.

1. "Little Bee" seemed a little more experience related - in comparison to books like "The Birth House" - which I found more rigid and academic
2. Pg. 78. A literary example of happiness. "Happiness - all of it is built on top of something that men want."
3. This book reminded me of "The Pearl" 1947 by Steinbeck
4. Constant theme of 'killing oneself' - and 'ways' of killing oneself
5. Good story structure from pages 1-78 - with two stories. One "Little Bee" and the other about the "O'Rourkes." It contributes to suspense. The want to get the two stories to join up
6. Very modern story
7. You can tell the author is speaking from experience from his youth in West Africa (the author lived as a youth in West Africa)
8. I can relate to the authors background of living in Africa because I lived in Malawi
9. I can relate to the 'accidental visiting of a British concentration camp' [Inspired by his childhood in West Africa and by an accidental visit to a British concentration camp[...]] - because in The Netherlands I accidentally went to visit a 'doorvoerkamp' - a link station transporting people to major concentration camps in WWII. It was called Westerbork. [...]
10. The book reminds me of the movie, The Constant Gardener, 2005 in the sense of the violence in Africa and the themes of 'good' versus 'evil.' Page 130-131
11. The descriptions of the tea plantations remind me of the tea plantations in Malawi that I witnessed
12. This book was very hard to read. It was like walking through a swamp. It is a sad and emotionally charged book. It is beautifully written though.

There are only a handful of books that I love as much as I loved Little Bee. The story is so engaging and poignant that I could not put it down, even after I was finished the book. I felt so connected to the characters that the book stayed with me long after I read it.
The way the events of the story are unveiled is as captivating as the characters, all beautifully flawed and human. Cleave's ability to write a novel with such strong female protaganists is astounding, had I not known Cleave was male I might have thought that a woman wrote this novel, and now I really want there to be an Orange Prize for male authors so Cleave can be nominated.
I am grateful to Cleave for sharing this story and look forward to reading his other work.