Little Bee in Retro Chapter Chicks

Jul 23, 2012 Book Concierge rated it it was ok

Shelves: audio, africa, england, sfe, book-club, concierge, library

2.5**

This is the story of a Nigerian woman, hardly more than a girl, and the British couple who came across her on the beach, what they witnessed and what they wish to forget. When the book was published there was a great deal of hype about the great secret happening on the beach and none of the reviews gave away anything of the plot, leaving the potential readers to imagine all sorts of atrocities. What actually happened is revealed about mid-way through the book. It is both “not as bad as” an 2.5**

This is the story of a Nigerian woman, hardly more than a girl, and the British couple who came across her on the beach, what they witnessed and what they wish to forget. When the book was published there was a great deal of hype about the great secret happening on the beach and none of the reviews gave away anything of the plot, leaving the potential readers to imagine all sorts of atrocities. What actually happened is revealed about mid-way through the book. It is both “not as bad as” and “worse than” what the reader might have imagined.

Cleave alternates narrators from chapter to chapter. The book begins two years after “that day on the beach.” Little Bee starts by recounting her days in the immigration detention center outside London, and her release from there. Sarah then picks up her story as a young widow. There is considerable flashback, but Cleave handles this device with skill and it does not strike the reader as choppy or disconnected. There ARE questions of course; the two narrators do not know everything about each other, so their stories each have some missing information and discrepancies between the two. None of this hurts the narrative, however.

On the other hand, Cleave does not do so good a job of differentiating the voices here. Little Bee has spent a great deal of time learning “the Queen’s English” because she believes it will help her gain asylum and release from the detention center. As a result, unless the reader remembers that the narrator changes each chapter, it can be confusing.

Little Bee is likeable, though she makes some odd choices and suffers great guilt as a result. Sarah, however, is a selfish woman who can’t seem to decide what she wants and leaves a path of destruction behind her as she careens through life. Over and over again she makes foolish decisions, and seems totally oblivious to how her actions impact others. But what really soured me on the book was that I felt Cleave couldn’t decide what kind of book he was writing. Is he writing an expose of big oil’s corrupt practices in the developing world? Is he writing a story of a broken marriage and how one partner tries to survive her guilt? Or is he writing a novel about a young girl’s journey from a horrific life towards a future full of potential? And what’s with the whole Batman business?

Flosnik’s narration on the audio book does help to differentiate the two women. However, she reads at a pace that is so S L O W that it drove me crazy. I’m sure that is part of the reason I didn’t like the book as much as many others.

The book closes with a Nigerian proverb: “If your face is swollen from the severe beatings of life, smile and pretend to be a fat man.” While there are few moments of very good writing, by the end of this book I am I pretending to be a fat man. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 05, 2017 Nancy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017-books

I think I would have liked this book better if there had not been so much hype over it. I heard about it years ago from a TV personality who said it was SO good but couldn't say what it was about. Then the back of the book tells the reader they don't want to tell us what happens in this book as it is a truly special story and they don't want to spoil it. I was expecting to be blown away. I was not. And I don't understand all the secrecy. I am intrigued with any stories set in Africa as I don't k ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2018 Kim rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, audio

4.5 stars. It was a difficult book - I may not have read it had I known how disturbing some scenes would be - but I’m glad now that I did. Little Bee’s voice is captivating and opens up the perspective of refugees in a way I wasn’t expecting. The audio version was very good on this one (and ensured I wasn’t reading this right before bed which was helpful for me with a book like this!).

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 21, 2014 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was ok

2.5 STARS

"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 afterward that is most important. Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it un ...more

Like · see review