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Jul
28
Book Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave
2009 at 10am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
If you’ve read the publisher’s description, you know there’s not much I can tell you about this book. And I’m okay with that. I want you to read it for yourself. And this is why.
Little Bee is a sixteen-year-old Nigerian refugee who has just been released from a two-year stint in an immigration detention center in London. She has run from a country in which men wanted to kill her because of what she had seen and where every woman’s story began with “the-men-came-and-they-“ to a place where she understands that “to survive, you must look good or talk even better.”
So she learned the Queen’s English, and she painted her toenails bright red to remind herself that she was alive, and she learned to see scars as beauty because “a scar means, I survived.”
For Little Bee horror is not an escape or a source of entertainment or “something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it.” It is a disease, a reality, a never-changing, never-ending way of life. And there is no escape from it; you can run away, but your horror will follow you.
So when I say that I am a refugee, you must understand that there is no refuge.
It has been two years since Little Bee fled Nigeria after an unforgettable encounter with a British couple altered the course of her life, and still, she lives in constant fear that the men will come for her. So whenever she enters a new place, she figures out how she would kill herself there.
When Little Bee is released from the immigration detention center, she has the clothes on her back and a clear, plastic bag containing a driver’s license and a business card, both belonging to Andrew O’Rourke of Kingston-on-Thames. At this point, we don’t know who Andrew O’Rourke is or how Little Bee knows him. All we know is that he and his wife Sarah (the British couple from the beach in Nigeria) are the only people she knows in England, and their lives are inextricably tied to hers.
The story unfolds from there, as Little Bee and Sarah narrate alternating chapters that gradually reveal what happened that day on the beach two years ago and why none of them can stop thinking about it. And you won’t be able to, either.
Little Bee is beautiful, awful, hopeful, devastating, and utterly unforgettable. Cleave juxtaposes gorgeous, almost poetic prose with a truly horrific story that is made bearable by moments of great humor and warmth, many of which are provided by Sarah’s son Charlie, a four-year-old who is convinced he is Batman.
Read Little Bee for the language and the variety of voices that are so incredible you’ll want to wrap yourself up with them and stay for days. Read it for Cleave’s ability to tell a story that is framed by politics but that is ultimately about people. Read it because it does all the things fiction is supposed to do and then some. From the striking cover to the very last word, Little Bee is intense, satisfying, and not to be missed. This is a story you will carry with you for the rest of your reading days. 5 out of 5.
Visit Chris Cleave’s website to learn more about why he wrote Little Bee, to read the first chapter, and to read additional reviews.
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- Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
- Book Review: The Little Book by Selden Edwards
- Not quite a book review of THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake
[...] Book Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave [...]
I’m so glad you loved it! I really want to read this one.
Well done. I loved this book too and just posted my review on Friday. It’s quite the story. I can’t wait to see what Cleave writes next. My review is here if it interests you:
http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/little-bee-by-chris-cleave-review.html
Wow.. a 5 out of 5. It has to be good. Some of the members of my book group read this and said it was fantastic. I don’t come across too many books that I can say are a “5″ so I am putting this one down on my list.
I bought this a while ago and it’s been languishing on my shelf ever since. I can’t wait to read it now that I see you gave it a 5 out of 5.
Wow, thought sounds amazing. I love the cover as well. I will have to find this one at the library!
I don’t want to include spoilers, so I’m Tweeting you my thoughts!
I loved this too. Thought the writing was lovely. Plus, it made me laugh.
This seems to be one that you either love or don’t care for at all. But a 5 is a rare thing, so I guess it better go on the TBR list.
Lovely review and this book is up next on my library shelf!! I can’t wait to get to it!
I LOVEDDDDDD this book too when I read it. Impossible to put down
great review; thanks for the memories.
Yay yay Yay I’m so glad you liked this as much as I did. I blew through the library copy I had because I simply could not put it down and had to get to the next page. Now I want to buy a copy so that I can re-read it slowly and savor the words – particularly Little Bee’s observations.
What an awesome review! I wasn’t too familiar with this one before, but now I’m totally convinced – I’ll be putting it on my library’s hold list! Thanks so much.
That looks fantastic. I’m adding it to my TBR stack.
In a way, I think elements of it will remind me of Child of the Jungle by Sabine Kuegler, which I read last summer.
I finished this last week – my review should appear soon, but I loved this book as much as you!
It will get one of my rare 5/5 too! So emotional – I just wanted to pick that little boy up and look after him – he made me cry so much….
I wasn’t too sure about this one, but your review makes it sound really good. I’ll keep this one in mind.
–Anna
I’m so angry with myself. I got an ARC of this at a bookstore that gave away free ARCs with $25 purchases way back before it was even released. Have I read it yet? No. I’ve heard such amazing things about it, I’m going to have to just put other things aside and get to it, review copies be damned.
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Wow, you’ve done a phenomenal job reviewing a truly fantastic book. I loved the way Little Bee viewed and described life, like when she suggests that “Top Gun” should be called “The Man Who Was in A Great Hurry” & that he should have woken up earlier so he wouldn’t have to rush. I loved the themes of redemption and sacrifice and the way it forces you to pause and reflect on your life. Glad you liked it too! I’m looking forward to more reviews & recommendations.
Hummmm. I like Cleave’s writing style but I was not as taken by the book as you were. Am I jaded, did I expect more politics? I don’t know…. I did like the book though!
How did I miss this awesome review back in July when I was truly an evangelist for LITTLE BEE? This was my favorite book in 2009 and you gave it a wonderful review! At the Bookstore we sold more copies of this book in hardcover than any other adult fiction book, because we all just loved it!
Don’t ever let anyone try to tell me that book reviews aren’t an art form. That is a wonderful review!
Thanks!
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