Search - Little Bee (aka The Other Hand)

I read the blurb on the back of the book, and I expected some transcendent event that "unfolded" the "magic of the story".

Not so much. The book was an overwrought, overly introspective examination of Africa and the global response to the problems there.

The story centers around a character named Little Bee, who is from Nigeria. She and her sister are caught in a horrific series of events on a beach that change the trajectory of their lives. Also on the beach that day is a British couple trying to save their marriage. Each person is changed by the goings on at the beach and the rest of the story consists of each character dealing with that horrific event.

There are some memorable quotes in the book and some insightful internal dialogue from the characters, but I waited in vain for magic that never came. About 2/3 of the way through, I was ready to leave these characters behind. It was not a horrible book, but not an excellent one either.

If you would like to read an excellent book about Africa, go get "What is the What".

This book is being pushed EVERYWHERE. Amazon, Borders, etc, etc. So I picked it up. Was immediately suspicious of the "secretive non-plot blurb" on the back and when my gut rang it's warning bell, I should have heeded it.

This book was a train wreck that I just couldn't not look away from. It was sad, demoralizing, horrific and depressing. I kept waiting for the tide to turn and for things to start to lighten. I pushed through because I felt I needed to be reminded of the atrocities that happen all around us, all the time.

As a piece of literature it was clunky and stilted and several parts unbelievable (and I'm not talking about the atrocities...I'm talking about the "normal" life happenings).

If you enjoy books that are about social injustices, death and globalization then by all means, pick this one up. If that's not your cup of tea, stay far, far away from Little Bee.

Many of the characters in this book annoyed me: Charlie and his pitiful speech patterns, Lawrence's flatness, and Sarah for being that uber-annoying my-son-can-do-no-wrong mommy on the playground who goes around being a victim in life. Little Bee was the best character, and there were some surprises to her persona.

Okay, so you learn in creative writing class about adding some foreshadowing, but there should be a limit. You shouldn't allude to something a million times before you actually tell about it, or you risk having your readers fill in the blanks and become bored. That's what this book did for me about the incident in Nigeria. Of course, we all realized what had happened to Sarah and Little Bee before it was revealed halfway through the book.

The book jacket promises some kind of magical feeling will come over you when you read it and that you'll generally become a better person. I guess that happened when I wrapped it up and sent it to another reader!

Started out great as it hooks right from the beginning but I didn't like the ending.

I enjoy reading a novel when it’s written for different character’s perspectives. "Little Bee" is a great example of the richness an author can add to a story by using this technique.

I’ll admit, a few chapters into the story and I wasn’t hooked. However, I don’t easily give up on reading a book and as this was an assignment for my book club, I was determined to carry on.

I’m so glad I did. The plot develops nicely after the first few chapters and keeps your interest the rest of the way through. I found myself identifying with the characters more and more as the story progressed, especially the husband character Andrew. I really didn’t see where he was coming from for the longest time, and finally I began relating to him and his struggles.

The two women who are the main characters of this story are strong counterparts on whose shoulders this story stands. These feminine voices and written very convincingly from Chris Cleave, a male author. Each woman has a distinctive voice, thought pattern and role in the story. This is a moving and powerful read.

the prose was a bit hard to follow in her broken way of talking, but an interesting story with a cliff hanger/make your own ending. It's hard to describe.