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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Audio. Heart-breaking. Sad, but I'm glad I read it. It's a good insight into the life of a refugee and how her world collides with an English family - both altered irrevocably by a tragedy in Nigeria and how it plays out in England.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While there is much that I really like about Little Bee, there are a couple if things that irked me, and I'm having a hard time getting past them.
The first, and probably biggest thing that bothers me is the back cover. The publisher tells us that something REALLY extraordinary happens, but won't say what. Then we are asked not to tell anyone else about it, so as not to spoil it. I don't know which bothers me more - "I know something you don't know" or "Shh - it's our little secret."
The chapters that Little Bee narrate are fantastic - her voice is crystal clear, and Cleave knows exactly who she is and what makes her to tick. On the other hand (ironic that "The Other Hand" is the book's original title, used throughout the rest of the world), the chapters narrated by Sarah are less compelling. I realize that she is grieving, but I didn't sense her inner Mama Bear, nor did I understand her attraction to Lawrence. Male English authors, it seems, have difficulty crafting realistic female English characters. Who would'a thunk...
On top of all that, I kept wondering if The Surprise wasn't really the surprise about which the publisher teased: The last third of the novel introduced a twist that led me to think that something else - something Even More Surprising - was going to happen. Something did, but how it unfolded didn't quite ring true for me. Instead it felt like a convenient plot point to move the story forward to force an ending that, while suspenseful and dramatic (and, to my eternal frustration, open-ended), may not have been necessary.
I really, really enjoyed Little Bee as a narrator. I would like to read about what happens After.
A good book worth reading, but to quote Public Enemy, don't believe the hype.
The first, and probably biggest thing that bothers me is the back cover. The publisher tells us that something REALLY extraordinary happens, but won't say what. Then we are asked not to tell anyone else about it, so as not to spoil it. I don't know which bothers me more - "I know something you don't know" or "Shh - it's our little secret."
The chapters that Little Bee narrate are fantastic - her voice is crystal clear, and Cleave knows exactly who she is and what makes her to tick. On the other hand (ironic that "The Other Hand" is the book's original title, used throughout the rest of the world), the chapters narrated by Sarah are less compelling. I realize that she is grieving, but I didn't sense her inner Mama Bear, nor did I understand her attraction to Lawrence. Male English authors, it seems, have difficulty crafting realistic female English characters. Who would'a thunk...
On top of all that, I kept wondering if The Surprise wasn't really the surprise about which the publisher teased: The last third of the novel introduced a twist that led me to think that something else - something Even More Surprising - was going to happen. Something did, but how it unfolded didn't quite ring true for me. Instead it felt like a convenient plot point to move the story forward to force an ending that, while suspenseful and dramatic (and, to my eternal frustration, open-ended), may not have been necessary.
I really, really enjoyed Little Bee as a narrator. I would like to read about what happens After.
A good book worth reading, but to quote Public Enemy, don't believe the hype.
"Serious times. Once they have rolled in, they hand over you like low cumulus... I think I must have been depressed too, the whole time. You travel here and you travel there, trying to get out from under the cloud, and nothing works, and then one day you realize you've been carrying the weather around with you." (168)
"I banged my damaged hand down on the table, fingers splayed out. 'I cut off my finger for that girl. Will you tell me when is the logical point to stop something that started like that? Do you really want me to make a choice like that? I cut off my own bloody finger. Do you think I wouldn't cut you off too?'" (174)
"After six steps I was inside the crowd, getting pushed this way and that way. I did not mind and I did not look back. I let myself be taken along this river of human souls that flowed beside the water. I was happy. I smelled the mud on the banks of the river and the dust of the gray pigeons' wings and the flat dry smell of the ancient stone buildings and the hot breath of cigarettes and chewing gum that floated through the crowd. Everyone was taking and shouting in all the languages they had carried with them to release in that place, and the words mingled in the London air which understood them all. I listened very carefully to the sound of the city and I wondered what name it would whisper me to call myself." (221)
"I banged my damaged hand down on the table, fingers splayed out. 'I cut off my finger for that girl. Will you tell me when is the logical point to stop something that started like that? Do you really want me to make a choice like that? I cut off my own bloody finger. Do you think I wouldn't cut you off too?'" (174)
"After six steps I was inside the crowd, getting pushed this way and that way. I did not mind and I did not look back. I let myself be taken along this river of human souls that flowed beside the water. I was happy. I smelled the mud on the banks of the river and the dust of the gray pigeons' wings and the flat dry smell of the ancient stone buildings and the hot breath of cigarettes and chewing gum that floated through the crowd. Everyone was taking and shouting in all the languages they had carried with them to release in that place, and the words mingled in the London air which understood them all. I listened very carefully to the sound of the city and I wondered what name it would whisper me to call myself." (221)
It was written from 2 female character's perspectives. Seeing the world from political refugee/illegal immigrant Little Bee's perspective was the most interesting. The end wrapped up well, it was open ended and hopeful for humanity's future.
Great Story Surprise ending Stays with you for a long time