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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Interesting story told in alternating chapters by the two lead female characters, one British, one Nigerian.
Deals with immigration issues.
Deals with immigration issues.
It took me about 200 pages to realize that I didn't like any of the characters in this book. Maybe Charlie, but since he isn't a major character, I'm not sure if he counts. This was a well written book and I wanted to know what happened so I kept reading. It builds slowly, has lots of interesting twists and It is rushed at the end. Overall, a good read, but I am a little disgusted with the characters so I have a bad taste in my mouth.
this is the second time the library has sent this to me. last time, i was too caught up with s.f. let's see if it fares better this time.
ETA - i liked this less and less as it developed. at first i was absorbed by both stories, though more so with little bee's. then i became very frustrated with sarah & lawrence's white guilt, especially the excessive concentration on the affair and her conflicting feelings about her magazine job (which reminded me VERY much of a favorite margaret atwood short-story character, much to sarah's detriment). but i just could NOT get past the ending, which felt so wrong to me. like cleave didn't know how to wrap things up and threw everything at the wall to see if it stuck, and still had little bee sacrificing herself for the sake of the white child. i kept wondering if it was little bee's dream on the plane. anyway, if i keep writing this, i'm going to end up downgrading it to 2 stars.
ETA - i liked this less and less as it developed. at first i was absorbed by both stories, though more so with little bee's. then i became very frustrated with sarah & lawrence's white guilt, especially the excessive concentration on the affair and her conflicting feelings about her magazine job (which reminded me VERY much of a favorite margaret atwood short-story character, much to sarah's detriment). but i just could NOT get past the ending, which felt so wrong to me. like cleave didn't know how to wrap things up and threw everything at the wall to see if it stuck, and still had little bee sacrificing herself for the sake of the white child. i kept wondering if it was little bee's dream on the plane. anyway, if i keep writing this, i'm going to end up downgrading it to 2 stars.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While i was first intrigued by this book because of the two main characters, towards the end I wanted to skim the chapters to see how it all ended up. This book paints beautiful descriptions, sometimes a little too in depth, the telling of the two story from two points of view can be tedious but it was a great story. I would love to give it a four but by the end I was over it.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
White saviour complex at it's best, kinda rascist and sexist - or at least a very odd representation of these topics, author can't write women (one of the main topics they talk about is men ofc), 80% of the story is a white woman complaining about her relationship and affair; probably just aged like milk
3 1/2 stars.
In Little Bee, Chris Cleave has written a captivating voice and excellent narrator. The sections of this book (also called 'Little Bee' in some markets) where she tells the story are terrific. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Sarah. And why is Lawrence even here? Charlie has far more useful input.
In Little Bee, Chris Cleave has written a captivating voice and excellent narrator. The sections of this book (also called 'Little Bee' in some markets) where she tells the story are terrific. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Sarah. And why is Lawrence even here? Charlie has far more useful input.
I thought this book started out really great - i loved the language and the way he described the women's lives. I even thought this was going to be high on my list of favorite books, next to The Samurai's Garden, but i didn't like the middle of the book. the story just got a little weird. however, by the end, it seemed to return to the same feel as the beginning. Sadly the middle had to ruin it.