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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
The story of a young Nigerian girl who finds herself in England illegally. The reader learns about life in Nigeria as well as the immigration/asylum system in England. It was OK, not fabulous. It has been on a lot of book club lists that I have seen, but I don't see what all the hoopla is about.
Many people reviewed this book online (not on here) and said it was a must read! I tried to like it but it was depressing with no point to the story
What's with the mysterious dust jacket info? Story of intertwining lives of a young Nigerian woman and a British woman. Fast read. I enjoyed the narrative voice of Little Bee.
Began with such beautiful prose I had decided by Chapter 2 this would be a 5 star book. Very ambitious book to have all the emotional levels play out in such a short book that there were parts that were not as stellar as the beginning.
I think, however, the choice of the publisher or author to write on the dust flap to keep the storyline secret is a disservice in that no one is talking about it.
This would be an excellent book for discussion and book clubs.
I think, however, the choice of the publisher or author to write on the dust flap to keep the storyline secret is a disservice in that no one is talking about it.
This would be an excellent book for discussion and book clubs.
I really disliked this book. There was an interesting plot twist about 2/3 of the way through, but I gave up hope that it would lead to anything else interesting after my least favorite character used it as an excuse to act even more horribly. There was a lot of repition that struck me as a lack of creativity: Sarah's constant and totally condescending use of "Oh, Charlie...," "Oh Clar...," or "Oh, Lawrence..." to start every other sentence; Charlie's constant grammar mistakes; the green flash sneaker; Charlie's bat mask ears flopping around. Ugh.
The audio recording I listened to was particularly displeasing. Maybe the voice actress made the characters sound more condescending than I might have thought if I had read the DTB. Anyway, her english was tightly dictated and robotic. She somehow made it easier to hate the characters (not so much Bee, but she made Bee boring, despite her strong voice and mostly cheerful disposition). If I hadn't been listening to this during my commute, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
I didn't like the ending.
I can't decide if I hated Sarah and Lawrence so much because Cleave did a good job writing them as despicable, or if they're just one-dimensional cartoons. Not sure if I'm making sense here - my standard for "well-drawn characters I hate" is the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley. I wanted to walk out of the theater halfway through - then I realized that it was actually a GOOD movie because of the response it was producing in me, emotionally. I don't think that's the case, here. I think this is just not a very good book.
The audio recording I listened to was particularly displeasing. Maybe the voice actress made the characters sound more condescending than I might have thought if I had read the DTB. Anyway, her english was tightly dictated and robotic. She somehow made it easier to hate the characters (not so much Bee, but she made Bee boring, despite her strong voice and mostly cheerful disposition). If I hadn't been listening to this during my commute, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
I didn't like the ending.
Spoiler
In fact, I dislike almost all endings where the reader is left to wonder "so what happened to the characters?" I hated not fiding out how Bee and Sarah dealt with the soldiers, or if Bee survived, or what. I care more about plot than about flowery prose, so endings like this make me feel like the author didn't do their job. I understand the viewpoint that argues it's good to let the reader draw their own conclusions, but it's not my thing.I can't decide if I hated Sarah and Lawrence so much because Cleave did a good job writing them as despicable, or if they're just one-dimensional cartoons. Not sure if I'm making sense here - my standard for "well-drawn characters I hate" is the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley. I wanted to walk out of the theater halfway through - then I realized that it was actually a GOOD movie because of the response it was producing in me, emotionally. I don't think that's the case, here. I think this is just not a very good book.
Hmmmm, well written in sections to be sure. But often lacking in characterization and the ending was pretty contrived and not the least bit plausible.
2 stars for effort. While I appreciated the back-and-forth of the women's stories told in their own voices, swapping chapters seamlessly, it didn't live up to its hype (the back cover is FULL of praise...) and was underwhelming.
My BIGGEST annoyance: the voice of the little kid that thinks he's Batman. I was expecting this book to be a little more serious but ended up reading too much fluff about Batman, the Penguin, goodies and baddies. Had I wanted to read about that, I would've selected DC comics.
My BIGGEST annoyance: the voice of the little kid that thinks he's Batman. I was expecting this book to be a little more serious but ended up reading too much fluff about Batman, the Penguin, goodies and baddies. Had I wanted to read about that, I would've selected DC comics.
Almost four stars. Almost. I like stories told from different perspectives, even though it kind of screws with the pace a little bit. I also think it is important to read about lives that are nothing like our own. This was good.
This was also one of my favorite books of 2011, a close second after Galore. The book was beautifully written and constructed. It was heartbreaking and I found myself amazed at the thoroughness of the narrative, relating the events in a foreign dialect. This was an extremely good pick for our book club, who found its style and characters to be rewarding topics of discussion. I don't want to go further for fear of spoilers...