Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee by Chris Cleave


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't know how to summarize this book other than just repeating some of the cover synopsis -

We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it ... we will just say this: This is the story of two women whose lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice ... two years later they meet again-the story starts there.

I don't know exactly how to feel about this book. Was it thought provoking? Yes. Tearjerker? Yes. Make me so grateful for what I have and ashamed of anything I have ever complained about? Absolutely. I loved the character of Little Bee. She is sensible and wise beyond her years, but she has also lived through horrors that no one should ever have to. Her life has gone through the wringer through no fault of her own.

Sarah, the other woman has lived a safe, secure life and takes it all for granted. Though I suppose that is the point of the book; to see the contrast. I didn't think she was very developed and the dialogue with other people seems so stilted and disjointed. I just didn't like her.

I am giving the book 4 stars because it made me think hard about life and the things I should be more grateful for and also to think about other people who live in these terrible situations and what I can do for them. But the writing is a little hard to follow. He switches narrators often and he goes back in time and sometimes it takes a minute to figure out what is going on.

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