Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Reviewed by BridgetRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Title: Little Bee
Author: Chris Cleave
#1 New York Times Bestseller
Ratings Explanation
Language: Every expletive.
Violence: Horrific violence: One illegal immigrant hangs herself from the rafters of a barn, Andrew O’Rourke also hangs himself. Sarah cuts off her finger to save the life of Little Bee. “The men” take Little Bee’s sister, Kindness, repeatedly rape her, strangle her, and break every bone in her body. Finally, bone by bone, “the men” feed her body to their dogs, and throw the inedible pieces into the sea.
Sexual Content: Yvette provides a sexual favor for one of the guards. Sexual innuendo throughout, and Sarah has an extramarital love affair with Lawrence.
Adult Themes: Adultery, Depression, Suicide, Horrific Violence
Synopsis
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, first appeared in the United States in 2010. The original name of the novel, The Other Hand, was published in the U.K.
This novel is told from two distinct perspectives: Little Bee, an illegal refugee, and Sarah, a British journalist. These two characters’ lives are entwined one fateful day on a beach in Nigeria. While Sarah and her husband, Andrew, take a second honeymoon to Nigeria to save their marriage, they become involved in a tense situation with Little Bee, her sister, Kindness, and a group of armed terrorists. Sarah makes a great sacrifice to save Little Bee, but Andrew does not sacrifice for Kindness. Kindness is brutally raped and murdered. The guilt and consequences of these choices play out in the rest of the story.
After her sister’s murder, Little Bee escapes from Nigeria, and seeks asylum in the U.K. She lives for four years in a detention center in the U.K., where she meets many other refugees with heart-wrenching stories of torture and murder. When she is mistakenly released from prison, Little Bee searches for Sarah and Andrew.
Sarah’s story, though not as violent, is also complex. Trying to deal with her husband’s suicide, her lingering affair, her young son, and her high-powered executive position, Sarah’s own feelings begin to overtake her life, slowly crumbling her “together” exterior. When Little Bee appears in her garden the day of her husband’s funeral, Sarah is able to find the answers to what happened after that fateful day on the beach and how Little Bee escaped from Nigeria.
The interwoven relationship between these two women is beautiful to read and Cleave precisely times his comic elements to relieve the heaviness of Sarah’s guilt over her affair and her role, if any, in her husband’s suicide. Little Bee’s presence gives Sarah the strength to make hard choices in her life, including what to do with her lover, Lawrence, and whether or not she should keep her job that does not make her happy. Finally, the friendship these two share is ultimately tested in the closing chapters of the novel when Charlie, Sarah’s son, becomes a catalyst for Little Bee’s tragic demise.
I finished this book a few weeks ago. Since that time, in my quiet moments, I have found myself thinking about Little Bee’s story. This is a story that I cannot leave alone. Little Bee & Sarah’s stories are tragic, uplifting and horrifying all at once. ***Proceed with caution**** “The book is about, “the horror of being alive in a world where atrocities happen.” – Chris Cleave
©2010The Literate Mother