Little Bee | Chris Cleave | Review
“We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, 'I survived'.” - Chris Cleave, Little Bee
Little Bee by Christ Cleave is the story of Little Bee and Sarah. Two women from totally different backgrounds. But their lives collide during some tragic events on a beach in Nigeria. A few years after the incident on the beach the two women meet again, this time Sarah finds Little Bee standing outside her house in England.
I’m so confused about how to feel about Little Bee. When I started reading the first chapters I thought,“This is going to be an excellent read! I’m pretty sure I’m going to love this” because I did really like Chris Cleave’s writing style. The first part of the book promises a lot (and so does the jacket of the book and that added to my high expectations), but to be honest I felt a bit disappointed after finishing this book. I mean there are some parts of the book that are wonderful. Little Bee is a really well written character, I like her voice and and enjoyed reading the chapters that are narrated by her. But Sarah, the British woman and the other main character of the novel is just really un-relatable. I just don’t get her at all. She feels so stereotypical and just generally annoying. Her son on the other hand, who wants to be called Batman adds something nice to the story. I really feel for Batman, he’s weird and vulnerable and that always gets to people (or at least gets to me). So yes, Batman (I’m calling him Batman because that’s what he wants) is a clever and nice addition to the story.
I can’t really put my finger on why I feel disappointed by this book. Sure Little Bee is a well written character and her story is really heart breaking. But you know what? I never feel heart-broken. I just feel like ”Yeah that sucks, but now what!?”. It might be my personal problem, being a cold hearted bitch, but to be honest I don’t think that’s the problem. I just think that Chris Cleave tries too hard. He tries so hard to write a touching and heart breaking story about a Nigerian girl that doesn't feel believable enough.
That being said, some parts of this book are really good and it is a well written novel. It’s also a novel that lingered in my thoughts for a while after finishing it. So this is not a bad book, I think a lot of you might really enjoy it. But I also think that a lot of you might feel pretty disappointed if you read it. So I guess it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the shot! But at least it’s not going be a complete waist of time because it has some wonderful parts. My confusion doesn’t give me any other choice than give Little Bee by Chris Cleave 3/5 stars.
Oh, that's such a shame that you had mixed feelings. I fell in love with the first quote, and the cover looks very cool. Hmm, it's a shame when you have high expectations for a book, and it doesn't deliver fully. xx
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