Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee by Chris Cleave: Little Bee is a sixteen year old Nigerian girl who is in a UK immigrant detention center when the book opens. She has sought asylum in the UK after witnessing atrocities in her war torn Nigeria where everyone is fighting for control of the country's lucrative oil fields. She and three of her fellow detainees are released from the detention center unexpectedly and are suddenly outside the detention center with all their critical documents in a plastic baggie. From the beginning, Little Bee is a precocious leader and she tries to guide the other girls. She has worked hard to learn "the Queens English" while detained and it serves her well when she needs to navigate on the outside. Eventually, she heads to Surrey and arrives at the home of Sarah O'Rourke whom Little Bee met in Nigeria while Sarah and her husband vacationed at a beach resort. On that beach, Sarah and Little Bee were cleaved together by a horrific event and Little Bee has sought Sarah out now that she is in England.

The story alternates between Sarah's perspective and Little Bee's as the book progresses creating an interesting contrast between first world and third world, privileged and wanting, secure and threatened. As is often the case, Little Bee brings a clarity to her observations that eludes Sarah who complicates things that might otherwise be straightforward. For example, Little Bee observes of horror films, "Horror in your country is a something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it".  Little Bee, having witnessed family members murdered before her eyes does not have the luxury of horror films - she has experienced horror in her own life. She carries those scars with her - one of the most disturbing scenes in the book is watching as Little Bee assesses every place she goes to - a church, a nursery, Sarah's home - and figures out what she will do "if the men come". The men in Nigeria visited violence on her village and family and that insecurity cannot easily be shaken. Bee is always looking for her way out. It is a horrible way to live but evidence that Little Bee is a survivor.  

My Thoughts
I have deliberately not given many details in this review because the book is best enjoyed when the story is allowed to unfold with little bits offered by Little Bee and then Sarah. Interestingly I felt this way even before I read the following on the back cover:

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. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day and one of them as to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, the meet again - the story starts there . . .Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.

I saw some reviews where people did not like the fact that the reader is kept in the dark from the outset. That didn't bother me - I often don't like when all the key plot points are revealed in a jacket summary and I find myself reading to get to the next big moment that I already know is coming up. Little Bee certainly endeared herself to me as a character. She has a quiet strength and insight much greater than the adults around her. As for the adults, they are largely disappointing. Sarah, her husband and especially her lover, Lawrence, are self-absorbed and mindlessly complicating their lives. They provide a counterpoint to Little Bee who doesn't have the luxury of such complications.

Is this book without problems? No. I wonder about the likelihood that traumatized Little Bee would make her way to Sarah's home and just stay or what happened to some characters that were being developed but then seemingly abandoned. But it is still an excellent read with well crafted sentences and a wonderful main character. Definitely recommend!