Book Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Oh. my. word. How do I even begin to tell you about this fantastic book? I'll begin with the blurb on the back of the book:

"We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story, and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there, but the book doesn't. And it's what happens afterward tat is most important. Once you have read it, you will want to tell everyone about it. Please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how it unfolds."


I think they hit the nail on the head with this one. I am going to take this advice and tell you that you should read it, but I don't want to tell you much more than that, because I believe it would spoil the book for you. I read a review on Amazon where the reviewer said she thought the blurb was a marketing ploy to make you buy the book. Ploy or not, I tell you, this is a book you will not want to miss. It has challenged me in many ways, and I know if people read this book, lives could be changed. It is quite a read.

I agree that it is funny, and yes, you will see that the scene on the beach, which is the main scene of the book, is very disturbing. I love the title character and her deep honesty about life. Also, her observations of human nature are compelling. Too bad she is not real. I would love to meet her someday.

I see that Mr. Cleave has written another book before this one. I'm curious to see what that one is about and I wonder if it will have as great an impact on me as Little Bee has had.

Get this book. Read this book. Then come back here and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

(Dear FTC: you don't even have to worry about this one. I got it FREE from the local library!)