Little Bee

The Book: Little Bee

The Author: Chris Cleave

The Dealio: This is a novel about a 16 year old Nigerian girl who, when we first meet her, is about to be released, after 2 years in a detention center in England. And she has no idea what to expect. True, she has met one English couple in her home place, but remarkable and unbelievable events color that experience. Now, today, as she faces a life of freedom in England, she has no idea how to proceed. And everyone who offers her advice, has a secret agenda. So- what is she supposed to do?

The Grading Period: (This review is based upon an audio version of the book). 3.71 pengies out of 5. I had a lot of trouble reviewing this book,. Let me explain some of my...problems with the story. First, may I say that, rarely have I encountered an author with such soaring skill and eye-watering abilities. In fact, this is actually the start of my complaints: so lyrical and transporting is the writing that I was clearly envious of the writer's skill. However, I wound up feeling the characters undeserving of this sumptuous writing, undeserving of the sheer poetry of Cleave's tale. Next up to bat: by the end of the story, I despised each and every one of the characters, both for their general unlikability and also their rummy choices. Geeps! How would anyone with half a brain actually wind up making such rum choices? In the end, I hated them all. Not a good thing. Really.

Lessons Learned: If it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck and acts like a duck...why are you so surprised when it lays an egg? Next: no matter how beautifully someone writes, if I wind up hating every single character in the book...for me, at least, this is not a great book. And I am sorry for this. I truly wanted to shout praises from the rooftops here. Instead, I will confine myself to saying this: Gorgeous writer. Hateful peeps. End of story.