Michelle's Reviews > Little Bee
Little Bee
by
by
** spoiler alert **
I wanted to like Little Bee. The reviews for it are exceptional. Book List starred it, Amazon named it among their “February Best of the Month” picks, O Magazine fondly mentions it. I mean come on, Library Journal labels it “the next Kite Runner” for goodness sakes! I couldn’t wait to be swept away. And I was… for the first couple of chapters. Little Bee’s character came on very strong and distinct. I felt like I could pick her out of a crowd and guess what she was thinking. But I gradually started rolling my eyes and questioning plot details and characterization.
For example, Sarah’s mom and sister are briefly mentioned; they come to her house after the funeral, but she begs them to leave her alone. There’s no mention of their reaction to the fact that there is suddenly a Nigerian girl living at her house. ???
Also, according to the timeline description it seems that Charlie begins wearing the Batman costume before his father passes. It would make more sense if he began wearing it after the passing based on his reasons for wearing it. ???
And seriously, the cops caught Little Bee because she was at the scene of Charlie’s near disappearance? Seriously?
Sarah’s relationship with Lawrence is odd, Charlie draws conclusions unbelieving for a four year old, and the ending is rushed and unmoving. There’s just this hokey feel to it that I couldn’t get past.
This is the first time ever for me that I could tell that the author was not the same sex as his main characters, more so when it came to Sarah rather than Little Bee. The way Sarah thinks, the things she says, her observations, and even her interactions with her son just don’t make sense. It is clear that Cleave failed to unearth his female voice.
Speaking of voice, Little Bee’s chapters were much more convincing and enjoyable than Sarah’s. The entire book written from Little Bee’s point of view would have probably been a much better read.
I’m not giving this book only 1 star because it was too sad, or too graphic, or too haunting. It just fell flat. It wasn’t convincing. All the ends didn’t meet nor were all the i’s dotted, t’s crossed. It just didn’t do it for me, and it is most certainly NOT the next Kite Runner. Good grief, it doesn’t even compare.
For example, Sarah’s mom and sister are briefly mentioned; they come to her house after the funeral, but she begs them to leave her alone. There’s no mention of their reaction to the fact that there is suddenly a Nigerian girl living at her house. ???
Also, according to the timeline description it seems that Charlie begins wearing the Batman costume before his father passes. It would make more sense if he began wearing it after the passing based on his reasons for wearing it. ???
And seriously, the cops caught Little Bee because she was at the scene of Charlie’s near disappearance? Seriously?
Sarah’s relationship with Lawrence is odd, Charlie draws conclusions unbelieving for a four year old, and the ending is rushed and unmoving. There’s just this hokey feel to it that I couldn’t get past.
This is the first time ever for me that I could tell that the author was not the same sex as his main characters, more so when it came to Sarah rather than Little Bee. The way Sarah thinks, the things she says, her observations, and even her interactions with her son just don’t make sense. It is clear that Cleave failed to unearth his female voice.
Speaking of voice, Little Bee’s chapters were much more convincing and enjoyable than Sarah’s. The entire book written from Little Bee’s point of view would have probably been a much better read.
I’m not giving this book only 1 star because it was too sad, or too graphic, or too haunting. It just fell flat. It wasn’t convincing. All the ends didn’t meet nor were all the i’s dotted, t’s crossed. It just didn’t do it for me, and it is most certainly NOT the next Kite Runner. Good grief, it doesn’t even compare.
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Reading Progress
February 26, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
March 23, 2009
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 156 (156 new)
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by
Stefanie
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rated it 2 stars
13 juin 2009 17:35
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I thought that the reason Charlie wore his costume before Andrew died was that Andrew was described as showing symptoms of severe depression. So as Charlie saw this worsen he took to the cape. Plus, to me that tied in with the several times Little Bee notes forms of living death.
It wasn't perfect, but I thought it was worth reading. It connected me with an immigration story, and I'm happy for it.
I agree. The author mentions at the end of the book that Charlie was based on his own 4-year old son who would only answer to Batman. It's about little kids learning about identity and their place in the world.
One doesn't need a traumatizing event to occur to be prompted to seek an identity.
It is clearly written to draw attention to what really happens in Africa.
Kim wrote: "So wanted to like this book. I picked up at a grocery store while casually doing my shopping. The cover had me from minute one. It has a strong beginning, but slowly fizzles. One positive: the ..."
Your quick assessment, followed by the sarcastic humor, made me laugh aloud!
I found this book very unconvincing. Kind of book written to be a movie.
Though Little Bee's chapters were compelling, the rest felt trifle. What started off promising, culminated into something quite haphazard. So I gave this a 1 also to express my disappointment at what was a sorely missed opportunity to tell a truly amazing story.
I agree with you that the book would have been better if Little Bee had narrated the whole thing. I don't think Sarah's character was particularly likeable--nor was it well-developed. However, the book did explain the cape situation and the timeline was not off. He was already wearing it at home prior to Andrew's death, but when Andrew died he wasn't wearing it because he was at nursery school. After that he absolutely wouldn't take it off.
Also, Little Bee wasn't caught because she was a bystander, she was caught because she was the person who called in the report.
While it seems I liked it a bit better than you did, I definitely didn't think it lived up to the hype.