little bee

I just finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave and thought it was really well written, a bit sad and extremely moving. When I first started the book I couldn’t put it down and that’s when I knew I was really going to enjoy it because even though I love to read, my mind wanders at a mile a minute thinking about all sorts of mindless things - all the things I should be doing, things I want to be doing, wishing I could read faster so I could get through my never ending “to read” list, etc, etc. etc. However with this book my mind didn’t wander at all. After reading more than half of it in one sitting, it would be an understatement to say the book engaged me.

If you’ve heard anything about Little Bee you will know that the back cover gives you very little information about what the story is actually about. In fact, the most (or should I say – the least) you get to know is that the lives of two women are changed when they first meet and two years later they meet again. Yep, that’s it. Having said that, I don’t really want to reinforce the marketing tactic of this book, but I honestly can’t think of a way to explain the story without giving it totally away - and I definitely don't want to do that.

I love the way it’s written. I enjoyed how the events overlapped and easily flowed between the two women's perspectives. It truly is a touching and profound story. At times it can be difficult to read, but I kinda like when books are bit disturbing and the characters are a little haunted or troubled. However, the spirit of this story is about overcoming hardships. One of my favorite quotes puts it beautifully -- "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."