This weekend's read. I actually purchased this at one of our Tucson stores a couple of months ago. I had never heard of it, but the words inside the front flap intrigued me:"We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again. The story starts there. Once you have read it you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how it unfolds."
Having finished the book, I can honestly say this statement was completely unnecessary and an obvious marketing ploy. So, job well done. I bought the book and read it.
The story is about a refugee girl, Little Bee, who has ended up in England looking for the white couple she encountered two years prior on a beach in her native Nigeria. It is a story of loss and sadness. A story of hope and survival. It received fantastic critical praise when first released and while I enjoyed the way Cleave wrote the book by alternating the narration of each chapter between Little Bee and Sarah, the English woman from the beach, the story overall was lacking something. I liked the descriptive thoughts of Little Bee but I didn't buy some of the changes the character goes through once she is in England. The scenes between her and Lawrence (Sarah's married lover) just annoy me and honestly, Lawrence is a throw-away character (plot-filler). I also was pissed at the ending. I wanted a more substantial, concrete ending. There is no written resolution, only what you as the reader plug into these character's fates, so that was a disappointment. Overall, I would recommend this book, but I can't guarantee that you won't also be disappointed. And if you don't want to read it, you can always wait for the movie. It will star Nicole Kidman and starts shooting in 2011.
