Little Bee by Chris Cleave

I feel like I haven't written in ages...I love writing for the pure joy of putting words on paper (or on the screen) even if no one reads it there is still something so satisfying for me about doing it. That being said on to my actual post...

Summer's here and though I am an adult I still get a thrill out of going to my local book shop and seeing the section of books marked off as "Summer Reading." I know it sounds dorky, but despite a hectic schedule I still somehow manage to read more books during the summer than any other time of year. One of the books I happened to read (at the suggestion of my mom) was "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave. The book tells the stories of two women in parallel. One is a white woman living in England, who is struggling with personal problems. Another is a woman named Little Bee, a refugee who fled from Niger following the oil conflicts. The novel is laid out so that the chapters alternate between the perspectives of both women. As their stories unfold you discover how their lives came to be entangled.

I found that for me, half the intrigue was discovering just exactly what had caused these two seemingly completely different women's lives to intertwine. The novel definitely touches upon some heavy issues within its pages and is not for the person who is looking for an easy beach read by any means. That being said I finished the novel within two days as I simply couldn't put it down. While initially I'd be hesitant about a book that changed narrative perspectives (past experience has made me wary of books that make use of this technique), I found that it was quite easy to follow and enhanced the pleasure of reading the book immensely. I highly recommend reading this novel for those who are interested.

Image from Chris Cleave's website, check it out at www.chriscleave.com to learn more about his books.