You are running through the Nigerian jungle
under the cover of darkness, fleeing the men from the oil companies who
destroyed your village and are methodically wiping out all witnesses. All you
can see is blackness and the shadows of trees, and you can hear the howling of
hunting dogs a mile off. Then you emerge onto a beach from a travel magazine,
and run into two strangers, a damaged couple who can save you…if they each make
a sacrifice.
Two years later, Little Bee stumbles out of a
deportation center into the English countryside, where everything is different,
but things are still very much the same. Little Bee takes out the man’s wallet
- Andrew O’Rourke, the license states - and heads out for the address in the
London suburbs. What follows is her journey of self-discovery, learning when to
stay when she wants to flee, to accept that, despite the dangers in her home
country, she doesn’t belong in the UK, and learning to trust others. Her
greatest lesson comes from a boy in who only wears two outfits, both Batman
costumes.
Meanwhile, a columnist, Sarah, learns how to
balance her life between her recently deceased husband, Andrew, and his legacy,
her lover, and her rowdy son, Charlie. She learns perseverance and faith from
quiet and flightless Little Bee.
This is a novel of intertwining
stories. Riddled with rich language and deep symbols, this book is a long, but
worthwhile read. It shares a sense of peace that all of the characters are
longing for. Chris Cleave’s novel is geared towards those who enjoy meaningful
literature that goes past the mundane, but has elements for all readers. I
personally found the beginning to be difficult to read, but the humor and
finale wholly redeem the denser passages.
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