I decided, before writing this entry, not to read anyone else's thoughts on Little Bee so that my post would be as honest and unaffected as possible. The biggest reason for this is that I don't want to read anything negative that might sway how wonderful I think this book is thusfar.
From the moment I read the back cover, I was intrigued. If you haven't read it, it basically says that they won't give away any of the story because it needs to be experienced personally, and after 100+ pages, I can see why. The story, if taken from a really general view, could come off as cliche. "White woman and African girl bond, white woman saves African girl, in turn becomes saved herself by the girl" etc etc. Upon reading, though, it's so much more than that.
The characters themselves are, despite their very unique nuances, incredibly relatable. Unlike Auster in Sunset Park, Cleave doesn’t list all their traits up front in an obvious manner so readers can either identify with them or not. He introduces them in a vague way, and allows readers to become more and more attached as they progress by slowly revealing parts of them, much like a natural relationship progresses. So much so, in fact, that after reading about half the book, I feel like these characters are my acquaintances, like I’ve known them forever even though they are a world away (and, you know, not real).
One aspect that I find most interesting so far is the relationship between Sarah and Andrew. At the beginning of the novel, he seems like the strong one, namely because Little Bee keeps referring to the man she met on the beach instead of the woman. As the story moves along, though, you see that their relationship was incredibly complicated and, in the end, that it was actually Sarah who sacrificed for Little Bee when Andrew couldn’t. Also, the shift between how distant they were, as shown by the lack of emotion on Sarah’s part upon his suicide, and how deeply she felt for him, like on their honeymoon, was interesting. I feel like I have yet to really nail down their dynamic, which is really refreshing in a “Popular Genre” book.
Needless to say, I honestly can’t wait to get back to this book.
What you bring up at the end of your blog is very interesting. Like you said, in Sunset Park, the character's traits were spelled out for us, and here you actually need to delve into the novel to reacher deeper characterizations and understanding of relationships. Definitely 'refreshing' as you put it.
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting how Little Bee always refers to Andrew. Especially before reading your entry and finding out that Sarah did something to save Little Bee (I'm only on p. 87) I felt like there had been an affair between Little Bee and Andrew. And what was the deal with Andrew and Sarah? It seemed like they had such a strong relationship at first but now they seem so distant... but I guess it has something to do with what happened on the beach.
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