The GoodBook Club discussion

Hi readers,

This discussion tab is for Little Bee. It may contain spoilers from the book so you have been warned. If you didn't notice by reading the jacket of your book, Little Bee has quite the ending so if you haven't finished the book beware! If you've won a copy of the book or have already finished reading it, make sure to take charge and share some of the opinions you had about the story. This chat is open until May 4th. And as usual we'll be keeping an eye out for some great posts. We've got a special gift to all* those who participate so don't forget to chime in. I won't distract you any longer - discuss!

Cheers,
Fatuma

*participation gifts are only open to those who live in Canada.

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I wish the story had focused more on Little Bee and her refugee experience. Sarah's part of the story was detracting.

True there was less of Nigeria and the detention camp as the story progressed and more about Sarah and the U.K. Part of the story

Louise wrote: "I wish the story had focused more on Little Bee and her refugee experience. Sarah's part of the story was detracting."

Agreed. From the way the book started out, i thought it would be more about Little Bee and her life. But then in came Sarah and it was all about her life.

I did quite enjoy the wording of when the Jamaican accent cam out at the beginning, i could picture them talking. It was fantastic.

This book club has been great so far. Its really expanded my horizons into new genres, i wouldn't have normally picked up on my own at a bookstore.

Can't wait to see whats next month :D

While Cleave did a decent job with Little Bee's voice, there is a plethora of awesome Nigerian writers who are really worth reading if you want more depth of character, and a real feel for Nigeria. Such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Helon Habila, Chika Unigwe, Chinelo Okparanta, Uwem Akpan, to name a few.

Louise wrote: "While Cleave did a decent job with Little Bee's voice, there is a plethora of awesome Nigerian writers who are really worth reading if you want more depth of character, and a real feel for Nigeria...."

I am definitely interesting in reading more about Nigeria after reading Little Bee's story. Thank you for the information on other great Nigerian authors Louise.

Interesting points so far. How did it affect your reading experience to have two narrators? Did you trust one woman more than the other? Did you prefer the voice of one above the other?

I most definitely trusted Little Bee more than I trusted Sarah. My trust for Sarah improved at times and then went downhill at other times. I too would have loved to have heard more about about Little Bee's life and her refugee experience. I felt ready to adopt Little Bee into my family as I sympathized so deeply for her.

I found that the ending was very abrupt and did not answer all my questions. Was a little disappointed as I felt that the story should have continued for a few additional chapters. I wonder if the author would ever consider a second book on this topic?

Sarah as a narrator didn't work as well for me. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if told solely through Little Bee's point of view.

Didn't anyone question Sarah's parenting skills? She seemed to put her child in unnecessary risky situations. She came across as a bit dippy at times, lol.

Louise wrote: "Sarah as a narrator didn't work as well for me. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if told solely through Little Bee's point of view.

Didn't anyone question Sarah's parenting skills? She s..."

I agree i would have liked it to be only through Little Bee's point of view.

Sarah was very ditzy at times. Her parenting skills were very questionable with the situations that she got them into.

Louise, I agree with you about Sarah's parenting skills and couldn't believe what I was reading at times. I found her self-absorbed and not really into parenting.

So far Little Bee is better as a narrator than Sarah in my opinion i think because she's an outsider and looks at it all differently than Sarah. Though honestly that beach scene is one that you cannot forget no matter what. I felt it could be etched in my mind for a long time, as well as that scene when Little Bee found the a fellow refugee hung in the hen barn.

I definitely preferred Little Bee as a narrator over Sarah, but I did like how having the two narrators offered different perspectives on the same event. I would have liked more of the story to be narrated by Little Bee alone though because I felt like there was a lot more to her story that we didn't get to read

I also agree that the ending was very abrupt and should have continued on for another chapter or so; it wasn't what I had anticipated at all with how the last chapter was unfolding.

I agree, Little Bee was a fascinating narrator. She figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case “the men come suddenly.” How do these plans help Little Bee reclaim some power? Were you disturbed by this, or were you able to find the humor in some of the scenarios she imagines?

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "Interesting points so far. How did it affect your reading experience to have two narrators? Did you trust one woman more than the other? Did you prefer the voice of one above the other?"
I am not usually a fan of multiple narrators, but I did enjoy how this book was written. I'm re-reading the book now, so am finding the comments about Sarah interesting. I don't recall finding her so unlikeable, and wonder if my opinion of her will change during this re-read. I do recall I didn't like the husband at all, and that probably hasn't changed.
I do love how smart Little Bee is, and knowing what her entire back story is (because I had already read the book) am amazed at her resiliency after all she has been through.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "I agree, Little Bee was a fascinating narrator. She figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case “the men come suddenly.” How do these plans help Little Bee reclaim..."

She takes her fate into her own hands. She has a plan to escape any potential torture, and having a plan removes any sense of hopelessness. It is also a way to conquer her fear and showed how resilient and resourceful she is.

I found that this quote

“Tea is the taste of my land: it is bitter and warm, strong, and sharp with memory. It tastes of longing. It tastes of the distance between where you are and where you come from. Also it vanishes—the taste of it vanishes from your tongue while your lips are still hot from the cup. It disappears, like plantations stretching up into the mist. I have heard that your country drinks more tea than any other. How sad that must make you—like children who long for absent mothers. I am sorry.”


A fine example of the narrative voice of Little Bee and I had to highlight it. Excerpts like that make me forget the Sarah voice in the book.

I was a bit disturbed by her planning because I just couldn't figure out why someone would want to die but as the story progressed I tended to feel she really was a very strong person to think this way so she wouldn't die by the soldiers. It is a very strong story and one that you tend not totally forget.

I'm torn about my overall feelings for this book. I noticed that many people feel the same way I do -- that the story is easier to enjoy when Little Bee is narrating rather than Sarah. I wonder, then, if Cleave meant for Sarah's "interruptions" to help us appreciate Little Bee's story line more. Little Bee's and Sarah's lives are so starkly different, so by the time Sarah comes into the picture, we've already invested ourselves in Little Bee's plot that everything else seems -- not trivial, really, just -- pale, I think. By the end of the book, I'm just so happy Little Bee is back as the narrator that I tend to sweep Sarah's intrusions away. But then, that leads me to wonder: Do I consider the book a success because I'm happy to have Little Bee back, or do Sarah's chapters take away from the strength of Little Bee's characterization? Yep, I'm torn.

I have to agree with most of the other commenters. I much preferred Little Bee's voice and point of view. I found Sarah rather unlikeable. I wanted more of Little Bee!

Louise wrote: "I wish the story had focused more on Little Bee and her refugee experience. Sarah's part of the story was detracting."
I agree!

Ammar wrote: "I found that this quote

“Tea is the taste of my land: it is bitter and warm, strong, and sharp with memory. It tastes of longing. It tastes of the distance between where you are and where you com..."

That's a beautiful quote!

I'm just starting this book but already 2 chapters in I'm so emotional. It's a hard subject to read.

This is a book I won't forget.

I won't forget this book either. For me, it was a real eye opener.

I just find that when a man is writing from a woman's pov he is not very successful; especially when Cleave is writing from Sarah's pov. I find it very stereotypical and seriously insisting on calling the child Batman who is 4 or 5 and have the linguistic abilities of a younger than 2 years old... it is just sometimes too much to bare with in those chapters. And there is just too much guilt in this book and Little Bee in a way is a salvation to Sarah. Like she is going to fix everything...

what did you all feel about the ending? weak ? expected

I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did. It felt rather abrupt, and I was left feeling unsatisfied. I wonder if there is going to be a sequel? If so, I hope the focus is more on Little Bee. I can do without Sarah.

I just finished this book and I have to say thank you to Penguin for picking it. I probably would never have read it if not for this group. I adored Little Bee and although I found Sarah annoying at times, I think it was only because she was interrupting Little Bee's story. I actually liked Sarah although I didn't like her selfishness. I think by the end of the book she was trying very hard to make things right and maybe atone for some of the things she had done. Little Bee's story broke my heart! I would be happily reading an amusing part of the book and then WHAM, the author hit me with a sentence that brought tears to my eyes. I wish we knew what happens to Little Bee, the ending was quite unsatisfying.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "Interesting points so far. How did it affect your reading experience to have two narrators? Did you trust one woman more than the other? Did you prefer the voice of one above the other?"

I actually thought that having two narrators was necessary for this book. A whole book of Little Bee's point of view would have been a bit too much, for me. Sarah's POV gave us a chance to catch our breath and forget for a little while how horrific Bee's story is. As for trusting one more than the other, I don't think I did. I found them both to be trustworthy.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "I agree, Little Bee was a fascinating narrator. She figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case “the men come suddenly.” How do these plans help Little Bee reclaim..."

I definitely found some humour in the ways Little Bee imagined killing herself while at the same time I was horrified that anyone would actually have to do this. I admired her courage, her attitude of "I will not let them hurt me or kill me, I will kill myself first." It gives her all of the power over her own fate...

How did you feel about the events on the beach? It was a turning point for many of the characters and all who survived were haunted by it for the rest of their lives. Were you surprised by any of the characters' actions?

The events on the beach were horrific and difficult to read about. I felt that Sarah lost all respect for Andrew at this point and, to be honest, so did I. Andrew also lost his own self respect which eventually led to his suicide. Sarah shows a lot of courage here, the one time she does the absolute right thing. I was surprised that Andrew was not more courageous and wonder if he would have done the right thing had Sarah not already done it.

The beach scene was absolutely horrific, and my imagination ran wild while I was reading it. This was definitely a turning point for the characters and I finally developed more respect for Sarah at this point, and was terribly disappointed in Andrew. I was somewhat surprised at Andrew's suicide because I kept hoping that he would find a way to make things right once Little Bee arrived in their lives once again.

This was a book that I did not want to end. I so wanted to learn more about the main characters' past lives and future lives. I wanted so much more detail, but unfortunately, the story seemed to cut short, forcing us to imagine different possible scenarios for the ending.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "How did you feel about the events on the beach? It was a turning point for many of the characters and all who survived were haunted by it for the rest of their lives. Were you surprised by any of t..."

I thought the events on the beach were horrifying. Not only difficult to read about, but difficult to think about. I found myself thinking about it for days, wondering how I would handle such a situation. How would my husband react in this situation. I've learned from some things I've experienced in life, that it's hard to predict how you or anyone else will respond in crisis situations, no matter how well prepared you are for things. And everyone is always quick to judge how people acted after the fact, even though they weren't there. So I had some of these thoughts going through my mind as I digested the events of the book. I was somewhat surprised by Andrew, but at the same time I wasn't. Maybe I was more disappointed by Andrew than surprised. But I wasn't surprised by Sarah.

I felt the events of the beach were pretty much the most harrowing thing a person could go through. I know Sarah is a selfish person, an adulterer, a poor mother, but what she did for Little Bee was something not a lot of people could have done. She was so courageous and she literally saved a human being's life. I was disgusted at the brutality of it, but I really respected Sarah. It's sad to think that Andrew's depression started not just because of what he had to witness, but in part due to his own cowardice.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "How did you feel about the events on the beach? It was a turning point for many of the characters and all who survived were haunted by it for the rest of their lives. Were you surprised by any of t..."
I remember after reading it the first time that I spent a lot of time thinking about the scene and how it was a turning point for so many things that happened in the book and for so many of the characters.

I think that scene is central to the plot and when Adam did not do anything, Sarah lost whatever bit of respect she has for him and it signalled the end of them as a family, even if her affair was going on.

Ammar wrote: "I think that scene is central to the plot and when Adam did not do anything, Sarah lost whatever bit of respect she has for him and it signalled the end of them as a family, even if her affair was ..."

Definitely! She could not view him the same way at all after that. Loss of respect, resentment....

What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "How did you feel about the events on the beach? It was a turning point for many of the characters and all who survived were haunted by it for the rest of their lives. Were you surprised by any of t..."

I know some people's minds were changed about Sarah and Andrew after the events on the beach, but in the same way that I didn't entirely lose respect for Andrew, Sarah's actions didn't redeem herself to me either. I'm not sure why I didn't feel more about the way their family falls apart. I guess I half-expected it all along.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?"

I felt sad when I learned that Little Bee's name is Udo. I know that adopting a new moniker was to protect her identity, but it also meant discarding elements of her Nigerian roots. She was shielding herself from recognition, but was she also shielding herself from the memories of her childhood? Since she's still so young, basically her childhood is her entire life already, so I wonder if it was a terrible decision for her -- how long it took her to let go of "peace" and how long it took her to decide on "bee". I do like what she tells Charlie after she reveals her name to him: "Peace is a time when people can tell each other their real names." I hope Little Bee goes back to Udo later in life.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?"
I think the name suits her and symbolizes her ability to adapt and survive, and that the new name protected her (or at least helped her feel protected) from the horrors that Udo experienced. I think the name suits her.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?"

I think her name somewhat hides her identity. The fact that she chose that name with her sister has a lot of meaning for her. Revealing her name to Charlie was one of Little Bee's last gifts to him, by doing so she gave him the freedom to shed his own insecurities and his batman costume.

I think it gave her freedom and choice and as well as a last gift for Charlie as the previous comments said

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?"

I don't think it actually provided Udo freedom or a choice, but I think it was her way of trying to control something in her world. She couldn't stop the soldiers from coming for her or her sister, but this was something she could do. She could try and become a different person and hopefully that would protect her.

Chandni wrote: "I felt the events of the beach were pretty much the most harrowing thing a person could go through. I know Sarah is a selfish person, an adulterer, a poor mother, but what she did for Little Bee wa..."


I totally agree with this standpoint. It's really sad to see the amount of suffering this caused Andrew, I also think it was very courageous of her to do.

The beach scene was so horrible and traumatic not just for the characters but for me the reader too! It's a hard thing to forget and I really don't think I ever will. I felt for Little Bee through the whole story and the story of why she changed her name was heart-breaking. I think the name absolutely suits her and was a way for her to try to take back some power after what had happened. I agree with Christine that I hope she can reclaim her real name in the future.

Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?"

I like the name Little Bee, and I think it does suit her. I felt like the change in name symbolized a fresh start, new life, hope, and possibility, in addition to a way to protect herself.

This was an amazing book! I liked both Sarah and Little Bee, as this felt like a story about both women and how their lives intersect. I could relate to Sarah and her feeling of making the wrong decisions and how she felt trapped in her life, and her desperation to try to make amends with Andrew, only to wind up in a situation of horror that destroyed Andrew in the end and left her with a daily reminder of those choices.

When Little Bee comes back into Sarah's life, she is forced to re-examine those terrible choices she's been making. She at heart wanted to do the right thing by Little Bee, and their journey together from there is so poignant and tragic.

The end of the book made me cry. It felt like exactly the right place to leave the story. Just enough hope to make you believe that what is about to happen just might not.

Sandra wrote: "Penguin Random House Canada wrote: "I agree, Little Bee was a fascinating narrator. She figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case “the men come suddenly.” How do..."

Having read a few of the comments in the thread before reaching the beach scene, I was a bit surprised, actually. I imagined, because there seemed to be such a universal dislike of Sarah, that one of the soldiers had cut off her finger, or that even Andrew had, not that she had made a willing sacrifice like that. Sarah has much more strength of character than I'd expected.