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A review by mo_mentan
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
4.0
*3.5
i was astonished how much i didn't mind a white man writing the story of two women, one of whom is a nigerian refugee. his writing felt sympathetic and kind and his prose was wonderful. i can't say much on the accuracy of the way he portrayed little bee or much of her story, really. of course, hers is an extraordinary case, maybe an impossible one, but i felt like many aspects of her journey, especially in the machinery of the english deportation system, felt honest even if they maybe aren't exactly true, if that makes sense. what struck me the most was the ways in which he portrayed the often subtle but sometimes very obvious racism of the english society and the english people. i would have liked for a somewhat more systemic look at solutions, rather than just sarah giving her best, but that she fails to save little bee is important i think. because individual people in the west need to do their best, but it won't be enough. and this shouldn't be about saving refugees, it should be about putting their narratives first, and this is why i'm not sure i think it was right for this man to write this novel, even though it didn't feel exactly wrong or cruel. and then again, this isn't black or white and it isn't for me to say.
i thought little bee and sarah, and rven andrew and charlie and lawrence to some extent, were very well fleshed out characters. they all (except for charlie) had their good and their bad sides, made questionable choices. although people react differently to trauma, i wasn't always sure if little bee wasn't portrayed a little too perfect, too understanding. and i would have liked sarah to show some more racism in some way, because it is not quite realistic even her inner monologue woulf be so clean of it, given she was raised in britain.
what i don't like at all is that the blurb tells you you should read this witjout knowing anything. i do not think that is fair. this kovel needs a big ass content note. i have never experienced sexual violence in any way except for street harassment, which probably makes me one of the least affected tinfas around, and still that rape scene won't leave my mind. this could have happened off page, or at least have a fucking tw.
the ambivalence of sarah's relationships to andrew and lawrence, of her and andrew's respective guilt was well done i think. the officers of the uk's killing machinery were done well, they weren't inhumanised, but they behaved like the cops i have witnessed, the thing people i worked with have told me. i will fight anyone who tries to make such people heroes. they are human, they have flaws and good sides like everyone else. but every single one of them is guilty. they are cogs of this machine that lies and deserts and imprisones and rapes and deports and kills everyday, and if it is only by remaining silent. there are no redeeming factors in this and i will die on that hill. people deserve to seek refuge, and especially from conflicts our bloody economies created in the first place. people deserve dignity and homes and education and care.
i was astonished how much i didn't mind a white man writing the story of two women, one of whom is a nigerian refugee. his writing felt sympathetic and kind and his prose was wonderful. i can't say much on the accuracy of the way he portrayed little bee or much of her story, really. of course, hers is an extraordinary case, maybe an impossible one, but i felt like many aspects of her journey, especially in the machinery of the english deportation system, felt honest even if they maybe aren't exactly true, if that makes sense. what struck me the most was the ways in which he portrayed the often subtle but sometimes very obvious racism of the english society and the english people. i would have liked for a somewhat more systemic look at solutions, rather than just sarah giving her best, but that she fails to save little bee is important i think. because individual people in the west need to do their best, but it won't be enough. and this shouldn't be about saving refugees, it should be about putting their narratives first, and this is why i'm not sure i think it was right for this man to write this novel, even though it didn't feel exactly wrong or cruel. and then again, this isn't black or white and it isn't for me to say.
i thought little bee and sarah, and rven andrew and charlie and lawrence to some extent, were very well fleshed out characters. they all (except for charlie) had their good and their bad sides, made questionable choices. although people react differently to trauma, i wasn't always sure if little bee wasn't portrayed a little too perfect, too understanding. and i would have liked sarah to show some more racism in some way, because it is not quite realistic even her inner monologue woulf be so clean of it, given she was raised in britain.
what i don't like at all is that the blurb tells you you should read this witjout knowing anything. i do not think that is fair. this kovel needs a big ass content note. i have never experienced sexual violence in any way except for street harassment, which probably makes me one of the least affected tinfas around, and still that rape scene won't leave my mind. this could have happened off page, or at least have a fucking tw.
the ambivalence of sarah's relationships to andrew and lawrence, of her and andrew's respective guilt was well done i think. the officers of the uk's killing machinery were done well, they weren't inhumanised, but they behaved like the cops i have witnessed, the thing people i worked with have told me. i will fight anyone who tries to make such people heroes. they are human, they have flaws and good sides like everyone else. but every single one of them is guilty. they are cogs of this machine that lies and deserts and imprisones and rapes and deports and kills everyday, and if it is only by remaining silent. there are no redeeming factors in this and i will die on that hill. people deserve to seek refuge, and especially from conflicts our bloody economies created in the first place. people deserve dignity and homes and education and care.