Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Little Bee by Chris Cleave - Available

Little Bee

A Novel

by Chris Cleave
Anne Flosnik
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available

British couple Andrew and Sarah O'Rourke, vacationing on a Nigerian beach in a last-ditch effort to save their faltering marriage, come across Little Bee and her sister, Nigerian refugees fleeing from machete-wielding soldiers intent on clearing the beach. The horrific confrontation that follows changes the lives of everyone involved in unimaginable ways.

Two years later, Little Bee appears in London on the day of Andrew's funeral and reconnects with Sarah. Sarah is struggling to come to terms with her husband's recent suicide and the stubborn behavior of her four-year-old son, who is convinced that he really is Batman. The tenuous friendship between Sarah and Little Bee that grows, is challenged, and ultimately endures is the heart of this emotional, tense, and often hilarious novel.

Considered by some to be the next Kite Runner, Little Bee is an achingly human story set against the inhuman realities of war-torn Africa. Wrenching tests of friendship and terrible moral dilemmas fuel this irresistible novel.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    April 21, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400191710
      • File size: 307586 KB
      • Duration: 10:40:48

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Worlds collide in this remarkable performance when Little Bee, a Nigerian girl orphaned by violence, meets Sarah, a dissatisfied British professional away on holiday. The horror that takes place on an African beach drives the story, which is gripping and thought provoking. Cleave's prose, often eloquent to the point of poetry, dances on the voice of narrator Anne Flosnik. As the point of view shifts between Little Bee and Sarah, their respective pasts come to life, offering surprises and twists. Flosnik's accents and tone change nimbly to suit each lead character. Ultimately, their shared past--one of terror, sacrifice, guilt, and responsibility--keeps the listener rapt with attention. Artfully told and lyrically performed, this audiobook resonates. L.B.F. ¥¥¥ (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 10, 2008
      A violent incident on a Nigerian beach has tragic echoes in posh London in Cleave’s beautifully staged if haphazardly plotted debut novel. British couple Andrew O’Rourke and his wife, Sarah, are on vacation when they come across two sisters, Little Bee and Nkiruka, on the run from the killers who have massacred everyone else in their village—in the pay, it turns out, of an oil company seeking the land. Soon the killers arrive and propose a not-quite-credible deal: they will trade the girls if Andrew and Sarah each cut off a finger. Andrew can’t do it, but Sarah does, and the killers drag the girls away. So two years later, when Little Bee shows up at Sarah’s house on the day of the funeral for Andrew, who has killed himself, it seems almost miraculous. Later, however, it’s revealed that Little Bee has been hiding around the O’Rourke place, and that Andrew seeing her set off his suicide. Sarah nevertheless determines to help Little Bee get refugee status. Cleave has a sharp cinematic eye, but the plot is undermined by weak motivations and coincidences.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading