When I walked into my local Border’s, I encountered a display with this book as one of their “Recommends” or whatever they call it. Every time I have bought a book (and read it) from this collection, I have totally enjoyed the book. Once again, I was not disappointed.
Here is what the jacket to this book says:
We don’t want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again — the story starts there ….
Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.
Let’s break this down:
This is the story of two women. Yes, Little Bee and Sarah. Little Bee’s age is not stated, but I don’t think she is of age yet, and Sarah is a young woman in her early 30’s. Sarah’s son, Charlie a.k.a. Batman is also a central character. There are two adult men who figure prominently in the book as well, Andrew and Lawrence. But the central characters are Little Bee and Sarah, and they tell the story, in alternating chapters. This is sometimes not done really well, but Chris pulls it off. However, I did sometimes get confused on who was talking to me.
Their lives collide one fateful day, If you believe in fate, that is. I was pleased that we find out what happened that day within the first third of the book.
and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. I can honestly say that for 99% of us, we will never have to make this choice. I’d also like to think I would make the same decision Sarah made.
Two years later, they meet again — the story starts there …. Not quite.
The magic is in how the story unfolds. I think this might be an overstatement.
But I won’t tell you what happens either. What I will tell you is to read this book.
The story of Little Bee and Sarah is a fantastic one. It is mostly a dark tale, but like life, it has its moments of humor and brightness. If this book was twice the length, I would have still enjoyed it. Mr. Cleve could have started the book from the first meeting, instead of telling it through flashbacks and the book would not have lost one bit of its essence, but I think it had to end exactly the way it did, even though it left me wondering what will happen next.
I highly recommend this book and give it a 3 out of 4 stars.
