Anyone else read Little Bee by Chris Cleave?

I read this book recently.
The blurb on the back of this book is intriguing:

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 will 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.
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It makes you think that the story is somehow so spectacular they can's even hint as to what it is about. And when you read the book (titled The Other Hand in the British edition) it's just... meh. I mean, really meh. A lot of the reviewers refer to the totally misleading blurb. The story is no more mysterious than any other novel. The wriitng is OK, the story full of plot holes. in short, a total disappointment. I bought it because of that blurb, as many I suppose did. It did not live up to the secrecy -- not even close.

I've found many paperbacks only have quotes from critics or authors in the back of the book. It's annoying.

I expected more out of Little Bee, but overall I really liked the book.

I read it because it was our book club selection. All of us felt the same way - good writing, interesting story but yes, it was disappointing. Flat, as you say. None of us (all women) liked the wife.

It brought to life the devious means big oil companies use for exploration and drilling. We all hope Shell gets a severe punishment for the murder of an activist and many others killed by soldiers when all they were doing was protecting their village and the environment.

Storyteller5 said:

I just finished reading Little Bee.

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I don't think you should have mentioned the suicide. There's something about spoilers in one of the threads.

Anyway, you might want to edit your thread title and include The Other Hand which is the name of the book in some other markets (outside the US, I think) or the other way around. You might get more response.

I think he failed badly with the main character. She did not feel at all like a real Nigerian, rather like some caricature. It's always difficult, portraying characters from an entirely different culture, and this was a different sex and age as well. She was far too twee for my liking.