The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

The Other Hand

Chris Cleave

After her release from a UK immigration detention centre Little Bee seeks to track down the couple she met in horrifying circumstances in her home country of Nigeria. As she gets into their life this compelling and often moving story really does get into the reader's head and asks questions about what you would do if faced with the same issues. Little Bee's voice has an innocent charm to it that makes the story that much more powerful.

Extract
Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl. Everyone would be pleased to see me coming. Maybe I would visit with you for the weekend and then suddenly, because I am fickle like that, I would visit with the man from the corner shop instead - but you would not be sad because you would be eating a cinnamon bun, or drinking cold Coca Cola from a can, and you would never think of me again. We would be happy, like lovers who met on holiday and forgot each other's names.
Parallels
  • Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta
  • The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon