'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

[imp]

Just published in the US as 'Little Bee', written by Guardian journalist Chris Cleave, author of 'Incendiary'. Plot teaser: Surrey-raised fashion journalist Sarah finds herself and opinionated Times columnist hubby Andrew on a Nigerian resort beach, suddenly facing two sisters who are about to be murdered by thugs for having lived in a village that's been razed so that the oil beneath it can be exploited. Issues raised: conditions in UK detention centres and the treatment of asylum seekers; how far we would go to help someone in danger we don't know; depression; adultery; the point of fashion magazines; colonialism; exploitation of natural resources; rape and murder; suicide.

Morbidly funny at times, mostly just disturbing, and aside from one plot-device character (Sarah's wooden lover, Lawrence) and the feeling of a rush to finish and tie things up that changes the book's reflective pace, a definitely recommended read. 8.5 out of 10.

[Anton Gramscescu]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

Did you read Incendiary, imp? I thought it was very much 6.5 - 7.0. How would you say the two compare?

[imp]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

Didn't read that one, AG, though I'll probably look it up some time, despite your average rating.

[The Exploding Vole]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

I'm impressed with anyone who can judge books on a scale of ten in increments of half a point.

[Brandenburger Toro]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

I'm not, it's a failure of calibration. What's wrong with a scale of twenty?

[The Exploding Vole]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

I'd be impressed with that, too.

[ursus arctos]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

The question is whether Gramsci uses the entire scale, or takes a "Gazzetta" approach (in which case 80+% of world literature would be rated between 5 and 7).

[Anton Gramscescu]

'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave

ursus arctos wrote:

The question is whether Gramsci uses the entire scale, or takes a "Gazzetta" approach (in which case 80+% of world literature would be rated between 5 and 7).

The latter. But that 80% only applies to literature in the top division (i.e. literary fiction). I could go considerably lower for the prose in government reports, for instance.

Incendiary had its moments - certainly, the early scenes around Highbury in the aftermath of the bomb attack were striking, but probably only because it was describing a place I've been to and loved. The rest of it...meh.

Part of it is that I find that almost any novel that has mass violence in public places and is set in London is going to have to suffer through the inevitable JG Ballard comparison (High Rise, Millennium People). And probably not come out that well.