The Other Hand - Chris Cleave

I am beginning to suspect that there are too many books published each year/ month/ week. If I had been browsing in a shop, Chris Cleave’s tender tale would barely have caught my eye, despite the bright orange cover and the fact that it was shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Novel Award. (In fact, if anything, the accolade would have put me off: call a literary award after a coffee chain and expect me to take it seriously? I know that freshly brewed coffee and a good book is a pleasant combination, but it cheapens the book somewhat for me. What next? The Argos Playwriting Award? Or the Tesco ... more

“The other Hand” by Chris Cleave ISBN 978-0340963425 Published by Sceptre; Paperback Edition ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chris Cleave was born in London in 1973 and was brought up both in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire and went to Oxford University where he studied Psychology. He has written two novels, ‘Incendiary’ which was published in twenty countries and made into a film starring Ewan MacGregor. His second novel is the one I am reviewing ‘The Other Hand’ as it is known in the UK but in the USA and Canada it is published under the name ‘Little Bee’ and this book was published in 2008 over here but ... more

I will begin by saying that 'The Other Hand' is most probably a book I would never have bought or chosen to read myself, due to the lack of information on the cover as to what the story is actually about. Indeed all you are given are a few small lines informing the would-be reader that this is a truly special story of two women whose lives collide one fateful day and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Then two years later they meet again and basically that is it, other than the fact the blurb boasts that once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. And you are ... more

Having launched my one-woman campaign against blurb writers who tell you so much, it’s hardly worth reading the book, I suppose I was due a come-uppance. Chris Cleave and the good people at Sceptre have taken me at my word. Not only does the blurb for “The Other Hand” tell you virtually nothing at all – it enjoins you to keep the faith and allow other readers to discover the book “blind” has you have done. How then am I to persuade you to read it? Firstly, by seconding each of those quotes on the cover which simply say “stunning”. And then by going on to tell you that this book not only kept ... more

"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." This is the first line of the blurb on the back of this book. It goes on to give minimal details of what the story is roughly about because "you need to know enough to buy it". Whilst trying to write this review, I was torn as to whether I should share the books secrets, because the last line of the blurb says "Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds." However, after ... more