The Other Hand - Chris Cleave

...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 ...
...over here but 2009 in the USA and Canada. Apparently this is due to be made into a film with Nicole Kidman starring in it so I will be looking out for this with interest.

BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK:

Chris Cleave says that the novel is not a true story but it is based on a number of stories he has heard about over the years and one story in particular did inspire him to write the book. The inspirational true story was that of ... 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 2009 in the USA and Canada. Apparently this is due to be made into a film with Nicole Kidman starring in it so I will be looking out for this with interest.

BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK:

Chris Cleave says that the novel is not a true story but it is based on a number of stories he has heard about over the years and one story in particular did inspire him to write the book. The inspirational true story was that of an Angolan man called Manuel Bravo who claimed asylum in the UK in 2001 for his family on the grounds that they would be killed if they returned to Angola. He waited for four years not knowing his fate and then one day he and his 13 year old son were taken to an immigration centre .Manuel was told they were being sent back to Angola the next day so that night he hung himself as he knew that a minor could not be repatriated alone. He took his own life to save that of his son which must have been an amazingly difficult decision and he would never know how it would work out for his son.

Another inspiration for writing this novel stems from when the author was working over one university summer break in a canteen of Campsfield House in Oxfordshire which is a detention centre for asylum seekers. This is in reality a prison for people who have committed no crime save trying to escape from their own country for some reason and attempting to get in to live in England without obtaining permission first. I think that unless you have ever been in this situation it is hard to imagine what it must feel like to be that afraid to stay in your country of birth. I can remember when I was about 10 years old , standing on our balcony watching Georgtown ( Guyana) burning only about 5 miles from where we lived. There were riots and marches, our school bus was bombed and we had British soldiers on all the Sugar estates. It was pretty scary but nothing compared to some of the stories you hear from asylum seekers.

Chris Cleave points out that he had been living within ten miles of the place for three years and known know it existed. He said found the conditions in there quite distressing and as he got talking with asylum seekers he learned about their stories and discovered that many had

” been through hell and were likely to be sent back to hell. Some of them were beautiful characters and it was deeply upsetting to see how we were treating them...... and when we deport them it’s often a death sentence. I knew I had to write about it, because it’s such a dirty secret.”

The book begins with a quotation
“Britain is proud of its tradition of providing a safe haven for people fleeting( note the typo) persecution and conflict.” This comes from “Life in the United Kingdom”, which is the text book given to immigrants preparing for their citizenship test in the UK. The author uses this to open his novel as he feels that it reflects the way we see asylum seekers and immigrants. We give them this book to learn how to become good British citizens and cannot even be bothered to have it edited correctly.

The author tells us that it took two years to research the conflicts in Nigeria and talk to a number of asylum seekers learning about their stories prior to writing the book.

WHAT IS THE BOOK ABOUT?

Essentially the story is told by two very different women whose lives become entangled through a chance encounter in Nigeria on a beach one day which was change the course of both their lives forever.

Sarah is a middle class English woman married to a nice normal English man and they have a son who is about 3 or 4 years old and who thinks he is Batman. Sarah and her husband are offered a free holiday to Nigeria which they feel is too good an opportunity to miss. I found it a little strange personally that anyone would holiday in Nigeria as it is not exactly politically stable even now and in the past it has been extremely unstable because of conflicts with oil companies. It would be like going on a holiday to Afghanistan or Iraq today. Having said that, this is only a small quibble so I suppose I can’t really complain and Sarah and Andrew had to be there in order for the story to take place.

Little Bee is a Nigerian village girl whose village is destroyed by the oil company’s workers and obviously manages to escape and get to England. I’m not giving too much of the story away saying that she escaped from Nigeria as this must be the case as the story is about both Sarah and Little Bee and so obviously she must get to England.

The story is told alternatively from Sarah’s and then Little Bee’s view and not always in chronological order. The first half of the book is working backwards into history, while the second half works forwards into the future. The reader gradually learns the full story by piecin the jigsaw together of information together.

It starts with Little Bee in the detention centre. Little Bee’s voice is much simpler and has the grammatical tone of an African speaking English. We see things through her eyes and she tells us what is different by telling the reader what she would have to explain to ‘the girls back home’. This is a very clever as we become aware of little cultural differences without little Bee actually pointing them out as shocking or surprising to her. She is able to show her developing understanding of this English culture through her explanations to her ‘girls back home’ and in this way Little Bee is not made to look ignorant by commenting on these differences herself.

The relationship between the two women becomes extremely close as the story develops. Little Bee instantly accepts ‘Batman’ and he in turn bonds with Little Bee. They become a family unit bound together by their past experience and the problem of little Bee’s refugee status.

The story is quite shocking in parts but I won’t discuss that aspect as it would spoil it for anyone who does fancy reading this. I was also upset by some of Little Bee’s story which I am assuming the author developed from interviews with asylum seekers which makes them all the more upsetting to know that they are based on facts.

I liked the way the story is told and that Chris Cleave uses different writing and grammatical styles for each of the women’s stories so it is easy to read and picture who is talking. This style of using two voices enables the reader to see the same event though different eyes and also enables the reader to learn a bit more about each character’s story as the novel develops.

I also like the way humour is used in the novel to balance the more shocking aspects of the story. The lighter aspects of the story do not detract at all from the seriousness of the novel’s message. It is a bit like the way humour is used in POW camps or classically in ‘MASH’ to relieve the tension of the horrors of war.

HOW DOES THIS STORY REFECT UPON EVENTS IN THE WORLD TODAY?

Today there are probably as many people seeking asylum or refugee status as the ever have been in the world. In the UK alone there are:
“Detention sites: 11 (2009)
Detention capacity: 2,935 (2009)
Removals and voluntary departures:66,275 (2008)
Asylum seekers: 10,900 (end 2007)
Irregular residents: 525,000-950,000 (end 2007)
Max. length of detention: No limit”

The above facts were taken from the ‘global Detention Project on line and the figures are for the United Kingdom. Frighteningly you can click on any number of other countries around the world and see similarly disturbing figures.

So Chris Cleave has chosen a very current topic to bring to people’s attention through his story and I think he does it in a very sensitive way without sentimentalising the story in any way.

MY FEEELINGS:

I found the book so fascinating and I enjoyed the way the author told the story through two different people’s voices, Sarah and Little Bee as it gave two very contrasting viewpoints, one from the developed world and the other from the less developed world of Nigeria. The descriptions of Sarah’s son who insists on dressing and indeed, being Batman provides humour and balance to the story which could have so easily become very depressing.

It certainly made me think about all these people who are so terrified of living in their own country that they will give up everything to escape. When I was teaching I had a young boy in my Y4 class who had escaped by hiding in a lorry with his parents from one of the Eastern European countries. He was a delightful child and had been through so much and yet he worked really hard and was successful in school. I remember him telling me about his journey here and how hungry and scared he was. I think stories like this are great for allowing us the chance to appreciate what we have and wake up to the fact that others are suffering in the world and I admire Chris Cleave’s determination to write this novel to bring the plight of asylum seekers and refugees to the attention of the public in a very interesting and entertaining rather than judgemental and lecturing way

I would certainly recommend reading this book and it does open your eyes to the struggle some people have just to survive. It is a good story told in a sensitive way and very well written too.

I'm not sure about the ending but cannot say too much as it would give away too much.

I can't say how it compares with his other book as I have not read it and I'm unlikely to read this again as i very rarely do re- read books except by mistake but that is just my memory failing me !!

The information about the background to the book and the author I rsearched on the internet on a site about the author and this book as I was interested in why he had chosen to write the novel on this subject and also where he did his research about asylum seekers.

Thanks for reading. This review may be posted on other sites under my same user name.

© catsholiday
 

...less