Little Bee is a young Nigerian girl who had lived in her delta village until oil was discovered. Most of the villagers are killed to make it easier to access the oil, and Little Bee and her sister run away finally reaching the beach where they hide until the soldiers who are tracking them arrive. They know they will be killed since they were witness to the atrocities in the village. Coincidentally, a young couple from London is vacationing near this same beach, and the worlds of the sisters, the killers and the couple collide.
Little Bee ends up in a detention center in England; the book begins there. It is a novel that makes one aware of the institution of detention for "illegal immigrants" along with exposing the brutality of modern Nigeria. It's an amazing book, full of poignant scenes, edgy modern society scenes, scenes of horror, scenes with an adorable 4-year-old who refuses to wear anything but a Batman costume, scenes of flashbacks to LIttle Bee's natal village in the jungle; real-time scenes of busy London.
While the story is huge and sophisticated and of our times, the author manages to narrate it through the seemingly simple words and viewpoint of Little Bee. It is truly worth reading.
I did find, though, that the book seemed to meander off course somehow, somewhat, in the last part. Not enough to lessen the impact, but for me, it became not entirely plausible. Often books don't end quite as smoothly as they begin and as they move through the middle parts of their stories, and I felt this was one of those books. Not perfect, but very good.
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