"Little Bee" by Chris Cleave

I got this book at a used bookstore because I was intrigued by the description on the back cover which did not really give anything away about the story while promising an unforgettable read. Now that I am done with the book I can honestly say that readers will not be disappointed. The book focuses on a story of a Nigerian refugee who flees a local oil war to seek asylum in Britain. What happens to her in Nigeria is horrific. No less horrific is the treatment she gets by the immigration authorities in the UK. She spends two years locked up in a refugee detention center outside of London and then gets deported back to Nigeria because her home country is considered to be safe by the UK immigration officials.

Little Bee's immigration woes are just part of the story. Back in Nigeria before she ever sets foot in the UK, she meets a British couple who came to Africa on a holiday despite the local oil war raging in the country side. This encounter changes their lives for ever. The author examines how humans react when faced with extreme danger and atrocity. What motivates one to save another human being or decide to pass by, and if one refuses to help how does that person cope with guilt and continues on living? These are timeless questions, and the author thoroughly explores them. Cleave is an extraordinary writer. The story alternates between the voices of a Nigerian and a British woman, and Cleave has no difficulty writing from a female point of view. If you are looking for something to read, look no further. I must warn though: the book has pretty graphic violence/rape descriptions.

"The Glass Castle: A Memoir" by Jeannette Walls

I read this book a few years ago, but it is one of those stories that really touches you and stays in your mind. I find that I keep recommending this book to friends when they look for something good to read. Walls writes a very candid memoir about her childhood. Her parents had four children but did not believe in a traditional way of providing for the family. Neither the father nor mother had steady jobs. They moved around a lot, sometimes even camped out in the wilderness. The mother painted and wrote but never really cooked a decent meal for the children. The father (when sober) taught them whatever he knew about sciences. Eventually, the family settles down in a small town in West Virginia. Walls remembers them being the poorest kids in school, going hungry and dirty while their dad was gone for days and the mother refused to take responsibility for providing for the family. It was clearly a lifestyle choice for the parents, one that Walls, now an adult, has a hard time understanding. For me, as a reader, this story was very eye-opening. I personally never encountered a family which makes the choice to live a life of wandering, subjecting their kids to experiencing hunger, want and humiliation from early childhood. Hardship did not break Jeannette Walls. It motivated her to escape and build a better life for herself. She clearly knew what kind of lifestyle she did not want for herself. She became a successful author and wrote this amazing story of going through dire poverty in the midst of the wealthiest country in the world.

I hope this book will touch you as much as it has touched me.