mturney1010's review against another edition
2.0
I would maybe knock it up to 2.5 stars. It was incredibly gripping, but the use of sex as a crutch to deal with anxiety is a bit much, and you end up feeling less sympathetic towards the narrator because of it. The scene where she is basically sexually assaulted in a bathroom and just lets the guy do it (and then get away with it when the cop comes in) was a bit unbelievable.
She is incredibly dry, which I enjoy, but the subject matter was so dark, even for me. I connected to her on a certain level, which is why it was difficult to read. I found myself pretty depressed,and thinking a lot about the Sandy Hook kids (unrelated to the story) and thinking of my oldest daughter who was close to the age of her son who died. I look forward to reading Chris Cleave's Little Bee because I enjoyed his writing for the most part but it was riddled with unnecessary profanity and sex which I found distracting from a gripping story.
She is incredibly dry, which I enjoy, but the subject matter was so dark, even for me. I connected to her on a certain level, which is why it was difficult to read. I found myself pretty depressed,and thinking a lot about the Sandy Hook kids (unrelated to the story) and thinking of my oldest daughter who was close to the age of her son who died. I look forward to reading Chris Cleave's Little Bee because I enjoyed his writing for the most part but it was riddled with unnecessary profanity and sex which I found distracting from a gripping story.
itsgg's review against another edition
1.0
Someone needs to teach Chris Cleave about punctuation I mean jeez would a comma or some quotation marks kill him it makes an otherwise interesting story frustrating to read
dianawellejus's review against another edition
4.0
I must admit that the only reason I read the book was because I needed it for an exam. Now that I've finished I'm glad that I read it.
This book and all four chapters open with two words: "Dear Osama". It is a book written as four letters from a woman who has lost her husband and son in a terror attack. Through these letters she tells Osama and the reader how her life has been just before the attack and in the months after.
There's only one thin that annoys me about this book, and that may just be because I'm from Denmark. There's almost no commas in this book. It is written as a stream of thoughts from this woman and when you're focusing on the story you forget the commas. Even though this book is written before 7/7 it pretty much shows what the daily life must have been for not only the family left behind, but also for the country.
This book and all four chapters open with two words: "Dear Osama". It is a book written as four letters from a woman who has lost her husband and son in a terror attack. Through these letters she tells Osama and the reader how her life has been just before the attack and in the months after.
There's only one thin that annoys me about this book, and that may just be because I'm from Denmark. There's almost no commas in this book. It is written as a stream of thoughts from this woman and when you're focusing on the story you forget the commas. Even though this book is written before 7/7 it pretty much shows what the daily life must have been for not only the family left behind, but also for the country.
becmatho's review against another edition
3.0
This is a 3.5 star book. I loved reading it, twas gripping - but I really didn't like the lack of commas, I don't think it added any extra dimension to the character in not using them, it contributed to frustration. The protagonist wasn't quite consistent throughout and the author was a little bit lazy with the plot and structure at times. Still, quite exceptional and different. Stayed up late to finish it.
nadconnor's review against another edition
4.0
While this book was really well written, it truly made me stop and think! The graphic nature made the reading tough going at times, but I guess that was the point! I am still not sure if I liked the ending or not -- I am not sure if the opinion of Osama should change that way, but is that my own prejudices coming into play? I was a little disappointed in the weakness' of Jasper, and I kept hoping he would become a stronger character. I was drawn into the mother's plight. The guilt she had to live with, and the hopes for her future. The love of her little boy truly shone throughout the story, but what about the husband
I've read a few reviews and people keep commenting on the writing -- things like overuse of commas and British slang. I think that is the whole point of the author, he is attempting to write as the narrator, NOT a well published author. I think it must have been incredibly hard to go against his instincts and write in this manner. He was able to "write" as an uneducated housewife and yet still maintain our interest in a complicated storyline. Well done Cleave!
I've read a few reviews and people keep commenting on the writing -- things like overuse of commas and British slang. I think that is the whole point of the author, he is attempting to write as the narrator, NOT a well published author. I think it must have been incredibly hard to go against his instincts and write in this manner. He was able to "write" as an uneducated housewife and yet still maintain our interest in a complicated storyline. Well done Cleave!
supersara's review against another edition
4.0
Quero mudar o nome do meu coelho para Sr. Coelho, pode ser?
allibookgiraffe's review
5.0
I am so happy I decided to re-read this book. There are so many important topics brought up in this book. The most obvious one being terrorism. It talks about infidelity and jealousy. I think mental health is a big topic both before and after the attack. Also, I love the story including prejudice against Muslims after a terrorist attack. I think it is important to bring such an important topic and show different characters with different opinions because the world is that way. This book is set in London. Since reading this book the first time, I have changed my opinion on unlikeable characters. Too often do we watch and read tragic stories happen to good characters, sometimes bad things happen to people who don’t make good decisions. Most people are not inherently good or evil and most tragedies happen at random. I am surprised to find that this was Cleave’s debut novel and he wrote it in 6 weeks. Wonderful writing and a wonderful story.
mombond's review against another edition
4.0
This book is like watching the most horrific accident and not being able to look away. Disturbing. Humorous. Offensive. Amazing.
Not sure I would recommend it to others.
Not sure I would recommend it to others.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘Dear Osama they want you dead or alive so the terror will stop.’
This story, of a suicide bomb impact at a London soccer stadium, was released to British bookstores on 7 Jul 2005. On the same day, terrorist bombs killed more than 50 people during London’s morning rush hour. What an eerily grisly coincidence.
The narrator of the novel is a working-class English woman and is written in the form of a letter beginning ‘Dear Osama’. Her husband and son were at the stadium and have been killed: all three remain nameless in this story. The attack takes place at a soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea where eleven suicide bombers infiltrate the game: six wearing fragmentation bombs and five wearing incendiary bombs. And just the day before, the husband, who was a member of the bomb-disposal squad, had decided to find a safer job.
Her world collapses: she happens to be watching the game on television with a journalist from the Sunday Telegraph whom she persuades to drive her to the scene. She is injured and while recovering in hospital she is reunited with her son’s cuddly toy – Mr Rabbit.
‘Mr Rabbit survived’ she writes to Osama. ‘I still have him. His green ears are black with blood and one of his paws is missing.’
The mother leaves hospital and continues on in her own private hell, supplemented or perhaps exacerbated by an extraordinary relationship with two journalists, and then a policeman. Her continued letter to Osama provides a description of how and why her life has changed while at the same time trying to understand – trying to personalise – the man she believes is behind the attack that has devastated her life, and changed London into a near apocalyptic shell of its former self.
It’s a quick read: the momentum of events made it very hard for me to put the novel down. At the same time, while I admire the writing and could understand the despair and occasional alienation experienced by the narrator, I was never comfortable in the story. The details in the story were frequently horrific, often mundane and sometimes funny. There are no heroes in this story, just survivors.
This is the kind of novel with its own potential to haunt: cataclysmic events can never be comfortable, especially when fact and fiction collide.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This story, of a suicide bomb impact at a London soccer stadium, was released to British bookstores on 7 Jul 2005. On the same day, terrorist bombs killed more than 50 people during London’s morning rush hour. What an eerily grisly coincidence.
The narrator of the novel is a working-class English woman and is written in the form of a letter beginning ‘Dear Osama’. Her husband and son were at the stadium and have been killed: all three remain nameless in this story. The attack takes place at a soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea where eleven suicide bombers infiltrate the game: six wearing fragmentation bombs and five wearing incendiary bombs. And just the day before, the husband, who was a member of the bomb-disposal squad, had decided to find a safer job.
Her world collapses: she happens to be watching the game on television with a journalist from the Sunday Telegraph whom she persuades to drive her to the scene. She is injured and while recovering in hospital she is reunited with her son’s cuddly toy – Mr Rabbit.
‘Mr Rabbit survived’ she writes to Osama. ‘I still have him. His green ears are black with blood and one of his paws is missing.’
The mother leaves hospital and continues on in her own private hell, supplemented or perhaps exacerbated by an extraordinary relationship with two journalists, and then a policeman. Her continued letter to Osama provides a description of how and why her life has changed while at the same time trying to understand – trying to personalise – the man she believes is behind the attack that has devastated her life, and changed London into a near apocalyptic shell of its former self.
It’s a quick read: the momentum of events made it very hard for me to put the novel down. At the same time, while I admire the writing and could understand the despair and occasional alienation experienced by the narrator, I was never comfortable in the story. The details in the story were frequently horrific, often mundane and sometimes funny. There are no heroes in this story, just survivors.
This is the kind of novel with its own potential to haunt: cataclysmic events can never be comfortable, especially when fact and fiction collide.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith