Little Bee by Chris Cleave

I first heard about this book in the Washington Post's top books of 2009. When it arrived from the library, I had all but forgotten about it and when I opened the front cover to read the description, I found this:

WE DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK.

It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.

The story starts there, but the book doesn't.

And it's what happens afterward that is most important.

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

Far be it from me to ruin a book for anyone so I'll adhere to these guidelines. What I can tell is what I liked about the book - and there was a lot to like. The writing was superb - really nearly perfect. There are two bright women whose lives become entangled and each of their voices is very well defined and executed. The book jumps around in the timeline of the story, but not in a way that was confusing or made me impatient. And the major plot points in the story are revealed early enough that the reader is forced past "what happened" and into an ethical and emotional reaction to the story's events. Unlike some books that provide very little denouement, this one is as much about the reaction and the aftermath as it is about the action.

I would definitely recommend this book.