The Other Hand
The 'immensely readable and moving' (New York Times) international bestseller
Published on 5. February 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-0-340-96342-5 (ISBN)
Description
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
'A powerful piece of art'
Independent
'Exquisitely balanced between terrible sadness and brilliant humour'
Observer
'Immensely readable and moving'
New York Times
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 afterwards 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.
'Big themes, high emotion and cliffhangers aplenty . . . an enormously affecting investigation of love, guilt and global responsibility, told with a bittersweet urgency'
Guardian
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
'A powerful piece of art'
Independent
'Exquisitely balanced between terrible sadness and brilliant humour'
Observer
'Immensely readable and moving'
New York Times
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 afterwards 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.
'Big themes, high emotion and cliffhangers aplenty . . . an enormously affecting investigation of love, guilt and global responsibility, told with a bittersweet urgency'
Guardian
Reviews / Votes
A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting...[a] superb novel... Besides sharp, witty dialogue, an emotionally charged plot and the vivid characters' ethical struggles, THE OTHER HAND delivers a timely challenge to reinvigorate our notions of civilized decency. * <i>Independent</i> * Exquisitely balanced between terrible sadness and brilliant humour. * <i>Observer</i> * Big themes, high emotion and cliffhangers aplenty... an enormously affecting investigation of love, guilt and global responsibility, told with a bittersweet urgency. * Justine Jordan, <i>Guardian</i> * Searingly eloquent. * <i>Daily Mail</i> * An ambitious and fearless gallop from the jungles of Africa via a shocking encounter on a Nigerian beach to the media offices of London and domesticity in leafy suburbia...Cleave immerses the reader in the worlds of his characters with an unshakable confidence. * Lawrence Norfolk, <i>Guardian</i> * totally believable... the author has a knack of explaining human suffering... I look forward to his next offering. * <i>Daily Express</i> * impresses as a feat of literary engineering... the plot exerts a fearsome grip. * <i>Daily Telegraph</i> * An exhilarating, disturbing read. * James Urquhart, <i>Independent</i> (Books of the Year) * You stay in thrall to the bittersweet end. * <i>Scotland on Sunday </i> * It would be hard not to romp through it. * <i>Financial Times</i> * By turns funny, sad and shocking * <i>Sainsburys Magazine</i> * The next Kite Runner. * <i>Library Journal</i> * Warm, witty and beautifully written. * <i>Sunday Tribune</i> * In a novel that tackles serious and uncomfortable subject matter, Cleave's writing makes one laugh and despair in equal measure. (4 stars) * <i>Time Out</i> * I felt the same excitement discovering this as I did Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. There is an urgency here, an inability to put it down and a deep sense of loss once finished. It is a very special book indeed. Profound, deeply moving and yet light in touch, it explores the nature of loss, hope, love and identity with atrocity its backdrop. Read it and think deeply. * Sarah Broadhurst, <i>Bookseller</i> * 'Immensely readable and moving . . . an affecting story of human triumph' * <i>New York Times</i> * Artfully plotted... [a] strong yarn. * <i>Sunday Telegraph</i> * A better book than Chris Cleave's THE OTHER HAND may be published this year, but I wouldn't bet on it. This exquisitely written story of a Nigerian refugee and a British glossy magazine editor is the most powerful novel I've read in a long time. . . it's also a very funny book about brave, funny people who the reader quickly grows to love. . . But the heart of the book is Little Bee; naive yet insightful and sophisticated, damaged yet capable of great courage and humour, she is an unforgettable character. I finished THE OTHER HAND in tears, and I still can't get it out of my head. Just read it. * <i>The Gloss</i> * Will blow you away... the best kind of political novel: You're almost entirely unaware of its politics because the book doesn't deal in abstractions but in human beings. * <i>Washington Post</i> * So far it's the best book of 2009, no question. * <i>Metro</i> (US) *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
271 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-340-96342-5 (9780340963425)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Chris Cleave is a New York Times #1 bestselling novelist whose books are published in forty countries. His debut novel INCENDIARY won the Somerset Maugham Award, among others. His second, the Costa-shortlisted THE OTHER HAND, was a global bestseller and sat in the New York Times Top Ten for over a year (under the US title, Little Bee). Both books were shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prizes. He lives in Kingston-upon-Thames with his wife and three children, and welcomes readers at facebook.com/ChrisCleaveBooks, www.chriscleave.com and twitter.com/chriscleave.