Get Out: Novelist Chris Cleave
Chris Cleave reads at the UW Bookstore tonight at 7 p.m., and tomorrow at Third Place Books in Bothell at 7 p.m.
Photo by Niall McDiarmid.
Cleave, who also works as a columnist for the Guardian, has followed up his prescient debut with a new novel, Little Bee (The Other Hand in the U.K.), that tackles one of the most painful issues facing his country today: immigration.
We could go into the plot of the book, explain the almost silly-sounding title, or bring up the complex issues Britain faces in dealing with immigration (which are just as bad as our own here in the US), but instead we thought we'd just quote the author's explanation. Asked whether the novel is based on a true story, Cleave explained:
No, but there’s one true story in particular that made me determined to write the novel. In 2001 an Angolan man named Manuel Bravo fled to England and claimed asylum on the grounds that he and his family would be persecuted and killed if they were returned to Angola. He lived in a state of uncertainty for four years pending a decision on his application. Then, without warning, in September 2005 Manuel Bravo and his 13-year-old son were seized in a dawn raid and interned at an Immigration Removal Centre in southern England. They were told that they would be forcibly deported to Angola the next morning. That night, Manuel Bravo took his own life by hanging himself in a stairwell. His son was awoken in his cell and told the news. What had happened was that Manuel Bravo, aware of a rule under which unaccompanied minors cannot be deported from the UK, had taken his own life in order to save the life of his son [link]. Among his last words to his child were: “Be brave. Work hard. Do well at school.”
If that doesn't set the tone for the seriousness of the issues here, we don't know what does. Cleave has a marvelous way with prose and his storytelling is excellent, but what makes Little Bee rise above the fray of fine novels hitting the shelves today is its willingness to broach painful topics and tell an important story. It's a great read and Cleave's visit shouldn't be missed.
