Reader's Ink discussion

Little Bee often spoke of "you" or "your country." Who was she speaking to? Was this an effective way to tell her story and share her views?

I liked the 2nd person narration. I got the sense that she'd tell her story orally, and you need to have an audience for that. Of course, the same is true for written narration, but oral is more immediately, standing around listening PRESENT in terms of audience, I think.

Second person effectively got her chatty tone across, and it also added a sort of condemning element to it. Like, I'm telling YOU this story, directly TO YOU, so YOU cannot pretend like you don't know what happened in Nigeria. YOU heard it DIRECTLY FROM ME. DON'T DENY IT. Ya know?

I liked it as well. It also worked because it underlined another difference between Little Bee and her audience: she came from a culture with a strong oral tradition in storytelling and history. Her sections felt like they were spoken rather than written, and it was an especially nice contrast given Sarah's career.

Good question! Can see it from a couple different perspectives depending on the way we read it. Similar thoughts to Lauren, I could also see it from their oral tradition which is such an important part of their culture.

I've only read a handful of narratives in second person, but I think it worked well in this instance. I agree that it makes her message harder to ignore, since she's not just talking to a "reader," she's talking to this specific reader.

THIS TYPE OF NARRATION WORKED FOR ME. THE ONLY OTHER BOOK WHERE THIS WORKED IS ORDINARY PEOPLE. IN THIS BOOK WE CAN SEE SARAH'S DELUSIONS AND LAWRENCE'S DUPLICITY AND COWARDICE AS A RESULT OF THE SWITCHING OF POV.

It works for me too. It made the story more believable. Your able to take it into your heart, into your soul!