Bio
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Chris Cleave is 36. He lives in London with his wife and three children. His debut novel Incendiary won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize, won the United States Book-of-the-Month Club’s First Fiction award 2005 and won the Prix Spécial du Jury at the French Prix des Lecteurs 2007. His second novel is titled Little Bee in Canada and the US, where it is a New York Times #1 bestseller. It is titled The Other Hand in the UK, where it is a Sunday Times bestseller. It was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. Read reviews here. Chris Cleave has been a barman, a long-distance sailor and teacher of marine navigation [read a short story I wrote about there here], an internet pioneer and a journalist. |
Why I write
“Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is no new road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” - D.H. Lawrence
What I look like What I read What I do when I’m not writing |
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Entries (RSS)
John, thank you so much for your comment. Nothing has meant so much to me as a writer, ever.
Just finished reading The Other Hand and I loved it.will have to read your first one now.J
The Other Hand is now my favourite book! Just amazing.
I am currently reading ‘the other hand’ and looked you up because I couldn’t decide whether you were male or female. That could be a compliment, I suppose…
I like feisty Yevette – maybe her story is worth telling.
Val T
Having just finished reading ‘the other hand’, I want to thank you for publishing such a wonderful novel. Books like this come from a very special kind of inspiration. Yes, and they really do make a difference! Thank you for sharing this gift with the world.
Bright Blessings to you and your future work
Pam
PS: Maybe your book should have attached an advisory note that a large box of tissues may be required!!
Just finished The Other Hand, and found it absolutely sublime. So painful and so beautiful all in one. Really really impressed by Chris Cleave’s writing and his ability to make his characters come to life. I saw the whole thing in front of me, as if I was watching a film. Stunning. And very inspirational.
Lena
Just finished The Other Hand after buying it 3 days ago while waiting for a friend on the Malaga Airport. What an absolutely gem of a novel. I loved it! I have a small hotel in Andalucia an will put it in our guest-library and recommend it to every guest to read!
Madeline Goedkoop
My students asked me recently when I had last read a novel that really made me think differently or made me look in a new way at an issue and I could tell them without any hesitation The Other Hand. Thank you and congratulations, amazing.
Ruth
I just read Little Bee. I usually race through books but I didn’t want this story to end. I read a few of the last pages over several evenings to savor it. It is very elegantly writte and the story is so compelling. It is a pleasure to read quality books. They are hard to find and yours is one of my all time favorites.
The scene when Little Bee is made to go under the boat while listening to the fate of her sister broke my heart and I had to put it down for awhile and take a long walk. I kept thinking,’I have the luxury of taking a walk away from this horror and heartbreak ….and so many in the world do not’. This book is beautiful and important and reveals both the beauty and the brutality of the world and the people in it. In your author notes in Little Bee you sum it up so well, “…the fact that we can enjoy our freedom while imprisoning and deporting those who ask to share in it-appear in sharp focus through the eyes of the alien narrator”.
This is such a relevant issue in the States right now!
Also, I love Batman’s voice and his little bat world!
Please come to Wyoming sometime….we have lots of beautiful scenery… and plenty of wind, enabling us to read a lot!
I’m in the midst of Little Bee and love it. Can’t wait to read Incendiary. Just curious. Why the title change from The Other Hand in US and Canada?
I have just finished reading Incendiary and as with The Other Hand, I was completely blown away. Your writing is so beautiful and full of love and yet set against such ugly and hateful events. I have a blog where I also review a selection of books I read, including Incendiary and The Other Hand. I understand you are based in London, are there any events you will be participating in, in the UK?
Am waiting in anticipation for the next installment of Chris Cleave. I can imagine that demand for boxes of tissues have certainly risen since your entry onto our bookshelves!
So nice meeting you last night in Austin. Always refreshing to share writer process war stories. Hope the rest of your tour is enjoyable and look forward to staying in touch.
Phil & Stephanie
Hi! I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying Little Bee. I am halfway through and I can’t wait to get home to see what will happen next. It is the kind of story that you wish could go on forever and ever. There is nothing like a good book and this is a excellent book. I wondered how you were able to create the character Yevette so well, she is sooo funny. All the characters are great, I love batman.
Anywho, just wanted to say Bravo, I read all the time, so when I come across something new or someone new it is truely a joy. I will be on the lookout for your next project. All the best!!
The Other Hand has been sat on my desk since I received it as a Christmas present. A recent weekend away allowed me the time to read it, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. An amazing, thought provoking book that I shall be recommending to friends.
Je viens de terminer votre livre “Et les hommes sont venus” et je l’ai trouvé vraiment extraordinaire. C’est un livre émouvant et d’une grande richesse. Je vais partager cette lecture avec le plus de gens possible. Merci!
Hi , so i’m a grade 11 student , who just finished reading your book ” Little Bee ” which i thought was amazing . Now i’m told to do a biographical research paper on you, & if you could email me to help me complete this assignment I would greatly appreciate it . Thank you : )
… am on page 116 of “the other hand”… have to read during the day… to hard to read at night…. you know how to make the reader feel the fear!…
I read Little Bee, and didn’t like it, there is something illogical. Lots of details and repetition ! Actually first chapter is amazing that made me go on reading. Generally I read 2 books at the same time and read Little Bee with “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Marquez and understood why he won Nobel Prize.
Absolutely loved Little Bee. Just finished it 10 minutes ago and thought I would find your website. Very fascinating and nerve rattling read. My husband grew up in West Africa and I have traveled to Africa with him twice (Ghana and South Africa). Hope people know to take away from your novel that Africa truly is a beautiful place and worth visiting, just remember to travel safely and intelligently! (Just as with everywhere else in the world). Plus I hope it shines a different light on immigration/immigrants. It’s quite the hot topic right now in the US. Thank you for this fabulous novel! I added Incendiary to my library queue to read next.
amazing!!!! Thank you for such a wonderful story. I can not wait for the next one.
Very powerful, exciting and touching. I believe this is one of the best books I’ve read by far. Thank you and I hope to see another one of your masterpieces in bookshops soon.
Just finished reading “Little Bee” and I had my eyes opened to the plight of those seeking aslym in another country. The characters in this book jumped off the pages and together they told two stories, that of Sarah and of Little Bee. This book is our book club selection for June and I can hardly wait for the discussion that is bound to be thoughtful, lively and long. Thanks Chris Cleve for bringing us this story.
Hi Chris,
It was fun to read The other hand. One of my brothers bought it as a birthday present. It’s on my list now when I by a book for a friend or relative.
Keep on writing,
Hans
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Other Hand. And thanks for drawing my attention to the writings of Evie Wyld and Philipp Meyer. Look out for Jacob Ejersbo (Danish author). The first book in his trilogy on Africa will be published in English in 2011.
Thankyou Chris for bring this story to our attention. I too looked you up as I couldn’t tell if the writer was man or woman. I loved the dry quirkiness and humour which helped absorb the horror and sadness and absolute idiocy shown by many of your characters. I especially was struck by the immigration guards in the last pages who presumed the English values were greater than others. What naivety and ignorance and arrogance. I just finished this book today and it will stay with me and I will be recommending it to others here in Brisbane, Australia, particularly my Book Club.
I read Little Bee when it first came out here in the States. An amazing story told in an amazing way. Truly a remarkable book. Thank you Chris Cleave!
Chris, I cannot believe how you capture the essence of what Sarah and Little Bee are thinking as women, written by a man. I am totally amazed at how well you told their story. Your words are very well chosen. I LOVE Little Bee and will now seek your other book!
It’s 2am and I have just finished Little Bee . Like so many others, I have never added a comment to an author’s webpage, and rarely do I look one up. I felt compelled to share my feelings on this beautifully written and deeply moving novel.
Asylum seekers, Refugees, Boat People. This is quite a hot topic in Australia now, “getting tough on immigration” and our political parties are using this to win votes. I wish the rest of our country, as well as the rest of the developing world could see more of the human cost, rather than the cost to the nation. This story, although fiction, I know is held in the hearts of the people that lie in wait in our detention centres. I wish they would read this book.
This book made me laugh. And cry. And think.
Thank you.
[...] But if you did or didn’t read Little Bee this summer, here is what you should take away from Chris Cleave‘s New York Times [...]
Im such a fan of your work.. such a beautiful writer that i cant ever put down your books. I started reading them when i was 15 and 5 years on im still moved by your stories that i have recommended them to my family and friends. Im excited to see what you bring out next and hopefully bless us with a book signing/ appearance soon.
Keep your fans updated!
Absolutely adore Little Bee. A friend of good taste recommended this to me and I was unable to put it down. Thank you for your insight and awakening the better side of my angels. My very obvious question, and one that I am quite sure you hear so often is…do you have another book in the works.
Also, as an aside, what are your thougts of Steig Larsson?
Thank you for sharing your magnificent talent.
Anita
Küçük Arı adlı kitabınızı bugün başladım ve bugün bitirdim.Bu olağanüstü ve sürükleyici adeta beni büyüledi.Küçük bir öğle uykusu çekerken rüyamda sanki hikayenizin içindeydim.Sizi bu kalem ustalığınızdan dolayı tebrik ediyorum.
Yeni kitaplarınızı sabırsızlıkla bekliyorum…
Muhammed Mesut AKTAŞÇI-TURKIYE
Thank you for writing “Little Bee”, I heard the tail end of an interview about the book on NPR a few months ago, and I knew I had to read it. As a Nigerian-American it was a painful reminder of the brutality/genocide that has taken place, not only in Nigeria, but all throughout Africa.
“Little Bee”, is the voice of the misunderstood refugee/illegal.
I just finished Little Bee and cannot stop thinking about it. I read it so voraciously, that I will definitely reread at least some of it. I will echo a previous posting in marveling at how well you expressed your women characters. They were so real and beautifully drawn, so affecting. I thought that as well in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. Thank you for this thought provoking, fascinating, and disturbing book. If your goal was to evoke deep reactions from the reader, then I believe you achieved it marvelously.
Chris, thank you for ‘Little Bee’. Reading it has been life-changing. I’ve been drawn for years to work with an organization helping women build small businesses to support peace in conflict-affected countries. After finishing the book, the separation between myself and these women is gone. Thank you for the inspiration to take action.
I finished LITTLE BEE yesterday. Thank you for writing such a thought provoking book. I wondered after reading the book, what is the true capacity of the human heart? Mankind needs to focus on the answer.
From Bs. As. Argentina, I found “The other hand” somewhere in my apt. I think my ex-flat mate might left it here. I couldn put it down. Grogeous Book. I will pass it around so other ppl can read it as well.
Chris,
I have more appreciation for your writing than this comment box could express. I literally savored every page of Little Bee, and cried tears of joy and sadness throughout. Even when I put the book down, it stayed with me, and I found myself talking about it wherever I was. Thank you for writing, in doing so you have created something beautiful to be treasured, and you have shared a message that must be heard. I will continue to spread the message, and I hope you will continue to create. Peace. –Ali, Washington DC
It is so rare to find a writer whose talent touches your very soul. Little Bee is a stunning book. I keep wondering how a male writer can write so realistically like not one, but two women. Your voice is a gift. I’m off to buy Incendiary. Please do not ever stop writing.