Author Chris Cleave finds power, beauty in refugee's tale

Chris Cleave loves American readers. They make up a community of very interesting people who are fun to talk with, he said.

And that's why the English author can't wait to visit the United States on a 24-city book tour for his novel "Little Bee."

Among his stops will be a first visit to Salt Lake City and the King's English Bookshop on Monday for a reading he said is quite unlike the ones people are used to.

"Little Bee" is a different kind of novel, and this is a different kind of book tour. "It's not all about me, it's about people who read books," Cleave said in a phone interview from his home in the London suburb of Kingston. "I like to involve people and ask people what they're reading and why they've enjoyed it."

Recently released in paperback, "Little Bee" has been out in the United States for more than a year, earning a place on the New York Times best-seller list.

It's a success that Cleave attributes to his respect for readers.

"I tend to think readers are probably smarter than me," he said. "I don't tell people so much what's happening but let them discover it for themselves."

Cleave likes to take ordinary people, put them in extreme situations and ask them what they would do. And, like life, there's no right answer.

This world that we live in is beautiful and strange, Cleave said, and every day we live in it is important. That's why Cleave writes, because there are important stories to tell.

And "Little Bee" is one of those stories. It was born from Cleave's experiences working a summer job in the kitchen at an immigration detention center in the United Kingdom.

"It was a complete surprise to me to realize that these places existed," he said. "I was so shocked to see the refugees were just being locked up in my country even though they hadn't committed a crime. I thought it was a terrible injustice."

"Little Bee" is the story of two women. One, the title character, is a refugee from Nigeria. The other, Sarah, met Little Bee in a chance and terrifying encounter on a beach in Nigeria. The book is told from both of their points of view.