I will begin by saying that 'The Other Hand' is most probably a book I would never have bought or chosen to read myself, due to the lack of information on the cover as to what the story is actually about. Indeed all you are given are a few small lines informing the would-be reader that this is a truly special story of two women whose lives collide one fateful day and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Then two years later they meet again and basically that is it, other than the fact the blurb boasts that once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. And you are asked not to tell them what happens either because the magic is in how the book ...  Read the complete review

I was given this book as a birthday present and the blurb intrigued me, so I decided to make it one of the first books I read out of the pile I came back to Spain with. Reading the back cover doesn't tell you an awful lot about the story, which makes a refreshing change. It simply says: This is the story of two women / Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice / Two years later, they meet again- the story starts there... I won't tell you too much more about the story, except that it features a Nigerian girl, 'Little Bee,' who comes to England to seek refuge, and contacts the only people she knows there- a ...  Read the complete review

To firstly introduce this book I am going to write down what the description from the back of the book. "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide on fateful day and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there..... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds." This ...  Read the complete review

As I wandered into my local Waterstones on that fabled Friday to treat myself to my monthly fresh book - much as I adore and live through second hand books, nothing beats that new book smell - I came face to face with this little number. I don't own it in bright orange, but the design of the cover was interesting enough that I picked it up. Yes I do judge a book by it's cover. The blurb reads as follows: "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enoguh to buy it so we will just say this: It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is ...  Read the complete review

I read a lot of books and tend to select them based on people's recommendations or when they are on special offer. The Other Hand by Chris Cleeves was one such book, half price and a Costa Coffee award implied I would be in for a good read. The blurb was different from most, not telling you about the story but simply that the writer wanted to let the story unfold as you read it and that it was based around two women. I like a book that dares to be different and was thoroughly intrigued by the confidence that a reader doesn't require a blurb with too much information merely a hook to pull them into purchasing it. Had this daring tactic been followed through ...  Read the complete review