The Other Hand Trivia Quiz

Answer: She paints her toenails.

Little Bee knows that if she is attractive and pretty, she could become a target of the male detainees, which is a frightening prospect. In order to avoid their attention, she has her hair cut short, binds her breasts, and wears masculine clothing. One day she finds a pot of nail polish inside a charity box.

She wears the nail polish underneath her combat boots in order to remind herself of who she is underneath the facade.

Answer: Cleaners

Yevette calls for a taxi first, but when the cab company hears that she wants to be collected from the immigration centre, they refuse her, saying that she and the other refugees are "Scum". The girl in the yellow sari tries to call for help next, but she does not speak English, and is unsure of how to use the phone properly. Little Bee, with her well-practiced English skills, manages to convince the taxi company that she and the three other girls are all cleaners, who just need to be picked up from work.

Answer: Bruce Wayne

Charlie runs to answer the door on the morning of his father's funeral, and upon seeing the undertaker in his smart black suit, he runs for his mother, shouting "Mummy, it's Bruce Wayne"! The Puffin is the villain Charlie has created while in his Batman guise, and he has not yet met Lawrence by this point.

He doesn't understand the significance of the undertaker, as he is too young to understand that his father is not coming back.

Answer: So sorry

Sarah is at work when two policemen arrive and inform her that her husband was discovered unconscious at their home that morning, and that he had died shortly afterwards. Sarah instinctively knows that something terrible has happened to prompt the police to visit her, so she becomes nervous and can't stop talking about her missing finger.

Answer: Top Gun

Little Bee and the other children watched the movie as it was projected on a white sheet strung between two trees. There was no sound, so they had to guess at much of the storyline. The children decide that a better name for the film would be "The Man Who Was In a Great Hurry", and they decide that if Tom Cruise's character woke up earlier, he would not have to spend the whole movie rushing about.

Answer: Chickens

Little Bee's companions are Yevette, the girl in the green trainers, and a pretty girl in a sari, who speaks no English. The girl in the green trainers has been close to breaking point since leaving the immigration centre, and now she starts to panic when a group of chickens wander through the door. She screams and insists that they are men coming to kill them all. Shortly afterwards, she hallucinates that her daughter, Aabirah, is with them.

Mrs Ayers is the wife of the farmer who helps the girls, and she brings them some food. Small Albert is the farm hand, who is reluctant to let them stay.

Answer: Kindness

Little Bee flees from the village first, and Nkiruka follows her trail to meet up with her. Although they are happy to be together, they realise that if Nkiruka could follow the trail, their hunters could too. Nkiruka suggests that they come up with new names, to help hide their identities, and she decides on Kindness.

This is also the point where Little Bee adopts her name, after a small bee flies between the two sisters.

Answer: Taking Andrew's surname after marriage.

Sarah doesn't regret the other decisions she describes - even her affair with Lawrence, as she truly loves him. She says that Little Bee will understand the concept that losing your real name is akin to losing your true self.

Answer: One

Little Bee is hidden underneath an upturned boat whilst Nkiruka is murdered. Little Bee is spared, as Sarah cut off her finger in return for Little Bee's life, but Nkiruka is killed because Andrew refused to make the same sacrifice.

Little Bee hears her sister's drawn-out murder, but she does not cry. Later, when she hears 'One' playing on the radio, she finally begins to cry, because she realises that Nkiruka will never hear her favourite song again.

Answer: It would be difficult to commit suicide in the room.

Since her experience with the killers on the beach, Little Bee assesses every place and situation she is placed in, in order to see how she would kill herself if she was cornered. The nursery has no sharp objects, and no immediately apparent way to kill herself, which makes Little Bee feel a little uncomfortable.

Answer: The Home Secretary

The Home Secretary's sudden resignation means that Sarah is unable to meet with her scheduled interviewees, so she ends up chatting to Lawrence instead. They flirt heavily from the beginning, and begin their affair that same day.

The Home Secretary in the novel appears to be based on David Blunkett; he is blind, and resigns after a scandal involving the fast-tracking of a visa for his lover.

Answer: She smashes it.

For Charlie's second birthday, Sarah makes a banana cake for him. This is around the time that Andrew discovers her affair with Lawrence, so she is already stressed. When a phone call with Lawrence ends in an argument, the frustration gets to Sarah, and she repeatedly smashes the phone into the cake, before calmly beginning a second cake.

Answer: Liar

Little Bee arrives at Andrew and Sarah's home a few days before Andrew's death, and she hides in the garden, afraid to show herself. After catching a glimpse of her, Andrew becomes convinced he is seeing a ghost, and Little Bee's attempts to convince him otherwise just seem to drive him further towards despair.

When Little Bee discovers Andrew standing on a chair with a noose around his neck, she tries to talk him down. When he asks what happened to her sister, Nkiruka, Little Bee lies and tells him that she survived. Andrew knows this is a lie, hence his final utterance, before stepping off the chair. Despite Little Bee's attempts, she is unable to save him, so she runs from the house.

Answer: Cosmetic Surgery

Prior to Andrew's death, Sarah had wanted to run an article on a female immigrant from Baghdad, but Clarissa wanted to run a story on women who have affairs with their bosses. Sarah's experiences with Little Bee make her keen to write about immigration in this issue too, but Clarissa doesn't think the readers will enjoy it.

One of the stories Clarissa suggests instead is titled "Beauty and the Beasts", which involves a woman who has two unattractive daughters, and only enough money to provide cosmetic surgery for one of them. Clarissa isn't keen on this idea, leaning instead towards her second option, an article on various adult products available on the internet.

Answer: A dead body

Little Bee and Nkiruka wander into the jungle one night, and they become lost. While Nkiruka sleeps and waits until morning, Little Bee wanders off and discovers a Jeep, clearly abandoned for years. Laid across the front seat is the skeleton of a man. Little Bee sees the name Ray Ban on his sunglasses, and assumes that this is the name of the man himself.

She leaves the scene, and returns to her sister. In the morning, the light makes it easier for the sisters to find their way back to their village.

Answer: Having to to fill in an application form for feminine hygiene products.

The full quote from the report is "We find the humiliating procedures excessive. We do not see how anybody can abuse an excess of sanitary towels". According to the novel's notes, this quote is taken verbatim from a real life inspection of Yarl's Wood Immigration Detention Centre, in Bedfordshire.

The detainees are also required to fill in an application 24 hours in advance if they require paracetemol.

Answer: Clarissa

Lawrence was against the idea of Sarah resigning, and lets her know how he feels before the event. Whilst at the park, Sarah leaves Charlie with Little Bee and Lawrence, and phones in her resignation, which is accepted without much emotion. Clarissa calls very shortly afterwards, saddened that she will no longer be working with her friend, and she begs Sarah to ask for her job back, using her grief as a reason for her rash decision.

Answer: Nobody - he finds his own way back

While Sarah is on the phone to Clarissa, Lawrence and Little Bee are supposed to be watching Charlie, but he manages to get away from them while they argue amongst themselves. The three of them search desperately to no avail. Eventually, Sarah stays where she is, in case he returns, while Lawrence continues looking, and Little Bee calls the police. Charlie finally emerges from some rhododendrons, and tells his mother that he had been hiding in the batcave because nobody had been paying attention to him.

Answer: Yevette

Little Bee is deported back to Nigeria, after her illegal status was discovered by the police who arrived to investigate Charlie's disappearance. Little Bee sees a woman she believes to be Yevette, and she is happy to see her friend, until the woman turns out to be someone else. Later, Sarah and Charlie find Little Bee on the same plane, having followed her to ensure her safety.

Answer: Udo

At the end of the novel, Little Bee reveals her real name to Charlie. She does this in exchange for him removing his Batman costume. She made him this same offer earlier in the story, but he refused. She tells Charlie that her name is Udo, which means Peace. Charlie is the only one of the English characters who discover Udo's name.