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2nd out of 18 books
—
54 voters
Small Island
by
Andrea Levy
Winner of the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction
A Picador Original Trade Paperback
Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class. His white landlady,
...more
A Picador Original Trade Paperback
Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class. His white landlady,
Paperback, 441 pages
Published
April 1st 2005
by Picador
(first published 2004)
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I wanted to enjoy this book because I am a West Indian now and did the reverse journey - first world UK to backward little Caribbean island, but the journey was a lot more enjoyable than the book.
I finished it by an act of will and apart from odd scenes of violence or lasciviousness, it didn't hold my attention. It was such an easy read that the pages flowed into each other leaving no trace on my brain at all. Like the sea washing the sand clean with each wave, so did each page disappear from my...more
I finished it by an act of will and apart from odd scenes of violence or lasciviousness, it didn't hold my attention. It was such an easy read that the pages flowed into each other leaving no trace on my brain at all. Like the sea washing the sand clean with each wave, so did each page disappear from my...more
I loved this book, but I realize that I am very biased because I am Jamaican, and have many relatives who emigrated to the UK from Jamaica, so the characters were immediately real and recognizable to me.
Some reviewers have complained that her use of dialect was heavy-handed, but from my perspective, she actually tones down Jamaican Patois (also called Jamaican Creole) significantly to make it understandable to non-Jamaicans. On a visit to Jamaica last year, I heard her interviewed and she said...more
Some reviewers have complained that her use of dialect was heavy-handed, but from my perspective, she actually tones down Jamaican Patois (also called Jamaican Creole) significantly to make it understandable to non-Jamaicans. On a visit to Jamaica last year, I heard her interviewed and she said...more
I'm trying to figure out my reaction to this book, other than the fact that I loved it. I have a hard time putting into words my feelings about this book.
Small Island is the story of four people in the aftermath of WW II. Levy is concerned with the experience of immigrants and racial issues in post War London.
I dont think the story could have been told in a shorter span, and it is one of those that you understand why it won the awards that it did. I didn't find the dialect annoying or hard to fo...more
Small Island is the story of four people in the aftermath of WW II. Levy is concerned with the experience of immigrants and racial issues in post War London.
I dont think the story could have been told in a shorter span, and it is one of those that you understand why it won the awards that it did. I didn't find the dialect annoying or hard to fo...more
Christine mentioned that some readers thought this book was heavy-handed in its use of patois, which I thought was interesting. I have no way of judging how authentic the dialect was, but to me, it wasn't at all disruptive to the flow or hard to read, and I enjoyed the "sound" of it.
My main criticsm is that the story of one of the characters, Bernard, seemed like an afterthought to the central account. And unlike the other three characters, who all have their flaws, I couldn't find a way to rela...more
My main criticsm is that the story of one of the characters, Bernard, seemed like an afterthought to the central account. And unlike the other three characters, who all have their flaws, I couldn't find a way to rela...more
Fantastic novel, a real eye opener! Small Island is a novel that connects continents in wartime. It takes the reader from Jamaica to England and on to India in the days of the second World War. Four main characters connect the dots. A Gilbert, a young Jamaican who joins the RAF to fight Hitler but finds himself fighting racism instead; Queenie, a young white woman who takes in Jamaican Lodgers; her husband Bernard, who is fighting the Japs in India; and the Jamaican girl Hortense, who travels to...more
Jul 12, 2012
Laura
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Every single person on this earth
Recommended to Laura by:
Colleen
Shelves:
fis-list,
1001-list,
pulitzerandrunnersupandmore,
hf,
12-brilliants-in-12,
2012,
to-buy,
atwi80,
atwi80-read,
library,
favorites
Wow. I wish that could be my entire review. It feels like "wow" should be sufficient. But in the interest of getting this book into the hands of as many people as possible, I'll attempt to do this book some justice. With NO Spoilers. No worries.
This is not a book I would normally choose to read. (I read it with a book group.) The description made it seem depressing, and just too "heavy" for me. However, Andrea Levy is such a gifted writer that she is able to breathe humor into even desolate circ...more
This is not a book I would normally choose to read. (I read it with a book group.) The description made it seem depressing, and just too "heavy" for me. However, Andrea Levy is such a gifted writer that she is able to breathe humor into even desolate circ...more
Told in alternating narratives by four persons in both 1948 London and the time ‘before’, this is a story of race, colonialism, imperialism, sexuality and war. The story is about Hortense and her husband Gilbert from Jamaica who move to London and about Queenie Bligh and her husband Bernard, a white couple in London. Bernard goes off to war so Queenie takes in boarders, mostly black, including Gilbert. Gilbert, a Jamaican who joined the RAF to defend the mother country during WWII brings over hi...more
Around the World = Jamaica
Levy weaves together the stories of four characters, each a part of a forgotten story of post-war Britain and the Commonwealth. Hortense, a product of a colonial upbringing where her light skin and education set her above other Jamaicans; Gilbert, a former RAF serviceman returned to England on the Empire Windrush; Queenie, surviving by any means possible on the home front, and then as a woman on her own in post-war London; and Bernard, ignorant and narrow-minded, fighti...more
Levy weaves together the stories of four characters, each a part of a forgotten story of post-war Britain and the Commonwealth. Hortense, a product of a colonial upbringing where her light skin and education set her above other Jamaicans; Gilbert, a former RAF serviceman returned to England on the Empire Windrush; Queenie, surviving by any means possible on the home front, and then as a woman on her own in post-war London; and Bernard, ignorant and narrow-minded, fighti...more
The story mainly takes place in 1948 UK. It is told from different character's perceptions. Hortense is a Jamaican teacher who aspires to become a "high class teacher in the UK." Gilbert is the Jamaican man she weds to get herself there. Queenie is a beautiful white British woman who takes in boarders when she believes that her husband has died in the war. Bernard is Queenie's bigoted husband, who joins the RAF to avoid the draft and is stationed in India where he ends up fighting...more The st...more
Well, it was pretty good. It has a lot of heart. Levy is a writer who sometimes teases the reader by dangling a big splodgy sentimental cliche in front of them only to swerve round it at the last moment. She's no fool. I've been looking for novels about immigrants, I read The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (which was kind of a drag) and I have Petropolis sitting on my shelf (hope that will be better). (Further suggestions welcomed). Small Island is about (two) Jamaicans coming to 1948 London...more
Andrea Levy's Small Island is a book about misconceptions of identity and race during World War II era Britain. The story revolves around Jamaicans who move to England as they believe they are "British" as they feel entitled to all the Mother Country has to offer. What they realize is that not everything is as it may seem. The best feature of this book is the way Levy tries to explain "colonial politics." During the height of colonialism, European rulers instructed their subjects in Africa, Asia...more
There are not many books written about the people of Jamaica, almost surprisingly so. What few there are tend to include pirates or tourists. This is completely different, a sobering account of the role of Jamaican men and women during World War II and the immigration of many into London during and after the war. Told from multiple perspectives, this character-driven novel is both moving and disturbing as people react to the war and ultimately to a changing society. Strong examples of racism, de...more
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Ex Bookworm group review:
In Walpole Park in Ealing there is a special flowerbed behind the Pitshanger Manor Museum containing a memorial plaque. The plaque (a picture of which I have posted on the home page) says:
EMPIRE WINDRUSH 50TH ANNIVERSARY
This garden is dedicated to the passengers
from the Caribbean who travelled
on the SS Windrush filled with hope
for their new life in England.
The arrival and that of their descendants
have changed the face of Ealing and England forever.
22nd June 1948 – 22 Jun...more
In Walpole Park in Ealing there is a special flowerbed behind the Pitshanger Manor Museum containing a memorial plaque. The plaque (a picture of which I have posted on the home page) says:
EMPIRE WINDRUSH 50TH ANNIVERSARY
This garden is dedicated to the passengers
from the Caribbean who travelled
on the SS Windrush filled with hope
for their new life in England.
The arrival and that of their descendants
have changed the face of Ealing and England forever.
22nd June 1948 – 22 Jun...more
My sister-in-law gave me this book after her book club rated it 3++ out of 5. I gave it a solid 4, because it offered a glimpse into a slice of postwar (WWII) history from a unique perspective - that of Jamaican immigrants in Britain. The voice changes between the four main characters: Hortense and her husband Gilbert from Jamaica and their white landlord Queenie and her husband, Bernard.
The Jamaican patois lent an authentic touch, and since the author was born in England to Jamaican parents, I...more
The Jamaican patois lent an authentic touch, and since the author was born in England to Jamaican parents, I...more
This book earmarked Andrea Levy as a major literary talent. This book certainly deserves the awards it's won, and it far exceeded my expectations. The title encompasses both the physical land and the mind set of many of the personalities in this noteworthy book. The characters all have a bitter sweetness that took me off guard many times. I prepared to explain Hortense with two or three flippant adjectives until the end of the book when her sweetness overcame the bitter qualities that had been h...more
I very much enjoyed the book, great characters and a shameful exposure of colour prejudice. I did feel it was perhaps just a little too long - but I suppose each part did give you a real insight into the characters. I enjoyed the bits about Gilbert in the RAF and Hortense growing up in Jamaica most of all. Though I would have preferred maybe a little more about their experience moving to England as I felt, this was what the book was about, but we never got much before the very end - it was mostl...more
Set against the backdrop of World War 2 and its immediate aftermath, this is a story with universal appeal. Two couples – the Jamaicans Hortense and Gilbert Joseph and the British Queenie and Bernard Bligh – find their way in circumstances neither ever considered. They share a desire to better themselves, but fail to recognize their common goals and instead focus on their differences. Queenie grabbed at a chance to leave her life on a farm and hastily married a boring banker, but her husband nev...more
I saw the BBC mini series (2009) based on Small Island (2004) before I read the book. But I’m happy to report that even knowing what happens, I still found the book immensely appealing. Perhaps I’ve hit on a new definition of good literature: a book that gives pleasure even if you’ve already seen the film.
Andrea Levy was born in London after her parents migrated there from Jamaica in 1948, and she draws extensively on their experience. The book moves back and forwards in time and place from befo...more
Andrea Levy was born in London after her parents migrated there from Jamaica in 1948, and she draws extensively on their experience. The book moves back and forwards in time and place from befo...more
This was a wonderful novel, focusing on the lives of two couples in post-war Britain - one Black, one White.
Though actually, a significant amount of the book takes place before and during the war - it starts in 1948, with Hortense arriving off the boat from Jamaica to meet her husband Gilbert, who went ahead of her six months ago. You get the story of her first few days told from both their points of view, and a small amount through the eyes of their landlady, Queenie Bligh, and then you're thro...more
Though actually, a significant amount of the book takes place before and during the war - it starts in 1948, with Hortense arriving off the boat from Jamaica to meet her husband Gilbert, who went ahead of her six months ago. You get the story of her first few days told from both their points of view, and a small amount through the eyes of their landlady, Queenie Bligh, and then you're thro...more
Rating: 2.5* of five
This woman and I are not a good fit. I read and loathed The Long Song, finding it tedious and contrived. I got this excrescence out of the library because I thought it unfair to judge an author by one book. Hell, I even gave EGGERS more than one book.
Small Island is a mean-spirited, judgmental, and sarcastic book. In the guise of "telling it like it is", Levy manages to make the reader detest every single person she describes as a narrow, unkind, worthless human being. I know...more
This woman and I are not a good fit. I read and loathed The Long Song, finding it tedious and contrived. I got this excrescence out of the library because I thought it unfair to judge an author by one book. Hell, I even gave EGGERS more than one book.
Small Island is a mean-spirited, judgmental, and sarcastic book. In the guise of "telling it like it is", Levy manages to make the reader detest every single person she describes as a narrow, unkind, worthless human being. I know...more
May 11, 2011
Mike
added it
Genre: Young Adult
Awards: Whitbread Book of the Year
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
The book opens with a young English girl named Queenie. The prologue sets to portray her as sympathetic yet prejudiced towards blacks. Then the book introduces Hortense Joseph a young Afro-Jamaican girl who grows up with her cousin Michael’s family. When Hortense matures she goes to school to become a teacher. She desperately longs to move to London. She has wonderful visions of an idealistic London where she can escape prej...more
Awards: Whitbread Book of the Year
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
The book opens with a young English girl named Queenie. The prologue sets to portray her as sympathetic yet prejudiced towards blacks. Then the book introduces Hortense Joseph a young Afro-Jamaican girl who grows up with her cousin Michael’s family. When Hortense matures she goes to school to become a teacher. She desperately longs to move to London. She has wonderful visions of an idealistic London where she can escape prej...more
I had very mixed feeling about this book. I picked it up because Masterpiece is showing an adaptation at the end of April; I didn't know anything about it beyond the fact that it was about a Jamaican couple that immigrates to London right after World War II. I was expecting to sympathize with Hortense, I was expecting Gilbert to be a traditional sort of hero, and I was expecting a depiction of racism and bigotry similar to the depiction of those same things in the United States during the same t...more
I have already read some really enjoyable books this year and this one rates very highly amongst them. A well written novel about War, Love, Prejudice and the British Empire. In all innoncence I had no idea that racial prejudice ran so high in the UK during and just after the Second World War.
Synopsis:Amazon.co.uk
It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh's neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in...more
Synopsis:Amazon.co.uk
It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh's neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in...more
I thought "Small Island" would be good since it won not only the Orange Prize (Britain's literary contest for women writers) but something called "The Orange Prize for Fiction: Best of the Best." Not to mention the Commonwealth Writers' prize and a bunch of other awards. And I was right - I devoured this book. Levy's amazing storytelling sucks you in from the beginning and makes you care about the characters, Jamaican immigrants to "the Mother Country" of England right after World War II, and a...more
Four British subjects cope with WWII and its aftermath: Gilbert, a witty Jamaican RAF vet who has emigrated to London; Hortense, another Jamaican who has entered into a marriage of convenience with Gilbert in order to find her proper station among the English; Queenie, an English butcher's daughter trying to make it in London; and Bernard, her narrow-minded, useless husband. What saves this book from being a morality play about bigotry are the finely-drawn characters and their interesting parall...more
I heard about this book on BBC World Book Club and picked it up because of how much I enjoyed the interview with Andrea Levy. I am glad I heard about this because I have really enjoyed reading this...More than many other works of fiction I have read recently perhaps. I love character stories in a historical setting so this was definitely a winner on those counts. Someone tried to sum this up as being about racial prejudice during and after WWII. However, I think this story is so much more than j...more
I have just picked up this book after noticing an upcoming dramatisation, and I really love it. I think the author makes the three central characters likeable but realistic, they all have their flaws. I warmed to Queenie especially and found some of her dialogue laugh out loud.
I tend to agree with other reviews about Bernard, he does seem to come out of nowhere, and I can't find anything to like about him, although this allows more sympathy to Queenie, who has married him to escape the trappings...more
I tend to agree with other reviews about Bernard, he does seem to come out of nowhere, and I can't find anything to like about him, although this allows more sympathy to Queenie, who has married him to escape the trappings...more
"Set mainly in the British Empire of 1948, this story of emigration, loss and love follows four characters—two Jamaicans and two Britons—as they struggle to find peace in postwar England. After serving in the RAF, Jamaican Gilbert Joseph finds life in his native country has become too small for him. But in order to return to England, he must marry Hortense Roberts—she's got enough money for his passage—and then set up house for them in London. The pair move in with Queenie Bligh, whose husband,...more
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