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 follow. Of the four central characters, I found Bernard the hardest to relate to, though this does seem to be Levy's intention. She has to capture a certain type, after all, for the book to work. I also have to say that while I have never really liked Benedict Cumberpatch in anything I've seen him, I think he was perfectly cast in the television adaption of this book. He really is Bernard to a "T".

While all of the three remaining characters are relatable and human, the one that stands out the most is Hortense. This is because her voice is so stand alone, so independent, so different, and so nailed. Levy doesn't need any description of Hortense, she just needs to let Hortense speak and the reader can see her. That's good writing.

The book comments on the immigrant experience of traveling to a new country and realizing reality doesn't match the stories. This is combined with various racial conflcits, racism, as well as classism. Because of the alternately viewpoints, the reader has a far clearer picture of what is driving each of the characters, more than the characters themselves. The most interesting part, at least for this reader, was watching the interplay of class and race conflict. Hortense is just as bigoted in her way as the English people are racist in thiers.

The story deals with the two set of couples (Queenie and Bernard; Hortense and Gilbert) and highlights the similarities and differences of each. Both women marry for something other than love. In many ways, the book is also about a married life where neither partner is sure of the other.

And I think that is why I am having trouble naming what is so wonderful about this book. There is so much going on in terms of theme. If done incorrectly, it would fail, but Levy does it brillantly. The book is so balanced that you don't even realize until you put it down what she did. The ending is not a happy ending; nor a sad one really. It is a realstic ending, despite a contrived point concerning it. It's realism puts the reader on shakey ground It's an ending that makes you think about everything Levy has been writing about. It reminds of a movie I saw on the Sundance Channel called Cass. The movie was about a football holigan who was black but raised by a white family when that was not the normal. The movie was about more than beating up fans of the opposing team. This book is something more than advertised. It brings to light a time that was overshadowed by the time before, and than, more importantly, gets the reader to think about everything in the world.

Update: I feel that I should point out that I like Mr. Cumberpatch in Sherlock as well.