Product Description

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 Jamaican lodgers, but Queenie doesn’t know when her husband will return, or if he will come back at all. What else can she do?

Gilbert Joseph was one of the several thousand Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight against Hitler. Returning to England as a civilian he finds himself treated very differently. It’s desperation that makes him remember a wartime friendship with Queenie and knock at her door. Gilbert’s wife Hortense, too, had longed to leave Jamaica and start a better life in England. But when she joins him she is shocked to find London shabby, decrepit, and far from the golden city of her dreams. Even Gilbert is not the man she thought he was.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2554 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Review
'What makes Levy's writing so appealing is her even-handedness. All her characters can be weak, hopeless, brave, good, bad - whatever their colour. The writing is rigorous and the bittersweet ending, with its unexpected twist, touching... People can retain great dignity, however small their island' Independent on Sunday, 25/1/04 -- Independent on Sunday 20040125 'Every scene is rich in implication, entrancing and disturbing at the same time; the literary equivalent of a switch-back ride' The Sunday Times, 29/2/04 -- The Sunday Times 20040229

Review
‘What makes Levy’s writing so appealing is her even-handedness. All her characters can be weak, hopeless, brave, good, bad - whatever their colour. The writing is rigorous and the bittersweet ending, with its unexpected twist, touching... People can retain great dignity, however small their island’ Independent on Sunday, 25/1/04 (Independent on Sunday )

‘Every scene is rich in implication, entrancing and disturbing at the same time; the literary equivalent of a switch-back ride’ The Sunday Times, 29/2/04 (The Sunday Times )

About the Author
Andrea Levy was born in England to Jamaican parents. Her radio appearances, and readings at literary festivals, bookshops and libraries have helped her to build an enthusiastic following. Andrea is the winner of the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction.

Customer Reviews

A Classic
From a novel writing point of view Small Island is a classic. The key element of a novel is characterisation, and Andrea Levy excels herself here. Four `first person' accounts of events occurring in Jamaica, Britain and India, illustrating the random fall-out of war. Ms Levy's `voices' rung authentically and she appeared as capable in rendering idiosyncratic Jamaican as she was with RAF 'squaddie'. She also dealt convincingly with basic realities - the reality of war (the randomness of death and destruction) and the reality of attitudes (racist bigotry) in a most uncompromising way. This made for uncomfortable reading, to the extent that there were times when I was longing for someone to show a mere flicker of a hint of the milk of human kindness (someone, perhaps, with an English accent). In this way she showed admirable discipline as a writer, with only an occasional nod towards a more common understanding of the plight of others (Jamaicans and bombed out 'cockneys' alike), and, when she could have ameliorated the response of an out-and-out bigot, she created a humorous post-script (suggesting 'once a bigot, always a bigot').

I loved the line (from Jamaican, Gilbert) 'I knew ... had put on a bit of weight but what an astonishment to find it was the type you could dress in a bonnet'. Yes, the humour was there, which was just about the only amelioration Ms Levy allowed in the whole of the novel. OK, there were tiny little achievements, rescued from larger defeats, that perhaps prevented the main characters from high-tailing it back to Jamaica (of course, had they done so, there would have been no Small Island). She also creates a most wonderfully ironic ending - not a 'happy ever after' ending, either, but one that fits the overall feel of the book admirably. Well worthy of the Orange prize and five stars from this reader.

I have read one of the more critical reviews (of which there are very, very few here)to the effect that Ms Levy over-loaded her 'Indian' account with too much research (I certainly wasn't aware of it), and also that there were certain inaccuracies in her descriptions. I can't speak authoritatively about India during the war, but I do know there was an RAF 'mutiny' along the lines she described. [It would be useful that, if a reader does find errors, he/she actually says what they are.]

In summary, a brilliantly written book that paints a less roseate picture of London during and immediately after WW2 than we have become accustomed to being presented with. Brilliantly characterised with authentic voices and written in the first person (which, I believe, is the most vital of all view-points).

Brilliant story teller
Levy takes us back to the Caribbean and Europe of the 30s and 40s in a wholly believable way, through the calmer pre-war years, the horrors and privations of the war, the deflation and dashed hopes that descended after the war, as returning soldiers began to wonder what it had all been for.

It's a book that deals with Britain's casually racist past born of the imagined superiority of colonialism, and ponders whether it was really so much better than the Americans' established and open apartheid. But most of all, this is a book about people. It's about making the best of things and getting through. It's a book about dignity, loyalty and hope.

Interweaving first person narratives, switching back and forth across time, place and perspective with great skill, Levy creates wholly believable characters, and despite their obvious flaws lets us see the world through their eyes. Levy's greatest skill is as a story teller, everything about her writing serving the story, rather than for literary effect or to draw attention to itself.

A good read
This is the first book I have read by this author after someone left it in our staff room. Although I have always steered clear of any books to do with the war, I was intrigued by the subject matter. I had never really considered the prejudice that lives within our country every day. I found the characters (although slightly stereotypical) quite interesting and I enjoyed the way the book jumped between years. I liked the understanding that the book gave you of what all the characters were doing at the same time. Although this book carries a serious message, it was also quite amusing. I will read more books by the author now.