Small Island - Rambling Readers

Paperback, 136 pages

Published May 12, 2020 by Nick Hern Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-84842-851-5

(1 review)

The story of Small Island revolves around four characters, Hortense, Gilbert, Queenie and Bernard. They are two couples, one white Queenie and Bernard and one Black, Hortense and Gilbert. The novel is narrated in the perspective of these four characters. Plot is set in England of 1948. Gilbert is a soldier in Royal force from Jamaica. He is living in a small room in the house owned by Queenie. The story starts with queenie, her perceptions and thoughts about her own life. Her husband is sent overseas during the war and hasn’t returned yet. Then the story shifts to Hortense , the lady always wanted to leave her ‘small island’ and reside in British isle as it was a ‘large’ one. She set out for England with plenty of expectations and wishes but is disappointed with her new groom and his state of living. Later the plot shifts from Gilbert …

The story of Small Island revolves around four characters, Hortense, Gilbert, Queenie and Bernard. They are two couples, one white Queenie and Bernard and one Black, Hortense and Gilbert. The novel is narrated in the perspective of these four characters. Plot is set in England of 1948. Gilbert is a soldier in Royal force from Jamaica. He is living in a small room in the house owned by Queenie. The story starts with queenie, her perceptions and thoughts about her own life. Her husband is sent overseas during the war and hasn’t returned yet. Then the story shifts to Hortense , the lady always wanted to leave her ‘small island’ and reside in British isle as it was a ‘large’ one. She set out for England with plenty of expectations and wishes but is disappointed with her new groom and his state of living. Later the plot shifts from Gilbert to Bernard dealing with many issues of race and identity.

17 editions

crabbygirl reviewed Small island by Andrea Levy

Review of 'Small island' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

[guessing at the star rating / mining my old FB notes now that they are almost impossible to find]

read for bookclub, i started this one with trepidation: yet another war book. ho hum. but it grew on me. the characters start off unlikeable but then slowly bring you 'round. i especially like how the author allowed the story to deepen by introducing new narrators that were integral to the plot (as opposed to having all of them narrate sections right from the beginning). although there were only 4 points of view - easy for a reader to keep track of - each new narrator wasn't introduced until our curiosity about him/her was sufficient.

i had never linked my war reading to the partition of India before, yet this concept seemed obvious once this book connected the dots for me. historical fiction really does a great job identifying all those …

[guessing at the star rating / mining my old FB notes now that they are almost impossible to find]

read for bookclub, i started this one with trepidation: yet another war book. ho hum. but it grew on me. the characters start off unlikeable but then slowly bring you 'round. i especially like how the author allowed the story to deepen by introducing new narrators that were integral to the plot (as opposed to having all of them narrate sections right from the beginning). although there were only 4 points of view - easy for a reader to keep track of - each new narrator wasn't introduced until our curiosity about him/her was sufficient.

i had never linked my war reading to the partition of India before, yet this concept seemed obvious once this book connected the dots for me. historical fiction really does a great job identifying all those filaments in a way that straightforward timelines just can't do.

the ending was unsatisfactory, but i've come to see that most endings are. we are still living history, after all. no outcome will ever satisfy all of us.