381:, but when I asked myself, 'Who are these people and how did they get here?' I realised that 1948 was so very close to the war that nothing made sense without it. If every writer in Britain were to write about the war years there would still be stories to be told, and none of us would have come close to what really happened. It was such an amazing schism in the middle of a century. And Caribbean people got left out of the telling of that story, so I am attempting to put them back into it. But I am not telling it from only a Jamaican point of view. I want to tell stories from the black and white experience. It is a shared history."
238:. While the novel focuses on the narratives of Gilbert and Hortense as they adjust to life in England, after a reception that is not quite the warm embrace that they had hoped for, the interracial relationship between Queenie and Michael is central to the plot and the connections that are established between all of the characters. As the story is narrated from various viewpoints, it is achronological, skipping around to discuss each character's life before the outbreak of WWII. Two of the book's characters were based on black civil rights leader
278:: A Jamaican Air Force serviceman who grows up alongside Hortense. Michael is a charming and charismatic man, and his mischievous nature causes him problems with his religious father and the community in which he lives. When he leaves for the Air Force he stays at Queenie's boarding house in England and begins a relationship with her, resulting in Queenie's pregnancy. Queenie and Michael's relationship is brief and he is never aware of the baby, and neither Queenie nor Hortense ever find out that they both know Michael.
272:: A very well-mannered woman who looks down her nose at other people. She comes from Jamaica and has moved to England with hopes of becoming a teacher, but she has a certain naiveté about what to expect when she arrives. Having been brought up in British colonial Jamaica, she has been taught very many exaggerated facts about the niceties of English living. It becomes quite ironic as she turns out to be more polite and well spoken than anyone she meets, despite being a little snobbish.
290:: An extremely reserved character who interacts very poorly with almost everyone, until the RAF which forces interaction upon him. He is however, and albeit awkwardly, in love with his wife Queenie, though their sexual life is, largely due to him, not good, a fact which has ramifications later. He has a deep-seated streak of racism and while Queenie appears to be free of this in some ways, both have complicated interactions with race, culminating in the book's climax.
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343:(3.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary stating, "Levy, the child of parents who sailed from the Caribbean in the first wave of postwar immigration, fictionalizes the immigrant experience in her fourth novel. Relying on memoirs and oral histories, she describes in heartwrenching detail the lives of four individuals in 1948 England".
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254:: The level-headed character in the book. She is fair, open-minded and has a very big and kind heart. After her husband, Bernard, left for the war she opened her house for servicemen, which is when she met Gilbert. She is symbolic of England: Queenie comes with reference to the royal family (she was also christened
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284:: A lovable and funny character who is always trying his hardest to please everyone. Very clumsy but honest, he is one of the more likable characters. He is quite laid back, but extremely intimidated by Hortense, his wife.
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through four narrators – Hortense and
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immigrants, who, escaping economic hardship on their own "small island", move to
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The novel has four main characters—Hortense, Queenie, Gilbert and
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I didn’t intend to write about the war. I wanted to start in 1948 with two women, one white, one black, in a house in
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May/June 2005 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a
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in April 2019 and the production was discussed with members of the cast on
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as one of the defining books of the decade. It won three awards: the
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The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
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477:"Decolonizing cultural memory in Andrea Levy's Small Island"
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Mainly set in 1948, the plot focuses on the diaspora of
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589:"100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts"
215:The novel, published in 2004, tells the story of
660:"Your books of the decade: What we were reading"
820:"Small Island, Esther Wojcicki, Natalie Haynes"
678:"Small Island novel wins biggest Orange prize"
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666:, 5 December 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
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642:"ANDREA LEVY: 'THIS WAS NOT A SMALL STORY'"
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85:Learn how and when to remove this message
499:– via Taylor & Francis Online.
295:Critical reception and other recognition
16:2004 novel by British author Andrea Levy
902:Women's Prize for Fiction-winning works
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752:"Small Island is a missed opportunity"
650:, Issue 70 (November/December 2004).
208:is a novel written by British author
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804:, Olivier Theatre, National Theatre.
266:, a slightly dated word for England.
703:"Author Levy wins best of the best"
619:Phillips, Mike (14 February 2004).
510:Allardice, Lisa (21 January 2005).
417:authors, selected to celebrate the
373:Levy said in 2004: "When I started
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303:to critical success. According to
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922:British novels adapted into plays
750:Dennis, Tony (11 December 2009).
475:Andermahr, Sonya (15 July 2019).
419:Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
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482:Journal of Postcolonial Writing
866:Small Island character profile
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676:Ezard, John (4 October 2005).
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557:"Small Island By Andrea Levy"
496:10.1080/17449855.2019.1633554
398:, the Orange Prize, and the
217:post-war Caribbean migration
400:Commonwealth Writers' Prize
358:100 most influential novels
173:Commonwealth Writers' Prize
60:. The specific problem is:
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705:. BBC News. 3 October 2005
396:Whitbread Book of the Year
169:Whitbread Book of the Year
56:to meet Knowledge (XXG)'s
27:. Not to be confused with
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29:Notes from a Small Island
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183:Fruit of the Lemon
165:Orange Prize for Fiction
21:Small Island (TV series)
262:) and Bligh comes from
868:on the BBC One Website
853:Andrea Levy discusses
512:"Profile: Andrea Levy"
431:adapted for television
413:" list of 70 books by
370:as Levy's "big book".
360:. It was described in
912:Novels set in England
892:Novels set in Jamaica
638:Salandy-Brown, Marina
409:was included on the "
19:For adaptations, see
433:in two parts by the
299:It was published by
67:improve this article
897:Fiction set in 1948
882:2004 British novels
569:on 8 September 2015
356:on its list of the
346:On 5 November 2019
246:Character summaries
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25:Small Island (play)
562:Bookmarks Magazine
312:Bookmarks Magazine
862:, 2012 (podcast).
621:"Roots manoeuvre"
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830:BBC Radio 4
814:Presenter:
787:16 February
761:15 February
709:15 February
687:15 February
601:10 November
451:BBC Radio 4
437:in 2009. A
425:Adaptations
379:Earls Court
210:Andrea Levy
121:Andrea Levy
69:if you can.
876:Categories
662:, London:
573:14 January
541:16 January
535:Book Marks
463:References
306:Book Marks
223:Characters
75:March 2017
405:In 2022,
390:selected
384:In 2009,
352:included
143:Publisher
135:Published
594:BBC News
349:BBC News
270:Hortense
258:- after
256:Victoria
232:Jamaican
127:Language
51:require
735:18 June
264:Blighty
130:English
53:cleanup
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161:Awards
117:Author
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837:2019
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