Small Island: A Novel by Andrea Levy
I guess I never appreciated historical novels, but we are on a roll in book club this year, with Snow Flower, Cane River, Suite Francaiseand now a Small Island: A Novel. The book is about 2 couples, one English, the other Jamaican, and how their lives intersect, with World War II in the middle. The book was written from four points of view, a bit choppy going at the beginning, but pulls together somewhere in the middle. My strongest impression is how it presented race relations, both in the US and in England (and some in India). I keep thinking this would be a perfect book for a high school reading project – history, literature, and social studies all rolled together.
I was hooked on "Small Island" right from the first page and the hook sank ever deeper as the story went on. The great thing about historical fiction is you get the best of both worlds...even though you are reading fiction you are also learning about real events. I enjoyed the four voices telling their part of the story and the intricate weaving of all the stories. By the time I got to the end of the book I was sad to see all the charachters go.
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