Welshman Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 Now I am not much of a fan of ethnic writing, but this lady forced me to make an exception. Firstly I read 'Fruit of the Lemon' and found it quite delightful. It was a sort of Anglo-African/Carribean 'Roots' but with more heart. An easy and beautiful read. Then, when I came across 'Small Island', I thought - You won't be able to repeat that kind of standard. Wrong! She took the notch up a level and went better. I am still surprised so few people miss her, even though she won the Orange in 2004. Quote
happyanddandy Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 I agree - I read Small Island last year - one of the best of my reading year Quote
Janet Posted May 23, 2008 Posted May 23, 2008 I really enjoyed Small Island too. There is a thread here about another of her books - Never Far From Nowhere. ETA: It's only a short thread! Quote
Esiotrot Posted May 25, 2008 Posted May 25, 2008 I have Small Island in Mount TBR and keep reading good things about it going to move it up the pile a bit so I get to it sooner. Quote
happyanddandy Posted May 25, 2008 Posted May 25, 2008 I have Small Island in Mount TBR and keep reading good things about it going to move it up the pile a bit so I get to it sooner. Hear Hear! Although 'The Colour Purple' is excellent - get your hankie ready Quote
angelofboox Posted May 29, 2008 Posted May 29, 2008 I've only read Small Island, and I agree, I found it quite good too. Quote
poppy Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 I've just finished Small Island and loved it. It's one of those books you don't want to end but you have to keep reading. Her characters were very well written, I loved the way they each had different voices. Thoroughly recommend this and I'll be looking for more of her books. Quote
frankie Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Small Island is also on my TBR (my Rory's list of books TBR to be accurate, Rory being the bookworm in Gilmore Girls). I didn't know anything about the book before I read this thread, but it seems like worth reading! Quote
sweetie_fran Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 I have just finished reading Small Island and it was defo an amazing read. I loved the switching between characters and time frames. Andrea Levy has an amazing ability to make you love all the characters in the book, when I was reading Queenies pieces about Bernard I really did not like his character, but then after reading Bernards perspective I came to empathise with his characters alot. If I have one criticism, it would be the end. I felt that Hortense should have discovered the link between Queenie and Michael. Would have been an awesome ending. Highly Recomended! Sweetie Quote
poppy Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Read Never Far From Nowhere recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. Andrea Levy is a very talented writer. Quote
Kreader Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 I've read Small Island, I like the fact that no character is demonised. There's good and bad in all of them. You actually come to care about what happpens to them. Quote
Talisman Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I read Small Island last year and really enjoyed it too. I read somewhere that one of the TV companies is doing a dramatisation some time this year. That should be good. Quote
Janet Posted July 9, 2009 Posted July 9, 2009 Talisman - it's being shown on the BBC this autumn. Small Island Adapted from Andrea Levy's award-winning and best-selling novel, Small Island is an epic love story about the determined pursuit of dreams in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, at a time when landlords put up signs declaring: "No Irish, no coloureds, no dogs", Small Island follows the interlocking lives of Londoner Queenie (Ruth Wilson) and her husband Bernard (Benedict Cumberbatch); Gilbert and Hortense (David Oyelowo and Naomie Harris), the young Jamaican couple who become their lodgers; and the handsome but mysterious Michael (Ashley Walters). From the heat and hustle of life in Forties Jamaica to the devastation of London in The Blitz, Small Island is an ambitious yet personal tale that deftly touches on the weighty themes of empire, prejudice and war with a warm, uplifting generosity of spirit. This two-part drama is written by Paula Milne (Endgame, The Virgin Queen) and Sarah Williams (Becoming Jane, The Secret Life Of Mrs Beeton) and directed by John Alexander (Life On Mars, Survivors). LH2/BR3 A Ruby Television production Source Quote
MuggleMagic Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 I read Small Island last year and loved it I have Every Light In The House Burnin' in my TBR pile and her other books on my reading list. She is very good indeed. I am excited about the TV adaption of SI Quote
amethyst Posted September 8, 2009 Posted September 8, 2009 I've just ordered this from Green Metropolis as I saw it recommended on a book newsletter I'm signed up to. It sounds really good so I hope I enjoy it! Quote
Janet Posted December 5, 2009 Posted December 5, 2009 This is being shown in the UK on BBC1 tomorrow, Sunday 6 December at 9pm, with the concluding part next Sunday at 9pm. Quote
Talisman Posted December 5, 2009 Posted December 5, 2009 Yes I noticed that - I read the book last year. It will be interesting to see how they do the dramatisation. Quote
poppyshake Posted December 8, 2009 Posted December 8, 2009 I haven't read the book .. but I thought the first part of the drama was fantastic (of course .. not having read it ... I have nothing to compare it with). It made me want to read the book though, which all good dramas do. Quote
MuggleMagic Posted December 14, 2009 Posted December 14, 2009 I saw the first part of the drama on BBC iplayer yesterday and really enjoyed it Quote
poppyshake Posted December 29, 2009 Posted December 29, 2009 I loved the second part too .. sobbed through most of it ... I thought Ruth Wilson was fantastic as Queenie. I'm looking forward to reading it. Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 2, 2010 Posted January 2, 2010 I'm going to be the voice of dissent here, but I didn't enjoy the book much at all. I found Queenie irritating in the extreme, and although I learnt a lot about the plight of people who found themselves bombed out of their homes during the blitz, I was pretty much underwhelmed by the book on the whole. Quote
Nicola Booth Posted January 30, 2010 Posted January 30, 2010 I just bought this book in Tesco last night for Quote
chesilbeach Posted January 30, 2010 Posted January 30, 2010 There's actually a thread for this book in the Fiction section you might want to have a look at - I guess if you've already seen the television adaptations, there won't be any spoilers in there for you! Quote
Nicola Booth Posted January 31, 2010 Posted January 31, 2010 There's actually a thread for this book in the Fiction section you might want to have a look at - I guess if you've already seen the television adaptations, there won't be any spoilers in there for you! Thanks. I just joined last week and am still finding my feet! Quote
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