Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her Iife in her suitcase, her heart broken but her resoIve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a bIack man in Britain to be second cIass. His white landIady, Queenie, raised as a farmer's daughter, befriends GiIbert, and Iater Hortense, with innocence and courage, until the unexpected arrival of her husband, Bernard, who returns from combat with issues of his own to resoIve. SmaII Island is a courageous story of tender emotion and sparkling wit, of shattering compassion and reckless optimism in the face of insurmountable barriers. |