Masterpiece Theatre: Small Island

Set in 1948 post-war England with wonderful narration tells the story of how lives intertwine. Jamaican English Teacher, Hortense who felt that if she could get to the Motherland (England) all her dreams would come true so she schemes against her friend and marries her beau Gilbert but secretly holds out hope that her childhood sweetheart Michael will come to his senses and fulfills the dream they've always talked about. Then there's Queenie who married for convenience and finds her days caring for her shell-shocked father-in-law while her husband goes off to war. She then encounters a Jamaican man that leaves her more than she bargained for. Then there's Gilbert who wants nothing more than to be treated equally and to be a good husband if given half a chance. He was such a good person with a great sense of humor. He was just what Hortense needed to bring her down a peg. Any other man would've broken her spirit.
The book as well as the movie is outstandingly told with so much passion about lost love, longing, acceptance and the desire for a better life. It's just so amazing that you always hear stories of people wanting to come to America for a better life but to the Jamaican's, England was the big dream. It's really sad that the Europeans didn't receive them with the same desire. An absolute fantastic story.

While selective TV viewing, I found Small Island showing on PBS and couldn't change the channel. I'm glad I didn't. What a delight to see Jamaicans portrayed with the dignity and class that most Jamaican's deserve. The acting was superb and I felt a kinship to all the characters, African and European. I was tempted to buy the book and finally purchased a book and DVD for my sister. The video with the narrative gave voice to the book and sensitivity to the subject. At the time, I felt no need to read the book, and enjoyed every moment of advice, cliches', antidote's and consciousness of love, life & passion that swept through every scene.
The revelations on the colonial history of Jamaica and the affection Jamaican's felt to the "Motherland" aka England, made the teachings of Marcus Garvey and the music of Bob Marley, even more relevant. It's no wonder Marcus Garvey was not accepted in Jamaica as he was preaching for Africans in Jamaica to look to Africa as the Motherland.
The struggles Jamaicans went through to live and be accepted in England after World War 2 is something that many people are not aware of, thank you Ms. Levy. I really love this movie and will share it with many friends, for its history and as a great love story that touches the heart on the many levels of joy and sorrow.

I absolutely loved the entire story, until the end. It left me with a sad question. Why didn't Queenie give Hortense the photo of the baby's father, she had it...but she sent her photo along with the baby? Hortense wouldn't of been too shocked, and maybe even finally happy (other than getting the material things) to know the child was the son of her childhood sweetheart. It was another eurocentric case of killing the black man's legacy. The ending as is, will lead to a great book club discussion. It is my humble opinion and remains a travesty that some Africans/Jamaicans/Americans desire to uplift and emulate European culture, at all cost, fact or fiction. The author, while giving homage to her paternal grandmother, (Queenie aka or symbolically England, the other Small Island) sadly, loses the memory of the child's paternal Jamaican roots. Over all it is a story well told and acted out by all involved.

I saw the preview for this movie during Masterpeice theater earlier this year and I was intrgued. I had never heard of Ms. Levy's novel previously, but I have become a fan of both the book and the novel.

The production is generally well done, matching the tone and characteristics of the original novel.

I would however warn those that have a preference for filmed version of books to be as accurate as possible that certain parts of the novel were cut out of the screen play.