Genre: Historical Fiction

Narrative Style: A variety of first person voices

Rating: 5/5

Published: 2004

Format: paperback

Synopsis: Gilbert Joseph is finding England after the war is a difficult place to be. No one cares that he too fought for his country. All they see is the colour of his skin. His wife, Hortense arrives in England expecting to find a golden future. She too is disappointed. Their landlady Queenie is kind enough but is at the mercy of her neighbours who don’t approve of her renting her rooms to ‘coloureds’. When Queenie’s long lost husband returns from the war, tensions reach boiling point. 

Reading challenges: Eclectic Reader Challenge – Genre Immigrant Experience.

I’ve been meaning to read this for a while. I have read another of Levy’s books (Every Light in the House Burnin’) which I really enjoyed so when this genre appeared on the Eclectic Reader Challenge, it seemed a good choice.

Levy uses four different narrative voices – Gilbert, Hortense, Queenie and her husband, Bernard – to tell her story. All get a section to explain their past – before 1948 – and also explain current events. The voices are all distinctive and all allow the reader to feel if not empathy, then that they at least understand.

The racism faced by Gilbert and Hortense is dealt with unflinchingly. Immediately post-war is not an era I know much about but Levy appears to portray the hardships that people faced successfully. She draws distinctions between American segregation – which the British thought was terrible – and our own particular brand of racism which was in some ways more subtle but just as horrible.

I worked out some of the twists in this novel but not the final one. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read this book but it was heartbreaking. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.