Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Jan 2007
352 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
Faith Jackson knows little about her parents' lives before they moved to England. Happy to be starting her first job in the costume department at BBC television, and to be sharing a house with friends, Faith is full of hope and expectation. But when her parents announce that they are moving "home" to Jamaica, Faith's fragile sense of her identity is threatened. Angry and perplexed as to why her parents would move to a country they so rarely mention, Faith becomes increasingly aware of the covert and public racism of her daily life, at home and at work.
....unfortunately, the tone shifts, and what was effective through understatement becomes a rushed unfolding of her family history, complete with diagrams of who begot whom." - PW.
"A somewhat abrupt ending and slightly flat secondary characters hinder but do not spoil this otherwise solid effort." - Library Journal.
"An enjoyable, deft combination of humor and telling observation on owning one's race and roots. " - Kirkus.
This information about Fruit of the Lemon shown above was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Angus Muir
Andrea Levy is a child of the Windrush. She is the daughter of one of the pioneers who sailed from Jamaica to England on the Empire Windrush ship. Her father and later her mother came to Britain in 1948 in search of a better life. For the British born Levy this meant that she grew up black in a very white England. This experience has given her an unusual perspective on the country of her birth – neither feeling totally part of the society nor a total outsider.
In her novel Small Island she puts this perspective to work. She examines the experiences of those of her father’s generation who returned to Britain after being in the RAF during the Second World War. But more than just the story of the Jamaicans who came looking for a new life in the Mother Country, she uses her ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Andrea Levy's Website
Name Pronunciation
Andrea Levy: lee-vee
Become a Member and discover books that entertain, engage & enlighten.
The Dutch House is my introduction to Ann Patchett, which, after reading it, surprises me. I had ...
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict
The real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie is perhaps her greatest mystery of all.
Reader Reviews
The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
An engrossing story of class, love, and loyalty for fans of Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here.
Reader Reviews
The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell
Introducing a detective duo for the ages who unlock the secrets of a startling Victorian mystery.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
