Small Island Read 2007

From http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Visitors/AyeWriteGlasgowsBookFestival/Events/SmallIsland/

Small Island Read 2007 is the largest mass-reading project that has ever taken place in Britain. It is a community-based initiative that encourages everyone to read the same book at the same time, promoting more reading, writing and creative work inspired by that shared experience, and using this as an accessible and innovative means of learning about our past.


The book that has been chosen for this exciting initiative is Andrea Levy’s Small Island, a widely acclaimed novel that describes the arrival in post-war Britain of Jamaican immigrants, the descendants of enslaved Africans. Small Island Read 2007 is linked to the 2007 commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, a year that is being used to explore the legacy of slavery and its continuing impact upon modern, multicultural Britain. Andrea Levy’s novel embraces the themes of identity, racial awareness, forgiveness, ignorance and survival with humour, high drama, anger and pathos, making it an unforgettable read and a fitting topic for discussion in 2007.

Find out more at http://www.smallislandread.com/


Free copies of Small Island are now available from Glasgow City Libraries or you can borrow a copy from the school library. It won the Whitbread Book of the Year and the Orange Prize for Fiction and is highly recommended - a fantastic read!