The Long Song is sung by Miss July, a former slave whose life began well before the 10-day Baptist War of 1831 brought an end to slavery on the island. Though it lacks the span and richness of her earlier work, Levy’s exuberance, lively language and finely honed sense of the droll-mixed with the gravity of historical events-make this new novel a pleasure to read. While Small Island follows the lives of four characters in post-WWII London, in Levy’s latest, The Long Song, the location shifts to 19th-century Jamaica in and around the years following the abolition of slavery. Winner of numerous British awards in 20, the novel was catapulted across the Atlantic to further praise and critical acclaim. Andrea Levy’s Small Island is a hard act to follow.
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