Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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.