these readers to distance themselves from or to denounce racial
stereotypes but instead a more risky parodying of them which, depending
on how you read it, stresses the absurdity of stereotype (which provokes
knowing laughter) or reinforces it (by provoking ignorant laughter).
Within a long established book group such as this, where trust among
members is firm and readers feel able to voice their opinions safely, it
nevertheless appears possible to activate the text as a meeting-place for
cri tical reflection, with some readers approving of Hortense’s personality,
others disapproving, others changing their minds in an open, dialogic, and
ultimately inconclusive conversation.
Transcripts from other group discussions of Lexy’s novel, and from focus
groups with readers in and beyond Liverpool, suggest that a common
element of reader response is a consideration of what, if anything, has
changed about race relations and racist attitudes in the UK.22 For a reading
group in Chepstow, discussion about the title and its possible reference to
‘small-mindedness’ prompted this type of response. Meanwhile5Anne, a
white middle-aged woman in a Liverpool focus group, was particularly
affected by Gilbert’s experiences of racism:
[Gilbert] eventually is stationed over in Britain, and at that point you get the, sort of,
the interaction with the white British and the different reactions. Again some of them
really, embarrassingly; shaming I thought, from my point ot view being, you know, a
white British person, and ... I, I found it very difficult at times to read it and accept
that it still goes on in some ways. This is it, all, all through the book you get the, sort
of, this is what happened then. In some ways it’s not so different to now, ιιnι, in terms
of attitude, very often.23
Within the context of a racially mixed focus group, it is possible that Anne
may have felt compelled to offer this self-aware commentary in order to
demonstrate her own tolerance. However, Anne’s discomfort and her
recognition that racism ‘still goes on in some ways’ was not atypical.
Readers also made connections between slavery and the present-day
use of child labour as well as relating the discrimination suffered by
Gilbert and Hortense to the introduction of citizenship tests. They also
discussed the representation of new immigrants and asylum seekers in
tabloid newspapers as evidence that many attitudes have not shifted, and
engaged in discussion of the economic basis of empire and colonial
expansion, discussions which segued into considerations of outsourcing
to Indian call centres. Admittedly, most of the readers in our studies knew
that the selection of Small Island was intended to coincide with the
bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, but this factor suggests
that framing the community-wide read in this way helped to foreground
34
Region / Writing / Home
the contemporary relevance of the novel and thus prompted readers to use
a fictional story set in the past to debate current political and social issues.
Kerry, an African-Caribbean woman in her late thirties, recognized the
potential of this text to unsettle racist assumptions within what Tracey,
another focus group participant from the African-Caribbean community
in Liverpool, had described as a racially segregated city. She also noted the
importance Ofhighlighting the work of a black British writer through the
‘Liverpool ICeadsVSiHa// Island Read programmes — a trenchant reminder
that the most visible aspects of British arts and culture within the media
and on the high street are still those produced by white elites:
Martin said, you know, if we’re talking about breaking down barriers and stuft, we
need to tackle ignorance, tιnι, and, and, you know, wild assumptions. And also, you
know, let people - because I think that sometimes, people go out of the way to be
racist, because of the hatred they’ve got in themselves. Sometimes people think - do
it out of ignorance and if they had the information maybe, they’d think twice about
it.You know, so, the - uh, I think [Siiiall Islaiul] is useful tor breaking down barriers.
And it’s also great that a black author’s been recognised at this IevehYou know, we’ve
got the whole city - well, readers in the city - reading a book, uni ... So I’m quite
proud of'Andrea really, she’s done a good job.24
Kerry’s commentary moves Siibdybetween local and national realities to
indicate the wide-scale structural transformations and shifts in cultural
attitudes that need to occur in order to combat racism not just in her
own city but also across the UK. Her pride in a British African-Caribbean
woman whose work is being celebrated across the four city sites of Small
Island Read also suggests an identification that operates beyond the scale
of the local. For some Liverpool readers, then, the choice of a novel
centred on London experiences is not a problem: the novel does not need
to map directly on to their locale in order for them to produce analyses
that connect up with their own knowledge and experience of‘race’, class,
and gender relations.
Like Kelly, other members of this focus group had a series Ofinteresting
and informed perspectives on interracial relations in Liverpool to bring
to their interpretations of Small Island, and to the discussion of its
suitability for the community-wide reading programme. Martin and
Margaret (both Caucasian readers) have worked with asylum seekers and
trade unionists, attempting to bring groups together to share first-hand
stories in order to break through media stereotypes and people’s
internalized racism.Tracey’s professional life as a social worker means that
she has encountered various manifestations of racism, including physical
Violence-When prompted, various members of the group reflected on
moving wands 9.2 3s