I was prompted to buy a copy of “Notes from a Small Island” non-other than the fact that it appeared in my English exam as extracts. A lot. If you are familiar with Edxecel GCSE English, you would probably recognize the title of this book from at least three papers: one about the British’s queueing, another about finding the worst guesthouse, and the final one about arriving at Britain on a rainy day. The thing is, extracts from “Notes from a Small Island” are almost always more interesting than the other. Which just made me curious what’s all the fuss about. What is it about this book that had the examiners so enraptured? I’ve got to find out and hence here I am.

The first thing I realized upon opening the book (aside from the fact that the opening section was precisely one of the extracts. I could recite word by word,) was how kind the examiners were to select extracts that does not contain too much English/old fashion jargon. For an international student like me, names of English towns were no less puzzling than random permutations of alphabets. Mention traveling from this town to that, and I would be totally lost. Unfortunately, the book was full of those aforementioned travel plans that I sincerely believe would be confusing for any non-British person to comprehend. What’s more, many of the jokes were based on famous persons and specific events which just don’t make sense to me because I don’t know who they were, and how they are connected to whatever the author is talking about some paragraphs ago. So, the problem I had with this book is pretty clear: the jargon. Maybe people who understands finds it ingenious and fun, but I just felt left out, like my group of friends suddenly invented a secret code and everyone laughed knowingly expect me. But in the author’s defense, the audience for this book is probably not a teenager who had never been to Britain, and thus justifies his use of specific semantics. But for the sake of us younger generation, just a few footnotes explaining should be satisfactory. The reading experience is really impeded as it is now.

Having said that, all the jokes that I could understand elicits genuine snorts of laughter. Just like the how the book was advertised, the author had an ingenious sense of humor, and is witty enough to convey it in the nonchalant way that made the satire even funnier. One of my personal favorite was the author describing jolly British people hiking in a downpour. The exact lines escaped my mind, but the juxtaposition of the setting and the atmosphere of people enjoying themselves was so odd that one just can’t suppress a huff of amusement and general fondness of such exotically strange people.

Aside from that, little anecdotes of the author’s previous experiences at the respective English towns not only serves as an interesting feature, but was also used as objects of comparison to bring out the theme of rural preservation. The author’s chosen experiences were almost always so bizarre that the sheer novelty and weirdness of it lure the readers in. I remember vividly about the author’s description of an asylum for lunatics (or some building to that effect) when he lived in Virginia Waters. A special inhabitant of the asylum was a figure that kept saying the building would be destroyed on a specific date for years and years. And guess what. He was right. On that specific date the asylum was indeed brunt down. This little anecdote sounded so off the walls that it stood out for me amidst many others that is similar in effect. All of which are really fun the read. But there’s more to these anecdotes than that. The author continuously criticizes the British’s treatments of their rural lands and living history (such as hedges, where the author literally spend a page talking about,) and made a habit a comparing a place’s past with its current condition. Spoilers alert, almost all the town’s contemporary form was a downgrade from its past. So, although the book was technically travel writing, the theme of culture and history preservation was prominent throughout book. In fact, the book was ladened with the author’s personal opinions, such as: Britain had a better foundation at practicing communism than Russia in the 20th century. I myself certainly enjoy reading the author’s opinions, for he is a very thoughtful and talented individual who I agree a lot with, but I sometimes worry about him being too liberated with speech.

Curiously, the book is also education. At least for a person with poor knowledge of geography who also haven’t step out of one city for nearly three years like me. My edition had a big map of Britain with little dots indicating towns or cities that’s joined together by lines indicating the author’s path. Though British names for locations would forever be a mystery for me, I really did learn a lot about British geography. A quick example would be, a month ago I can’t pinpoint where London is on a map, and now I could. But I would say a more insightful point is that the book offers a peek into some very singular British culture. The book was filled to the brim with unique “very British things” that are interesting and odd for foreigners like me. The most memorable would forever be their courtesy and queueing (not just because it was an extract). According to the author, when there are only two ticket booths open at a train station, the British would form a single file a few feet back, near the middle of the booth, and advances when one of the booths is vacant. I have never heard about this form of queueing before, and it really struck me how ingeniously efficient it is.

Another intriguing feature about the book was just how close I relate to the author after I finished it, almost as if we have become friends. I do not have a solid understandings of literature or psychology, but I do speculate the abundant humor, personal opinions, anecdote, and direct address certainly played a part in drawing me close. Forming a connection with the author is exquisite. Towards the end of the book, I could practically feel myself traveling alongside the author. I imagine most of the city sceneries from the author’s descriptions – I would really like to visit Britain sometimes to verify my visions – and could almost place myself in the author’s perspective. In the end, I feel intimate with the book. Even after finishing the book, my unconsciousness would helpfully supply: “why don’t you go and read ‘Notes from a Small Island’?” when I was bored. It is then that I realized that the book was now not unlike my friend. And it’s a lovely change from reading academic required readings that make me super aware of my identify as a reader, a learner, rather than a participant and a comparison.

I give my thanks GCSE English for their active advertisement that introduce me into the book. A very delightful read overall. Would definitely recommend.