The Day I Fell Off My Island-Yvonne Bailey Smith

“As an immigrant child, I often wished that someone had been able to take me aside and explain to me that leaving everything I knew to go on a so-called adventure to somewhere way beyond my imagination was going cause me an unimaginable sense of loss and sadness. I also wish that the same person had been there to reassure me that I would survive and even flourish, given half a chance…”

- Yvonne Bailey-Smith

I love a good immigrant story and in The Day I Fell Off My Island, Bailey-Smith highlights the tension between leaving the familiarity of home and plunged into the coldness of an unknown place. The book’s main character, Erna Mullins, is a Jamaican teenager who goes through a painful life transition when her grandmother dies and she is forced to move to England.

She doesn’t really have a close relationship with her mother, who had immigrated to England for a better life. Erna’s siblings later join her mother, leaving her behind with her beloved grandparents in rural Jamaica. After her grandmother dies, Erna is sent to England to reunite with her siblings, and this marks the beginning of her struggle to find her identity and the true meaning of home.

I liked how Erna’s story in Jamaica and England was told. Bailey-Smith brings rural Jamaica to life through rich imagery and vivid scenes- the palm, mango and ackee trees, the sandy beaches, colorful prints etc. This contrasts with the cold grayness and damp of England when she moves there. Even the scenes in the latter part of the book lose the warmth and joy that Erna experienced in Jamaica.

Immigrant stories are evergreen and I loved that this book is set in the 70s. There’s also a lot of Jamaican patios in the first half of the book. It’s a very good primary source to understand how immigration affected familial relationships during that time. There was no social media to connect with siblings or parents when people migrated and I think there was more isolation because of that.

A fun fact is that Bailey-Smith is Zadie Smith’s mum! In an interview with The Guardian, she mentioned how nervous she was for her daughter to read and edit her manuscript. That was cute! It’s a great debut and though not a “light” or “fun” read as it tackles some heavy themes, I loved the authenticity of the storytelling.

Check out The Day I Fell Off My Island from the local library or buy from an independent bookstore.