You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In An Island, Karen Jennings tells the story of Samuel, a lighthouse keeper, who has become deeply ingrained with the island he lives on and services. A true recluse, Samuel is frightened and intrigued by a refugee that is delivered to him by the tides. This refugee reminds Samuel of his past and the fight against a dictatorial government, in which he partook and was imprisoned for.
In this haunting tale, Jennings asks a question of belonging and how far we would go to protect the things we believe belong to us. Also, where we draw the line between helping someone and letting them take advantage of us.
Brilliant, sharp and terrifying. Jennings is a master storyteller.
In this haunting tale, Jennings asks a question of belonging and how far we would go to protect the things we believe belong to us. Also, where we draw the line between helping someone and letting them take advantage of us.
Brilliant, sharp and terrifying. Jennings is a master storyteller.
For such a short read, what a hard slog!
I loved the beginning- no surprises there, it’s my trademark thing - and I quickly found this increasingly inaccessible. A body washes up on an island and the lighthouse keeper, Samuel, finds it. It turns out to be alive. I waited and waited for dialogue between the two - nothing. Instead we get Samuel’s entire back story.
Skim skim skim to the end and it still took me about 3 weeks to read this tiny book.
I loved the beginning- no surprises there, it’s my trademark thing - and I quickly found this increasingly inaccessible. A body washes up on an island and the lighthouse keeper, Samuel, finds it. It turns out to be alive. I waited and waited for dialogue between the two - nothing. Instead we get Samuel’s entire back story.
Skim skim skim to the end and it still took me about 3 weeks to read this tiny book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This had me absolutely transfixed from start to finish.
Samuel, a lighthouse caretaker, has lived alone on an island for over twenty years. Through political turmoil and dictatorships, Samuel is no stranger to bodies washing up on his shore. However, our story begins when one of those bodies is still alive. An Island takes us through a country's oscillating independence, Samuel’s troubling past and present day interactions with a refugee stranded on the island. Jennings uses a captivating lyrical prose, while simultaneously creating a sense of panic as the reader witnesses Samuel’s paranoia and deteriorating mind. This novel has The Yellow Wallpaper vibes and I’m here for it.
I want to thank @netgalley for the ARC of this book and the opportunity to review it.
It is a short book, but packs a big punch. Samuel lives alone on an island as a retired lighthouse keeper. He is from a neighboring African country that is rife with political turmoil. Often bodies wash up that are trying to escape. One day, a young man washes up on the Island. As Samuel tries to decide if he can trust this man, he flashes back to his time in his home country. The prose for this book is fantastic. It is a novel about trust and fear.
It is a short book, but packs a big punch. Samuel lives alone on an island as a retired lighthouse keeper. He is from a neighboring African country that is rife with political turmoil. Often bodies wash up that are trying to escape. One day, a young man washes up on the Island. As Samuel tries to decide if he can trust this man, he flashes back to his time in his home country. The prose for this book is fantastic. It is a novel about trust and fear.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A bleak story about a lighthouse keeper whose solitude is interrupted, and how the strangeness of past and present confront him.
This book was the first I had heard of Jennings. I loved the way she effortlessly bleeds one man's story into that of his nation - the fears, hopes and paranoias of the one reflected in the other.
A tale about belonging, land, estrangement, and thwarted loves - and what an ending.
Not the summer beach read I had anticipated but a novel that was unlucky to miss out on the Booker shortlist.
This book was the first I had heard of Jennings. I loved the way she effortlessly bleeds one man's story into that of his nation - the fears, hopes and paranoias of the one reflected in the other.
A tale about belonging, land, estrangement, and thwarted loves - and what an ending.
Not the summer beach read I had anticipated but a novel that was unlucky to miss out on the Booker shortlist.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"At school, and in the churches, the missionaries teach us that the meek will inherit the earth. We have been meek, all of us, and what has our meekness brought us? We have lost our land and ourselves. With meekness we accepted the West, took on all its values and ideals. So much so that we have grown to be ashamed of our own people. That is what the meek have inherited--shame!"