carlytenille's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
lomas's review against another edition
3.0
I actually don't know what to say about this book.
There were times I got swept away in it and could feel the sun,the breeze,taste the alcohol... I felt I could have been there.
There were times I felt like it was a soap opera with a bit more sunshine than we get in our normal ones.
There were times I skipped a page because it just didn't hold my attention.
The positives were more frequent than the negatives.
I think that's probably all I've got to say about this book.
There were times I got swept away in it and could feel the sun,the breeze,taste the alcohol... I felt I could have been there.
There were times I felt like it was a soap opera with a bit more sunshine than we get in our normal ones.
There were times I skipped a page because it just didn't hold my attention.
The positives were more frequent than the negatives.
I think that's probably all I've got to say about this book.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Visit the locations in the novel link
A group of famous faces, dreamers, writers and arty types from the pages of history gather on this sunny paradise of Hydra for a summer of fun and goodness knows what else. There’s quite a crowd here too; the Norwegian writer Axel Jensen, and two authors from Australia by the names of George Johnston and Charmian Clift. Perhaps the most well- known and iconic from the group is the writer Leonard Cohen.
At this point, the book could have a subheading of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’. A young and innocent teenager, Erica, wanders into their midst. Her late mum knew one of the writers, and Erica has always been keen to explore that more. It’s not hard to leave as her father is impossible to live with. She leaves for Hydra, desperately wanting to connect with her mother, her memory and to see what she can find out about her mother’s legacy.
As Erica finds out more than she bargained for, the entire web of deceit builds up around the island of Hydra. It’s painted as paradise with its yellows and golds contrasted with clear blue seas.
“ Spice-coloured rocks, scrub, brush, acid yellow, herb. Pitched orange roofs and salt-white houses that rise to the gods, all eyes to the port.“
Yet those calm seas can reveal dangerous undercurrents as Erica is yet to find out. It’s deliciously dark as the reader to see the Mr Ripley-esque cast weave their spells and cracks their whips over each other. Love and war are two sides of the same coin it would seem. It’s a glorious setting in the 1960s and the author transports you there in very immersive writing with all the hot of the sun of your face and the thrill of being amongst such artistic people.
I felt I was walking in a dreamy haze and almost felt like a cocktail or two myself. What a web we weave? What effect does a summer of feeling that you are invincible and a powerful sense of hedonism have on a group of characters? This is tawdry, exciting and complex as it is fascinating, amd I felt I really got to know about Leonard Cohen and his appearance and role in the novel really is quite captivating.
Erica’s story and discovery is like a current of that sea around the rocky cliff edges that moves and weaves and smacks up against the harsh reality of life. The island now is not the care-free setting it was at the start of the novel.
The setting for me is ultimately the start of the show as Hydra imposes its spell over everyone on it and draws the reader in completely. It’s Hydra and its allure that’s the real story here.
missm_english's review against another edition
3.0
A book filled with beautiful imagery and familiar characters of depth.
I adored reading about the Greek island of Hydra and all of the famous faces that occupied it in the 1960s, such as Leonard Cohen and Axel Jensen. The characters were written beautifully and I was immersed in them.
At times I struggled to push forward with the novel and I feel this may have been because it ultimately lacks to present much of a plot. Although we follow the characters and their lives and relationships, there is little more to them than these said relationships. I loved to read about them and felt they were written with great passion, but with no drive to the narrative as a whole I found myself sometimes lost.
All in all, a stunning visual read that would be the perfect book for this summer - it made me want to pack a case and spend a year in Hydra myself.
I adored reading about the Greek island of Hydra and all of the famous faces that occupied it in the 1960s, such as Leonard Cohen and Axel Jensen. The characters were written beautifully and I was immersed in them.
At times I struggled to push forward with the novel and I feel this may have been because it ultimately lacks to present much of a plot. Although we follow the characters and their lives and relationships, there is little more to them than these said relationships. I loved to read about them and felt they were written with great passion, but with no drive to the narrative as a whole I found myself sometimes lost.
All in all, a stunning visual read that would be the perfect book for this summer - it made me want to pack a case and spend a year in Hydra myself.
jamieeliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
izlikesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
‘i change. i am the same.’
brb, currently booking my flight to greece (jk... kinda)
this book feels like a summer evening breeze - it is both the refreshing tickle which dances along your skin and the chill which seeps into your bones once the gust has passed.
this book feels like a swim in the ocean - it is both the weightlessness of your limbs floating in the waves and the bitter taste of salt clinging to your lips and your hair.
this book feels like the first shot of ouzo - it is both the strong flavour which calms your senses, and the sharp aftertaste which clouds your brain and stains your tongue.
this book was beautifully executed in terms of both language and plot. samson’s prose is so evocative and that the sense of place is almost overwhelming, her talent proven by how the narrative immediately transports you to the balmy, dream-like streets of 1960s hydra. the plot is not over-bearing, yet samson still manages to dissect our characters’ relationships and explore wider themes such as gender. i did sometimes find myself getting lost in the richness of the language and abundance of characters, however i found this added to the tone of hazy transcience that is woven throughout its pages.
samson’s characterisation is impeccable, and serves as the driving force of the novel. erica is an extremely likeable narrator with a very distinct voice, and it is so interesting to see her develop from naïvety into maturity. she is the master of the show-not-tell technique, inviting the reader to piece together her message from the details which she mentions. the side characters are also so vibrant and fascinating, all with their own distinct personalities and flaws. most of them are based upon real people, such as leonard cohen, which adds another layer to this already three-dimensional novel.
just as samson is able to contruct such a vivid portrait of a bohemian lifestyle on a greek island, she succeeds in illustrating the cracks which lurk beneath the utopia - creating the depth which completely won me over. this novel made me feel every emotion, and i loved every sentence of it.
brb, currently booking my flight to greece (jk... kinda)
this book feels like a summer evening breeze - it is both the refreshing tickle which dances along your skin and the chill which seeps into your bones once the gust has passed.
this book feels like a swim in the ocean - it is both the weightlessness of your limbs floating in the waves and the bitter taste of salt clinging to your lips and your hair.
this book feels like the first shot of ouzo - it is both the strong flavour which calms your senses, and the sharp aftertaste which clouds your brain and stains your tongue.
this book was beautifully executed in terms of both language and plot. samson’s prose is so evocative and that the sense of place is almost overwhelming, her talent proven by how the narrative immediately transports you to the balmy, dream-like streets of 1960s hydra. the plot is not over-bearing, yet samson still manages to dissect our characters’ relationships and explore wider themes such as gender. i did sometimes find myself getting lost in the richness of the language and abundance of characters, however i found this added to the tone of hazy transcience that is woven throughout its pages.
samson’s characterisation is impeccable, and serves as the driving force of the novel. erica is an extremely likeable narrator with a very distinct voice, and it is so interesting to see her develop from naïvety into maturity. she is the master of the show-not-tell technique, inviting the reader to piece together her message from the details which she mentions. the side characters are also so vibrant and fascinating, all with their own distinct personalities and flaws. most of them are based upon real people, such as leonard cohen, which adds another layer to this already three-dimensional novel.
just as samson is able to contruct such a vivid portrait of a bohemian lifestyle on a greek island, she succeeds in illustrating the cracks which lurk beneath the utopia - creating the depth which completely won me over. this novel made me feel every emotion, and i loved every sentence of it.
zjunjunia's review against another edition
3.0
This book launched me into Wikipedia pages of Leonard Cohen and reading his history. I am not sure how factual it was but I enjoyed the writing and being transported to the Greek island of Hydra. Running away to an island to write and think sounds like my kinda thing...
olinast's review against another edition
2.0
The majority of this was a struggle to get through even though i was reading it on a Greek island. It really picks up in the last 50-70 pages. Too many characters, the narrator doesn’t have a personality for the majority of the book which makes her insight unremarkable. The end did break my heart a little but overall just boring.
Also as a personal pet peeve - I still struggle to understand the point of including words in a different language (Greek) without an explanation of what they mean. It felt more natural than when I read The Kite Runner and every Pashto word was translated into English immediately after, but I’m not sure if that’s due to the writing in this book or the fact that I’m Greek.
Also as a personal pet peeve - I still struggle to understand the point of including words in a different language (Greek) without an explanation of what they mean. It felt more natural than when I read The Kite Runner and every Pashto word was translated into English immediately after, but I’m not sure if that’s due to the writing in this book or the fact that I’m Greek.
h_a_n_n_i's review against another edition
Hab es schon im August angefangen, hat mich aber leider nicht gecatcht und is schon sehr lange einfach rumgelegen:(
cforss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0