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katewalton's review against another edition
5.0
This had me absolutely transfixed from start to finish.
koreyeleven's review against another edition
4.0
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.
marieplatts's review against another edition
4.0
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.
karenna_renee's review
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? It's complicated
3.0
frazzle's review against another edition
4.0
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.
demiank's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
moosegurl2's review against another edition
4.0
"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!"
moosegurl's review against another edition
4.0
"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!"
ms_tiahmarie's review against another edition
~The body he saw only once he arrived. He side-stepped it, walking a tight circle around the drum. It was fat as a president, without any visible crack or punctures.~
~A prison can't be your home.~
~One morning he called to the couple across the road, waved his flag at them, said, 'I'm sorry that your story isn't as happy as the one we have in this country, but I'm glad we're able to give you a new and better life here.'
The woman smiled, but the man said, 'It was like this for us too, uncle. I'm sorry to tell you that. We were exactly like you.'
~Who didn't want to be more than they were, who didn't want to rise up out of the dirt and be something?~
~Samuel had learnt over the years what an ungrateful place the island was. How difficult to discipline and nurture. The vegetation was unkind, hard in places, soft as ash in others. It spread where it would, taking over as it wished - yet there were stretches of bleakness where the land was bald and unyielding, a thing of sand and rock.~
~A prison can't be your home.~
~One morning he called to the couple across the road, waved his flag at them, said, 'I'm sorry that your story isn't as happy as the one we have in this country, but I'm glad we're able to give you a new and better life here.'
The woman smiled, but the man said, 'It was like this for us too, uncle. I'm sorry to tell you that. We were exactly like you.'
~Who didn't want to be more than they were, who didn't want to rise up out of the dirt and be something?~
~Samuel had learnt over the years what an ungrateful place the island was. How difficult to discipline and nurture. The vegetation was unkind, hard in places, soft as ash in others. It spread where it would, taking over as it wished - yet there were stretches of bleakness where the land was bald and unyielding, a thing of sand and rock.~