A review by phyrre
Hope Island by Tim Major
3.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.
Many thanks to Titan Books for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Call me weird, but the combination of archaeology and dead bodies spoke to me. Something about it just made me take notice and convinced me I had to read this book.
Hope Island hearkens back to older horror/sci-fi films, with an underlying sense of foreboding that really builds over the course of the novel and a feeling of unease that’ll give you goosebumps.
Ultimately, the archaeology thing is almost a lie. It’s not really an archaeological site, and there’s no actual archaeology going on, so if you’re picking up the book for that, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re a fan of the old-school, black and white sci-fi/horror movies, though, this reads very much like one of them. Not quite my thing, and definitely out there at times, but still enjoyable, although I think fans of that genre would definitely get more out of the book.
- Major successfully weaves together a beautiful setting with a dark, sinister undertone that kept me guessing. Hope Island sounds like paradise. The way it’s described is gorgeous, which is in direct contrast to this really dark underpinning that something’s just not quite right. It was very effective in creating this slow-burn tension that makes the reader feel like there’s something bad lurking just around the corner. From the very first pages, Nina’s very first impression of the island, something creepy seems to be going on, even though she doesn’t quite comprehend it yet. My favorite part was the build, because it’s a slow journey to the climax, but things slowly become more and more out of place until there’s no more doubting that something is up, at least. The atmosphere was spot on in this.
- There’s a really interesting narrative in this book about a woman’s role and expectations society places on women vs. men. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this and the way the book deals with it. In particular, Nina isn’t the mothering sort. Rob, who had a more flexible job, raised Laurie, and Nina took on the breadwinner role and flourished in her career. And how dare she! The narrative really pushes Nina’s failings as a mother (and, in subtler tones, her failure as a wife), even though I’m not sure how fair that conclusion is. This is where it gets a little murky for me, because Nina seems to believe she wasn’t around as often as she should have been, but whether that’s out of some legitimate regret or bullying from the people around her, who knows? While I thought the discussion this raised was super important, I can’t say I loved the conclusion the book seemed to leave me with.
- At its core, this book is about Nina finding her own voice and discovering who she is, and her journey was just so powerful to follow. I wouldn’t say I necessarily liked Nina or that I connected with her, but her emotional arc was such an important one. Her life’s been turned upside down, and she no longer really knows what she wants or where she’s headed, and she learns some hard truths about herself along the way. There’s a theme of finding your voice in this, something the islanders seem to have that Nina just doesn’t, and it’s something she struggles with throughout the book. I actually loved this theme and the way it was worked into the story. I loved Nina’s journey of self-discovery, and the way it ended was so powerful and lovely as far as her personal arc.
Sticking Points:
- I hated all of the characters with a passion, with the exception of Nina. I didn’t love Nina, but at least I could tolerate her. The rest? Peh. This makes it so hard when reading a book, because I want to at least have someone I can root for. Nina wasn’t particularly the rooting type, and I wanted the others to just … disappear. Especially Rob, and I didn't understand why everyone loved him so much. This just continued as the book went on, especially as it comes to light that he’s maybe done some not-so-great things. Which of course changes the other characters’ opinions of him not a whit, at which point I completely and utterly hated all of them and wanted Hope Island to sink into the sea out of embarrassment for its population.
- The last maybe fifth of the novel was so out there and very sci-fi that I was completely lost and had no idea what was going on. I feel like this is a very genre-specific thing, and I’m not a huge sci-fi fan to start with. This was a little out there for me, though. It was weird. The writing felt very surreal, which can be good for immersion, but I was a little too immersed in that Nina’s confusion turned into my confusion, and 40 pages of that is a little much. This may not be an issue for everyone, but for me, I hate the feeling of being untethered and not knowing what’s going on in a story. The ending was also kind of open. It wrapped up some aspects, but a lot of things were kind of just … up in the air. I feel like a broken record here, but I’m just not a fan of open endings. I want things nicely wrapped up. So this is definitely a me thing, but I walked away from the book feeling like things were left too open for me, personally.
Many thanks to Titan Books for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Call me weird, but the combination of archaeology and dead bodies spoke to me. Something about it just made me take notice and convinced me I had to read this book.
Hope Island hearkens back to older horror/sci-fi films, with an underlying sense of foreboding that really builds over the course of the novel and a feeling of unease that’ll give you goosebumps.
Ultimately, the archaeology thing is almost a lie. It’s not really an archaeological site, and there’s no actual archaeology going on, so if you’re picking up the book for that, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re a fan of the old-school, black and white sci-fi/horror movies, though, this reads very much like one of them. Not quite my thing, and definitely out there at times, but still enjoyable, although I think fans of that genre would definitely get more out of the book.
- Major successfully weaves together a beautiful setting with a dark, sinister undertone that kept me guessing. Hope Island sounds like paradise. The way it’s described is gorgeous, which is in direct contrast to this really dark underpinning that something’s just not quite right. It was very effective in creating this slow-burn tension that makes the reader feel like there’s something bad lurking just around the corner. From the very first pages, Nina’s very first impression of the island, something creepy seems to be going on, even though she doesn’t quite comprehend it yet. My favorite part was the build, because it’s a slow journey to the climax, but things slowly become more and more out of place until there’s no more doubting that something is up, at least. The atmosphere was spot on in this.
- There’s a really interesting narrative in this book about a woman’s role and expectations society places on women vs. men. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this and the way the book deals with it. In particular, Nina isn’t the mothering sort. Rob, who had a more flexible job, raised Laurie, and Nina took on the breadwinner role and flourished in her career. And how dare she! The narrative really pushes Nina’s failings as a mother (and, in subtler tones, her failure as a wife), even though I’m not sure how fair that conclusion is. This is where it gets a little murky for me, because Nina seems to believe she wasn’t around as often as she should have been, but whether that’s out of some legitimate regret or bullying from the people around her, who knows? While I thought the discussion this raised was super important, I can’t say I loved the conclusion the book seemed to leave me with.
- At its core, this book is about Nina finding her own voice and discovering who she is, and her journey was just so powerful to follow. I wouldn’t say I necessarily liked Nina or that I connected with her, but her emotional arc was such an important one. Her life’s been turned upside down, and she no longer really knows what she wants or where she’s headed, and she learns some hard truths about herself along the way. There’s a theme of finding your voice in this, something the islanders seem to have that Nina just doesn’t, and it’s something she struggles with throughout the book. I actually loved this theme and the way it was worked into the story. I loved Nina’s journey of self-discovery, and the way it ended was so powerful and lovely as far as her personal arc.
Sticking Points:
- I hated all of the characters with a passion, with the exception of Nina. I didn’t love Nina, but at least I could tolerate her. The rest? Peh. This makes it so hard when reading a book, because I want to at least have someone I can root for. Nina wasn’t particularly the rooting type, and I wanted the others to just … disappear. Especially Rob, and I didn't understand why everyone loved him so much. This just continued as the book went on, especially as it comes to light that he’s maybe done some not-so-great things. Which of course changes the other characters’ opinions of him not a whit, at which point I completely and utterly hated all of them and wanted Hope Island to sink into the sea out of embarrassment for its population.
- The last maybe fifth of the novel was so out there and very sci-fi that I was completely lost and had no idea what was going on. I feel like this is a very genre-specific thing, and I’m not a huge sci-fi fan to start with. This was a little out there for me, though. It was weird. The writing felt very surreal, which can be good for immersion, but I was a little too immersed in that Nina’s confusion turned into my confusion, and 40 pages of that is a little much. This may not be an issue for everyone, but for me, I hate the feeling of being untethered and not knowing what’s going on in a story. The ending was also kind of open. It wrapped up some aspects, but a lot of things were kind of just … up in the air. I feel like a broken record here, but I’m just not a fan of open endings. I want things nicely wrapped up. So this is definitely a me thing, but I walked away from the book feeling like things were left too open for me, personally.