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A review by serendipitysbooks
Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Islands of Mercy is a hard book to summarise and review because there is a large cast of characters with many interwoven storylines. At the centre is Jane Adeane. When we first meet her it’s 1865 and she is working with her father, a doctor and surgeon in the town of Bath. Jane is known as the Angel of Baths for the assistance she provides those seeking cure in the waters. After rejecting a proposal from father’s assistant Valentine she flees to her aunt’s place in London, is introduced to Bohemian life and begins a passionate affair with a married woman named Julietta. For me personally the novel was at its strongest when focussing on Jane.
Parts of the novel took place in Borneo where Valentine’s brother, a naturalist, has contracted malaria and is being cared for by a British man who was discharged from the army for homosexuality and is now attempting to improve the life of the indigenous peoples, but in a rather half-hearted and somewhat clueless way. These sections did not work as well for me and didn’t feel well connected to what I felt were the main storylines in Bath.
Tremain wrote some beautiful passages and I loved seeing how themes such as passions (and not just sexual ones) vs conventionality, colonialism, and finding sanctuary played out in different characters and different locations. Bits of this story I really loved but as a whole it didn’t fully coalesce or entirely work for me.
Parts of the novel took place in Borneo where Valentine’s brother, a naturalist, has contracted malaria and is being cared for by a British man who was discharged from the army for homosexuality and is now attempting to improve the life of the indigenous peoples, but in a rather half-hearted and somewhat clueless way. These sections did not work as well for me and didn’t feel well connected to what I felt were the main storylines in Bath.
Tremain wrote some beautiful passages and I loved seeing how themes such as passions (and not just sexual ones) vs conventionality, colonialism, and finding sanctuary played out in different characters and different locations. Bits of this story I really loved but as a whole it didn’t fully coalesce or entirely work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Physical abuse