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megh_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
The twist at the end. The mystery! The writing style can be hard to get into, but it's worth the read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Murder
shinyhappycamper's review against another edition
2.0
A good story, but I hate a predictable ending.
caryart's review against another edition
5.0
I really, really like Sam Taylor. This story is told from the perspectives of multiple people and their individual voices are so distinct and interesting it just pulls you through page after page. Amazing writing, imaginative and engaging plot.
jkkb332's review against another edition
1.0
I'm a fast reader and this miserable book was still a waste of time.
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely enjoyable but not all that the back cover makes it out to be.
chamblyman's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent! This tightly crafted, compact little mind-bender should please fans of the post-apocalyptic genre as well as those who love a good psychological creep-out a la Shirley Jackson.
frootjoos's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to rate this book higher, but felt like I was left hanging a bit.
Maybe I just read it a bit too fast.
My review: http://bit.ly/rnslislandend
Maybe I just read it a bit too fast.
My review: http://bit.ly/rnslislandend
gavreads's review against another edition
What would happen if there was a great flood? Would you be lucky enough to hear a message from God and have enough time to build an Ark before the rains came? Well that’s what seems to happen to Pa and his children Finn, Alice and Daisy in The Island at the End of the World.
But soon the reader questions the reality of that situation. Pa isn’t as enlightened or as idilic a father as he first appears. He’s hiding something. Something in the Afterwoods. He makes and drinks a lot of wine. His temper isn’t tempered and his anger causes redness around his vision when it flares. And most importantly he’s scared of contamination.
And it’s this contamination that’s the centre of The Island at the End of the World. Though the seeds are sawn early on it’s firmed up with the arrival of a young man called Will.
The viewpoint switches from Finn’s, whose voice is written like it sounds, making it a challenging read. His child-like view of what appears to be happening plays off Pa’s more revelatory information. These are interspersed with those of Alice who sees that their life isn’t as idyllic or as simple as Pa would like.
This story centres around a father trying to do the right thing by his children. The trouble is that Pa isn’t a nice or sympathetic character. His children get more of my sympathy especially Alice being the oldest and being able to remember things before the flood.
Not everything works however – part does come from my problems with Pa. It’s hard to read a story with a dominating unsympathetic main character. My other problem comes from the way in which Taylor chooses to erode the Island. It isn’t quite believable even with the fable-like quality to the storytelling. Taylor allows too much reality to creep making some of The Island at the End of the World implausible.
The redeeming qualities though are the characters of Alice and Finn and their voices and view points. And it’s worth reading for quality of writing and the exploration of the idea of contamination even in Paradise.
This is definitely an important read for parents who feel that they want to bring up their children in away from modern life. And it might be useful for children everywhere to see that being a parent ain’t easy.
But soon the reader questions the reality of that situation. Pa isn’t as enlightened or as idilic a father as he first appears. He’s hiding something. Something in the Afterwoods. He makes and drinks a lot of wine. His temper isn’t tempered and his anger causes redness around his vision when it flares. And most importantly he’s scared of contamination.
And it’s this contamination that’s the centre of The Island at the End of the World. Though the seeds are sawn early on it’s firmed up with the arrival of a young man called Will.
The viewpoint switches from Finn’s, whose voice is written like it sounds, making it a challenging read. His child-like view of what appears to be happening plays off Pa’s more revelatory information. These are interspersed with those of Alice who sees that their life isn’t as idyllic or as simple as Pa would like.
This story centres around a father trying to do the right thing by his children. The trouble is that Pa isn’t a nice or sympathetic character. His children get more of my sympathy especially Alice being the oldest and being able to remember things before the flood.
Not everything works however – part does come from my problems with Pa. It’s hard to read a story with a dominating unsympathetic main character. My other problem comes from the way in which Taylor chooses to erode the Island. It isn’t quite believable even with the fable-like quality to the storytelling. Taylor allows too much reality to creep making some of The Island at the End of the World implausible.
The redeeming qualities though are the characters of Alice and Finn and their voices and view points. And it’s worth reading for quality of writing and the exploration of the idea of contamination even in Paradise.
This is definitely an important read for parents who feel that they want to bring up their children in away from modern life. And it might be useful for children everywhere to see that being a parent ain’t easy.
albius's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.25
sezziy's review against another edition
1.0
What did I just read? It started off poorly with the terrible kids' spelling every other chapter (not believable bad spelling though) but I thought the story had enough substance to power through the writing, but the last third just spiralled into nonsense. I get that the characters are supposed to be feeling more manic but I had no idea what was going on and I'm not sure I cared what happened to any of them. Apart from the dog, of course.