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mazza57's review against another edition
5.0
this is a really well written book, Very emotional and raw few beautifully drawn characters and would make a fabulous film
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
Father and 6 year old daughter, leaving tragedy behind, sail from Trinidad to the Galapagos. Full of striking images and great characterisation. The simple story belies the great sadness and loss wonderfully. Really enjoyed it.
debsd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
kerridanskin's review against another edition
5.0
Archipelago is a really engaging mourning adventure. The author takes you along on the boat with Gavin, Océan, and Suzy almost immediately, slowly allows you to peek into their traumatic history, and then in one quick and brutal passage initiates you into the trauma with your own terrible loss as a reader. There you are thinking you are just sympathizing with this little family when Roffey just jabs your heart with a dagger and it gets very personal. I was shocked by my own grief and anger reading it. It was there that I started to get the point—that suffering touches us all, with no regard for our feelings or preferences, just as the ocean is noted to do in the novel. I should have known I wouldn’t be a mere witness to this story when I felt a bit seasick reading the first few chapters because Roffey’s descriptions of rough seas were so vivid they brought my own scary seafaring memories alive.
I appreciate Roffey’s handling of climate change in this book. Lately I feel like authors are including it, and all the dystopian feeling that go along with it, in a way that is aimed only at reminding readers that it is happening. This is very important, of course, but it was nice to see an author make a deeper point about it and use it to demonstrate something about the story and its characters, and about being a human in general. It allowed me to feel my climate grief and put it somewhere rather than just leaving me with it in my lap, which has been my experience at times with other novels that touch upon it. We need to both do whatever we can about climate change and process our relative powerlessness (as individuals) in the face of it. Roffey really respects her readers in fully articulating her art in that direction.
Rising up out of the bleakness of many aspects of this story is a message about letting go of attachments and continuing to move and live despite the loss all around us and our smallness in the face of it. There is no “it’s all going to be OK” element to this, just a beautifully grounded sense that this is what we do, what we must do.
I appreciate Roffey’s handling of climate change in this book. Lately I feel like authors are including it, and all the dystopian feeling that go along with it, in a way that is aimed only at reminding readers that it is happening. This is very important, of course, but it was nice to see an author make a deeper point about it and use it to demonstrate something about the story and its characters, and about being a human in general. It allowed me to feel my climate grief and put it somewhere rather than just leaving me with it in my lap, which has been my experience at times with other novels that touch upon it. We need to both do whatever we can about climate change and process our relative powerlessness (as individuals) in the face of it. Roffey really respects her readers in fully articulating her art in that direction.
Rising up out of the bleakness of many aspects of this story is a message about letting go of attachments and continuing to move and live despite the loss all around us and our smallness in the face of it. There is no “it’s all going to be OK” element to this, just a beautifully grounded sense that this is what we do, what we must do.
havelock's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Animal death
juneofthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
Archipelago was the perfect mix of heartbreak (tabanca), hope, and healing for my current life status. I enjoyed the soothing lull of the ocean as I read about sailing from Trinidad to the Galapagos. It brought me some peace during my own turbulent days. I may have dragged out reading it partially because I so enjoyed imagining running away and sailing myself. To leave all of the excess and drama behind, only to come back to it with a renewed sense of purpose and peace.
emcelestial's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really good. The storytelling was absolutely excellent. It may seem a bit slow, but as you go along, you learn more and more into the backstory of the main character, Gavin, and start to understand what lead him to take this journey at sea. And by learning more about his backstory, that really made me want to keep reading to see how he ends up. At its core, this book is about navigating the journey of overcoming and understanding grief, and Gavin does what we all ultimately wish we could do: run away from the sadness. However, his journey teaches us that it’s really not that simple, and that you just have to accept the sadness and feel it fully so that you can move on from it.
Minus two stars because there are some things that left me with questions. For example, did this man really just kidnap his daughter and carry her to sea on an old boat and get away with it with zero consequences? Also what was that random scene of him visiting a whorehouse with his daughter waiting in the parking lot that was just thrown in and never talked about again? And is the daughter okay?? I feel like the trip was traumatic for her. yes she learned a lot about loss and dealing with it but she’s only 6 and she went through so much so i’m worried about her
Minus two stars because there are some things that left me with questions. For example, did this man really just kidnap his daughter and carry her to sea on an old boat and get away with it with zero consequences? Also what was that random scene of him visiting a whorehouse with his daughter waiting in the parking lot that was just thrown in and never talked about again? And is the daughter okay?? I feel like the trip was traumatic for her. yes she learned a lot about loss and dealing with it but she’s only 6 and she went through so much so i’m worried about her
tita's review
5.0
I picked the book without any expectation; it was just the pretty cover that caught my eye at a book sale.
But then I was mesmerized by the wonderful storytelling of Monique Roffey. Archipelago is a story that makes you long for the sea, that makes you rethink about the definition of home, that makes you think about life.
I love the book so much and really looking forward to read more Roffeys!
But then I was mesmerized by the wonderful storytelling of Monique Roffey. Archipelago is a story that makes you long for the sea, that makes you rethink about the definition of home, that makes you think about life.
I love the book so much and really looking forward to read more Roffeys!