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nialiversuch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Child death
jamesdavid's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
dhughes10's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
magpieslibrary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia
deedireads's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
An Island was the darkhorse of the 2021 Booker Prize longlist, publishing in the US almost a whole year after the prize put it on people’s radar. I appreciated it more than enjoyed it, but it’s a quick, impactful read that will probably stay with me longer than I think.
The story is about an old man named Samuel who lives alone on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country, caring for the lighthouse and subsisting off the land. He spent 25 years in jail for his role in a violent protest to overthrow the (corrupt) government before moving to the Island. Sometimes, bodies of drowned refugees wash ashore, but this time the man is alive. As Samuel brings him back to health, flashbacks to his past mix and mingle with his present circumstance to blur the line between fact and fantasy, companionship and violence.
Some parts were slower than others, but the thing I liked best about this book was the form: how it alternated so smoothly between past and present to really show how Samuel’s current reality was informed by the trauma and circumstances of his past. Also, I sympathized with Samuel even though he’s not really a good person; it does a good job of exploring the fact that there are no winners in colonization or coups. And the ending shocked me, but also felt true and earned, which was impressive.
An Island was the darkhorse of the 2021 Booker Prize longlist, publishing in the US almost a whole year after the prize put it on people’s radar. I appreciated it more than enjoyed it, but it’s a quick, impactful read that will probably stay with me longer than I think.
The story is about an old man named Samuel who lives alone on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country, caring for the lighthouse and subsisting off the land. He spent 25 years in jail for his role in a violent protest to overthrow the (corrupt) government before moving to the Island. Sometimes, bodies of drowned refugees wash ashore, but this time the man is alive. As Samuel brings him back to health, flashbacks to his past mix and mingle with his present circumstance to blur the line between fact and fantasy, companionship and violence.
Some parts were slower than others, but the thing I liked best about this book was the form: how it alternated so smoothly between past and present to really show how Samuel’s current reality was informed by the trauma and circumstances of his past. Also, I sympathized with Samuel even though he’s not really a good person; it does a good job of exploring the fact that there are no winners in colonization or coups. And the ending shocked me, but also felt true and earned, which was impressive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
thequeenofsheba3's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, and Slavery
Minor: Confinement
nini23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
4.0
Psychologically taut, bleak and disturbing book. About a solitary elderly lighthouse keeper on in island off the coast of an unnamed African country named Samuel and a refugee who washes up on the beach. Before the refugee's arrival, we are exposed to Samuel's meager existence and his day-to-day life: stones he has to break down to repair a crack in the breakwater, his chores of taking care of the chickens and vegetable garden, his aches and pains, the indignity of aging. The supply boat comes once a week but otherwise he has been completely alone for the past twenty plus years he's been on the island.
An Island gives a feeling of claustrophobia as two strangers who do not speak a common language are moored on an island and living in close quarters at the lighthouse keeper's tower. Samuel seethes about another mouth to feed and care for, his solitude broken. He vacillates between gruff kindness, impatience and paranoid aggression. The days they spend together are numbered in chapters The First Day, The Second Day etc ratcheting up the tension slowly but surely.
Samuel's traumatic backstory slowly emerges in flashbacks: the verdant valley he and his family lived in was burnt and destroyed by colonizers, they were evicted and move to a slum in the city, his father was involved in the country's Independence movement and crippled, post-independence conditions did not improve for the common people, the President was killed by the military and a Dictator took his place, young Samuel was involved in the People's Faction resistance movement in opposition to the Dictator, he spent 23 years in prison where he was an informant to avoid torture, upon release his parents and son had passed away, his sister and his niece and nephew begrudged feeding him (see the cycle?) so he took the job of lighthouse keeper. Oh, and his baby mama which is the main reason he joined the resistance movement (to impress her) became a prostitute. At the present time, the supply boat brings fresh news of corruption, fraud, military intervention, the possibility of another revolution or coup on the mainland.
On learning Samuel's story and the unnamed African country's, what struck me is the cyclical nature. Colonization, Independence, President, Dictator. Xenophobia, possessiveness, modernization. The pride that Samuel's father exhibited in having been involved in gaining the country's independence is reflected later in his daughter-in-law's satisfaction in being part of the resistance, both with nothing to show for it. The refugee family that were Samuel's neighbours having fled their own country post independence civil war, it's like a history carousel, whose turn is it next, round and round.
Violence is what's emphasized, the violence that humans are capable of inflicting on each other. Over territory, resources, wealth, power. This is what is reflected in the microcosm of the interaction between Samuel and the refugee, what makes it uncomfortable to read. Samuel descends into paranoia that the refugee is a murderer and wishes him harm, wishes to seize the island for himself. So much to ponder, even why are Samuel's chickens attacking and bullying the red hen? Are we humans no better than animals, always predisposed to violence? Do we all cling to the idea 'this is mine, mine, not yours' and are willing to kill over it? Perhaps not in times of plenty but under strained circumstances?
I wish I could quote from the book especially those about violence and Samuel's spiraling thoughts about the island belonging to him. However the copy I have of this book is an uncorrected proof and the publisher has instructed that we refrain from quoting. As well, there's been discussion of keeping the African country generalized and unnamed which the author addresses in an interview: "I want to be very clear about this, that I don’t believe in reducing Africa to a single country. But in this case, I wanted to use an allegorical means to examine a very complex issue. To take what has been done to Africa in various forms over the centuries, and examine that in a very simple way with just these two protagonists." The two interviews with the author I found were both illuminating, especially with the issue of appropriation: https://www.textpublishing.com.au/blog/interview-with-karen-jennings and https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/05/ive-been-poor-for-a-long-time-after-many-rejections-karen-jennings-is-up-for-the-booker
Thanks to Hogarth, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This edition of An Island's publication date is projected to be May 2022.
An Island gives a feeling of claustrophobia as two strangers who do not speak a common language are moored on an island and living in close quarters at the lighthouse keeper's tower. Samuel seethes about another mouth to feed and care for, his solitude broken. He vacillates between gruff kindness, impatience and paranoid aggression. The days they spend together are numbered in chapters The First Day, The Second Day etc ratcheting up the tension slowly but surely.
Samuel's traumatic backstory slowly emerges in flashbacks:
On learning Samuel's story and the unnamed African country's, what struck me is the cyclical nature. Colonization, Independence, President, Dictator. Xenophobia, possessiveness, modernization. The pride that Samuel's father exhibited in having been involved in gaining the country's independence is reflected later in his daughter-in-law's satisfaction in being part of the resistance, both with nothing to show for it. The refugee family that were Samuel's neighbours having fled their own country post independence civil war, it's like a history carousel, whose turn is it next, round and round.
Violence is what's emphasized, the violence that humans are capable of inflicting on each other. Over territory, resources, wealth, power. This is what is reflected in the microcosm of the interaction between Samuel and the refugee, what makes it uncomfortable to read.
I wish I could quote from the book especially those about violence and Samuel's spiraling thoughts about the island belonging to him. However the copy I have of this book is an uncorrected proof and the publisher has instructed that we refrain from quoting. As well, there's been discussion of keeping the African country generalized and unnamed which the author addresses in an interview: "I want to be very clear about this, that I don’t believe in reducing Africa to a single country. But in this case, I wanted to use an allegorical means to examine a very complex issue. To take what has been done to Africa in various forms over the centuries, and examine that in a very simple way with just these two protagonists." The two interviews with the author I found were both illuminating, especially with the issue of appropriation: https://www.textpublishing.com.au/blog/interview-with-karen-jennings and https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/05/ive-been-poor-for-a-long-time-after-many-rejections-karen-jennings-is-up-for-the-booker
Thanks to Hogarth, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This edition of An Island's publication date is projected to be May 2022.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, and Violence
leahebinns's review
medium-paced
4.0
a very affecting story about isolation, a single-sitting kind of read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Child death and Vomit
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
An Island also by a South African author looks at the legacy of colonialism and the cost of unfulfilled expectations. Samuel is a lighthouse keeper, living a solitary life when a man, a refugee, washes up on his shore. Samuel expects and hopes the man will die but he does not. His arrival triggers flashbacks in Samuel to his former life, struggling for the independence of his country and later imprisoned for protesting against the dictator who took power. This novel takes place on just four days and has an abrupt maybe unexpected ending. It’s sparse tone and slim size reflect the island setting. It has a fable like quality and is impossible to read without drawing connections, both causal and metaphorical, between Samuel’s history and his actions toward the refugee.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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