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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Lucy Treloar's "Wolfe Island" is a richly imagined, transformative parable of home and kin, a tapestry of life, cut and exposed in different ways, inviting readers to delve into the mess of self-discovery. Treloar weaves an immersive, politically charged narrative spanning generations. The story revolves around Kitty Hawke, the last resident of a sinking island turned marshland, navigating themes of family, politics and the looming climate crisis.
Treloar's writing encourages readers to savour and reflect. The novel's political undertones and commentary on climate change resonate with the current world. The island becomes a central character, reflecting isolation and societal breakdown, while Kitty, an artist amidst decay, stands alone amidst rust and ruins. The narrative unfolds as her granddaughter, Cat, and companions arrive, exposing a collapsed world of order due to migrant and climate crises.
The novel explores the delicate balance between wildness and domestication. The book resonates with the contemporary world, offering a believable glimpse into the near future. Treloar's meticulous attention to detail captures the beauty of the marshes and the eerie setting of a dying island. The narrative unfolds as a tide of truth-telling and accountability, challenging characters to confront uncomfortable realities.
"Wolfe Island" serves as a warning for the future, urging readers to confront inconvenient truths while holding the possibility of hope in the face of darkness. This compelling read captures the essence of a dystopian world where climate change and societal collapse loom, and concepts like civility, justice and fairness take a backseat to self-interest.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Treloar's writing encourages readers to savour and reflect. The novel's political undertones and commentary on climate change resonate with the current world. The island becomes a central character, reflecting isolation and societal breakdown, while Kitty, an artist amidst decay, stands alone amidst rust and ruins. The narrative unfolds as her granddaughter, Cat, and companions arrive, exposing a collapsed world of order due to migrant and climate crises.
The novel explores the delicate balance between wildness and domestication. The book resonates with the contemporary world, offering a believable glimpse into the near future. Treloar's meticulous attention to detail captures the beauty of the marshes and the eerie setting of a dying island. The narrative unfolds as a tide of truth-telling and accountability, challenging characters to confront uncomfortable realities.
"Wolfe Island" serves as a warning for the future, urging readers to confront inconvenient truths while holding the possibility of hope in the face of darkness. This compelling read captures the essence of a dystopian world where climate change and societal collapse loom, and concepts like civility, justice and fairness take a backseat to self-interest.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘There’s not a one of us knows what we might do if things go wrong, if the people we love are in danger, or if we’re taken from our home and all the things that make us.’ These chilling words have been bouncing around my head all day. Lucy Treloar’s second novel looks at the all too real and current reality of when people must flee home and take flight and what they’ll do for family. These times will test us and books like this remind us that fiction does have a role to play in our climate emergency.
Another amazing novel by Lucy Treloar. Haunting characters in an uncertain world in the near future.
This is set in the near future: rising sea levels are wiping out coastal settlements. Kitty is the last resident on Wolfe Island, a small island in the Chesapeake Bay (off Maryland/Virginia). She visits the mainland occasionally to stock up on supplies but is otherwise removed from the depressed economic situation and the persecution of Latino immigrants. Until one day her teenage granddaughter (whom she barely knows) arrives at her doorstep with her boyfriend and two "runners", seeking a safe hiding place.
I liked several things about this book. The world that Lucy Treloar has created is believable and immersive and the characters are real. The story is reminiscent in places of other dystopian novels like The Road and parts are genuinely chilling as you gradually realise the ways in which society has broken down.
However it's an uneven read - it starts slowly, the middle section is fast paced, but the third is slow again. It wasn't a book that I was itching to pick up. I liked it, but not as much as I expected to.
I liked several things about this book. The world that Lucy Treloar has created is believable and immersive and the characters are real. The story is reminiscent in places of other dystopian novels like The Road and parts are genuinely chilling as you gradually realise the ways in which society has broken down.
However it's an uneven read - it starts slowly, the middle section is fast paced, but the third is slow again. It wasn't a book that I was itching to pick up. I liked it, but not as much as I expected to.
Kitty lives alone on Wolfe Island in Chesapeake Bay in a speculative near future. All of the other residents have left due to rising sea levels and failing crops, both the result of climate change. Her 16 year old granddaughter, Cat, arrives on the island with three other young people and the reader is introduced to the idea that the world is far from a warm and welcoming place. Two of the group, in particular, are "runners".
It's a book that's light on details. The reader never finds out how society has broken down, who is running from whom and why. It's slow paced and ambiguous. But also highly descriptive and evocative, building a sense of simmering dread.
I enjoyed it. 4 stars.
It's a book that's light on details. The reader never finds out how society has broken down, who is running from whom and why. It's slow paced and ambiguous. But also highly descriptive and evocative, building a sense of simmering dread.
I enjoyed it. 4 stars.
Wolfe Island is set in a not too distant future on an island off the coast of America and as the story unfolds you realise that there are several issues impacting the world. Global warming and rising sea levels are threatening to engulf Wolfe Island into the sea but Kitty Hawke remains as the sole inhabitant. Kitty is in her 60’s – strong and strong willed. She has lived on the island since she was born and has seen all the others leave as the environment changes. She remains with her wolf dog Girl, foraging for lost items to produce her art and sculptures.
Her quiet solitude is interrupted by her granddaughter Cat arriving on a small boat with some refugees fleeing persecution. After harbouring the group for a few months and becoming quite attached to them, threats from the mainland appear and the whole group leave the island to undertake a perilous journey.
The story was so well written. The creepy and eerie vibes on both the island and then the mainland provided so much atmosphere. As the story slowly unfolds you begin to feel the undertones of the mainland's fears of immigrants and the book takes on a menacing tone. The group’s journey is frightening and eye opening. The fear of “others” not like us definitely comes across. What the author is trying to show is how the world treats vulnerable people – it made me very uncomfortable which I think was the point.
The beautiful writing had me feeling like I was right there on the windswept and deserted island and following Kitty as the main character – a grandmother who is far from weak – was refreshing. Family ties are really at the heart of this book. It is also a cautionary tale of what we could become in the future if we continue down the global path we are leading.
I really enjoyed reading this.
Her quiet solitude is interrupted by her granddaughter Cat arriving on a small boat with some refugees fleeing persecution. After harbouring the group for a few months and becoming quite attached to them, threats from the mainland appear and the whole group leave the island to undertake a perilous journey.
The story was so well written. The creepy and eerie vibes on both the island and then the mainland provided so much atmosphere. As the story slowly unfolds you begin to feel the undertones of the mainland's fears of immigrants and the book takes on a menacing tone. The group’s journey is frightening and eye opening. The fear of “others” not like us definitely comes across. What the author is trying to show is how the world treats vulnerable people – it made me very uncomfortable which I think was the point.
The beautiful writing had me feeling like I was right there on the windswept and deserted island and following Kitty as the main character – a grandmother who is far from weak – was refreshing. Family ties are really at the heart of this book. It is also a cautionary tale of what we could become in the future if we continue down the global path we are leading.
I really enjoyed reading this.
Kitty lives alone on Wolfe Island in Chesapeake Bay in a speculative near future. All of the other residents have left due to rising sea levels and failing crops, both the result of climate change. Her 16 year old granddaughter, Cat, arrives on the island with three other young people and the reader is introduced to the idea that the world is far from a warm and welcoming place. Two of the group, in particular, are "runners".
It's a book that's light on details. The reader never finds out how society has broken down, who is running from whom and why. It's slow paced and ambiguous. But also highly descriptive and evocative, building a sense of simmering dread.
I enjoyed it. 4 stars.
It's a book that's light on details. The reader never finds out how society has broken down, who is running from whom and why. It's slow paced and ambiguous. But also highly descriptive and evocative, building a sense of simmering dread.
I enjoyed it. 4 stars.
Confronting, powerful, beautifully written.
One of the best books I've ever read.
One of the best books I've ever read.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Kitty Hawke is an artist, mother, grandmother, survivor. Her sculptures 'the watermen' guard the island where she lives alone, with her wolfing Girl. The water is rising, the weather is wild, the land and buildings disappearing.
One day her granddaughter and her friends turn up. They create a sort of family. They are on the run. The world is collapsing.
Mother /daughter/ granddaughter relationships feature. As do mother/son/murderer /prisoner relationships.
The journey in the later part of the book was engaging. The violent vigilantes concerning. So many guns. So many deaths, and different griefs. It is important to have the "long view of life" and to know "There is never an end, only way points between the past and the future".
I'm happy with this book being described as a parable, or as a literary fable. There is much to think about in our current world, and much to learn.
One day her granddaughter and her friends turn up. They create a sort of family. They are on the run. The world is collapsing.
Mother /daughter/ granddaughter relationships feature. As do mother/son/murderer /prisoner relationships.
The journey in the later part of the book was engaging. The violent vigilantes concerning. So many guns. So many deaths, and different griefs. It is important to have the "long view of life" and to know "There is never an end, only way points between the past and the future".
I'm happy with this book being described as a parable, or as a literary fable. There is much to think about in our current world, and much to learn.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this novel. Not as relentlessly bleak as other dystopian texts but very much a novel of its time. Climate change, rising water table, the parochialism and nastiness that humanity is capable of, but also the good. Recent events with the rise of nationalism, wall building, demonisation of the other - all clearly were on the author’s heart and mind as she constructed this text.
I connected with the protagonist and enjoyed the switch between the reflective tone and the more immediate.
The denouement was really extended and could have done with some tightening up.
I listened to this and the narrator’s voice was divine.
I connected with the protagonist and enjoyed the switch between the reflective tone and the more immediate.
The denouement was really extended and could have done with some tightening up.
I listened to this and the narrator’s voice was divine.