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navayiota's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was shocked by how accurate the characters' interactions with each other were. It seems crazy to me that this author isn't Greek, and compiled all this information from simply research. Incredible. The translator obviously helped, but there is no way to translate something into a better story than it is, at least not to this degree. It did feel slightly "and they have a strange magical love in that magical country" at the end but I'll forgive it cause the story is that good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Deportation
peruseapage's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Not leprosy, but love.”
Book review - The Island, Victoria Hislop.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What an emotional book. I cried from beginning to end. I have seen all the criticism under the sun for this book - it’s writing - but honestly none of that mattered because the plot was so bloody powerful.
Alexis is determined to find out about her mother’s family, her past. Her mother, Sofia, has never spoken of it - only that she grew up in a small Cretan village. Alexis decides to visit this village to find out more and Sofia gives her a letter to take to an old friend with the promise that she will find what she is looking for. When reaching Fotoni, the story of Eleni, Georgiou, Anna and Maria is told. A family torn by leprosy, war, tragedy and passion.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve shed as many tears on a book than I did on this one. What a heartbreaking story this was. Victoria Hislop did an absolutely tremendous job of sucking me into this family and making me feel so closely connected to each of them. I was captivated by the family’s story. Eleni, Georgiou and Maria stole my heart - what utterly fantastic characters.
Clearly a lot of research went into this book and it shows. I’ve never before heard of Spinalonga and the leprosy colony but I definitely feel like I know a lot about it now. In fact, sign me up to visit - I’d love to see it! I loved being a part of their little community. Despite the tragedy and disease that surrounded them, I actually wanted to be part of it at times although I have no doubt it must have been so utterly awful being trapped like that counting down the days until the ultimate ending.
The warmth and passion between Maria and Georgiou melted my heart. What a powerful message those two characters portrayed. People come and go but family is what is important. They were the definition of selfless individuals and I aspire to be more like them.
Overall, I can’t express how amazing this book is. It was warm, tragic and completely breathtaking. Please, if you do anything today, go and read this book. The only downside is that I didn’t bring the next book on holiday with me and have to wait until I’m home to read it!
Book review - The Island, Victoria Hislop.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What an emotional book. I cried from beginning to end. I have seen all the criticism under the sun for this book - it’s writing - but honestly none of that mattered because the plot was so bloody powerful.
Alexis is determined to find out about her mother’s family, her past. Her mother, Sofia, has never spoken of it - only that she grew up in a small Cretan village. Alexis decides to visit this village to find out more and Sofia gives her a letter to take to an old friend with the promise that she will find what she is looking for. When reaching Fotoni, the story of Eleni, Georgiou, Anna and Maria is told. A family torn by leprosy, war, tragedy and passion.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve shed as many tears on a book than I did on this one. What a heartbreaking story this was. Victoria Hislop did an absolutely tremendous job of sucking me into this family and making me feel so closely connected to each of them. I was captivated by the family’s story. Eleni, Georgiou and Maria stole my heart - what utterly fantastic characters.
Clearly a lot of research went into this book and it shows. I’ve never before heard of Spinalonga and the leprosy colony but I definitely feel like I know a lot about it now. In fact, sign me up to visit - I’d love to see it! I loved being a part of their little community. Despite the tragedy and disease that surrounded them, I actually wanted to be part of it at times although I have no doubt it must have been so utterly awful being trapped like that counting down the days until the ultimate ending.
The warmth and passion between Maria and Georgiou melted my heart. What a powerful message those two characters portrayed. People come and go but family is what is important. They were the definition of selfless individuals and I aspire to be more like them.
Overall, I can’t express how amazing this book is. It was warm, tragic and completely breathtaking. Please, if you do anything today, go and read this book. The only downside is that I didn’t bring the next book on holiday with me and have to wait until I’m home to read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
martzi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt