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A review by beate251
The Island Swimmer by Lorraine Kelly
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a sweeping story taking place on beautiful Orkney, an island on the north coast of Scotland. Cara and Duncan meet in 1960 and marry in 1962 when they are both just 16. Cara suffers many miscarriages before 16 years later daughter Liv is born. Another eight years later their second daughter Evie is born. By that time their marriage is in the doldrums, owing mostly to Liv who is growing up to be a spiteful and troublesome child, whereas Evie is rather shy and kind, called "Teenie" by her besotted father. One day in 2004 something happens that causes 18 year old Evie to flee the island and eventually end up in London and in a toxic relationship with Jeremy, who constantly puts her down and bullies her. He really is the worst news but Evie doesn't think she deserves any better and stays with him for almost a decade. Twenty years after Evie left Orkney, she gets a message that her father is dying so she reluctantly comes back.
The chapters alternate between Evie's parents' story, what happened in 2004, and the present of 2024. We don't learn why Evie thought she had to leave her home until very late, and I was quite upset by her friends' reaction. Especially former BFF Kate totally overreacted as it was very clear that Evie had done nothing wrong and the blame lay squarely with toxic Liv. Damn, Evie was a pushover.
There were a lot of supporting characters like trans woman Freya, friend Sophia from London and cute elderly couple Maureen and Andrzej, plus love interests for Evie and Sophia.
We learn a bit about Orkney history (it seems a fascinating and wildly beautiful place) but the woman who was buried in remote and rugged landscape was Betty Corrigall not Corrigan - this really should have been fact-checked properly.
The author uses a lot of cute Scottish words but after "peedie" (little) was used 11 million times, I was heartily sick of it.
Altogether I liked the story very much, I just wish people wouldn't have been quite so self-destructive in their behaviour.
The chapters alternate between Evie's parents' story, what happened in 2004, and the present of 2024. We don't learn why Evie thought she had to leave her home until very late, and I was quite upset by her friends' reaction. Especially former BFF Kate totally overreacted as it was very clear that Evie had done nothing wrong and the blame lay squarely with toxic Liv. Damn, Evie was a pushover.
There were a lot of supporting characters like trans woman Freya, friend Sophia from London and cute elderly couple Maureen and Andrzej, plus love interests for Evie and Sophia.
We learn a bit about Orkney history (it seems a fascinating and wildly beautiful place) but the woman who was buried in remote and rugged landscape was Betty Corrigall not Corrigan - this really should have been fact-checked properly.
The author uses a lot of cute Scottish words but after "peedie" (little) was used 11 million times, I was heartily sick of it.
Altogether I liked the story very much, I just wish people wouldn't have been quite so self-destructive in their behaviour.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Transphobia, and Dementia