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A review by brownflopsy
One August Night by Victoria Hislop
5.0
One August Night is Victoria Hislop's long awaited companion novel to the best selling The Island.
Although described as a sequel, it actually fills in the gaps from the original book by exploring what happened between the characters Anna, her sister Maria, Anna's husband Andreas, and Andreas' cousin Manolis, in the days and months before the leper colony on Spinalonga was closed and after the fateful August night when an act of violence changed the course of their lives. In its pages, Hislop takes you right back to the heady days in beautiful Crete that saw Anna and Manolis fall in love and conduct a passionate affair that led to Anna's murder at the hands of her husband Andreas.
Inevitably, there are no huge revelations to be made in this story (bar one at the end of the book), as we already know what happened between the characters from the original novel, but what Hislop does so delightfully here is tell us in more detail about the relationship between the lovers themselves, confirming their affair as true love on both sides, and providing some understanding into the motives of them all. To complete the story, Hislop then goes on to give us an account of what happened to Manolis, and validating everything we already knew about the kind and forgiving heart of Maria as she forges a friendship with Andreas in his final desperate years incarcerated in a hell-hole prison.
It was such a delight to revisit the characters from the original novel, and also get a fascinating glimpse into bustling city life through the eyes of Manolis, as he tries to make a new life for himself in Pireas, which contrasts wonderfully with the quiet, sleepy village life in Crete - and Hislop does it all in her inimitable style, with delicious detail that lets you feel you are actually at the side on her characters as they walk through the streets where they live, work and play. Incidentally, we get a shocking glimpse at the conditions of prisoners being held in prison at the time, and the disturbing treatment of those who try to visit them too.
This gave me a very enjoyable afternoon's reading pleasure in the sunshine, reminding me just how much I loved The Island, and how much I miss spending time in the Greek islands. This really is a book you can only appreciate after you have read The Island, because it is based on detailed knowledge of events and relationships that you can only garner by immersing yourself in the original sweeping novel - and it's marvellous, so why wouldn't you? Grab yourself a slice of something nice and revisit old friends - but make sure you read The Island first!
Although described as a sequel, it actually fills in the gaps from the original book by exploring what happened between the characters Anna, her sister Maria, Anna's husband Andreas, and Andreas' cousin Manolis, in the days and months before the leper colony on Spinalonga was closed and after the fateful August night when an act of violence changed the course of their lives. In its pages, Hislop takes you right back to the heady days in beautiful Crete that saw Anna and Manolis fall in love and conduct a passionate affair that led to Anna's murder at the hands of her husband Andreas.
Inevitably, there are no huge revelations to be made in this story (bar one at the end of the book), as we already know what happened between the characters from the original novel, but what Hislop does so delightfully here is tell us in more detail about the relationship between the lovers themselves, confirming their affair as true love on both sides, and providing some understanding into the motives of them all. To complete the story, Hislop then goes on to give us an account of what happened to Manolis, and validating everything we already knew about the kind and forgiving heart of Maria as she forges a friendship with Andreas in his final desperate years incarcerated in a hell-hole prison.
It was such a delight to revisit the characters from the original novel, and also get a fascinating glimpse into bustling city life through the eyes of Manolis, as he tries to make a new life for himself in Pireas, which contrasts wonderfully with the quiet, sleepy village life in Crete - and Hislop does it all in her inimitable style, with delicious detail that lets you feel you are actually at the side on her characters as they walk through the streets where they live, work and play. Incidentally, we get a shocking glimpse at the conditions of prisoners being held in prison at the time, and the disturbing treatment of those who try to visit them too.
This gave me a very enjoyable afternoon's reading pleasure in the sunshine, reminding me just how much I loved The Island, and how much I miss spending time in the Greek islands. This really is a book you can only appreciate after you have read The Island, because it is based on detailed knowledge of events and relationships that you can only garner by immersing yourself in the original sweeping novel - and it's marvellous, so why wouldn't you? Grab yourself a slice of something nice and revisit old friends - but make sure you read The Island first!