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A review by asurges
The Island by Victoria Hislop
1.0
I place this book in the fairly recent genre of three women with a mystery set in WW II, and the mystery could be solved in Chapter 1. However, putting a story in a pretty place does not make for good writing.
The author took a good story (a leprosy community) and overwrote—for example, coffee is a “black swirling liquid”—and explains every character. She also condenses timelines when those events could be expanded upon, and it’s, well, kind of a mess. Characters are somewhat forgotten, and I don’t understand why one of the main characters has to conceal her past, which is more intriguing than horrifying. I also don’t get the protagonist’s questioning of her relationship to a boorish man who seems borderline abusive.
So many mysteries, many of which could have been answered in the hands of a more adept editor and a more skillful writer.
The author took a good story (a leprosy community) and overwrote—for example, coffee is a “black swirling liquid”—and explains every character. She also condenses timelines when those events could be expanded upon, and it’s, well, kind of a mess. Characters are somewhat forgotten, and I don’t understand why one of the main characters has to conceal her past, which is more intriguing than horrifying. I also don’t get the protagonist’s questioning of her relationship to a boorish man who seems borderline abusive.
So many mysteries, many of which could have been answered in the hands of a more adept editor and a more skillful writer.