Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jennifer_c_s
Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar
5.0
‘Slice a life anyway you like, and it’ll tell a different story.’
Kitty Hawke has lived on Wolfe Island (set off the north-eastern coast of the USA) all of her life. She’s the last person still living there as the island becomes eroded, salt affected and less habitable. She was married, to Hart, and had two children Claudie and Tobe. But island life was not for them. Kitty has her wolfdog Girl for company, and her work as a sculptor to keep her busy. Turmoil on the mainland is distant: Kitty is not unaware of problems on the mainland, but she doesn’t have to think about it too much. Until one day, when her sixteen-year-old granddaughter Cat arrives. Cat is accompanied by eighteen-year-old Josh and by Luis and Alejandra, a teenaged brother and seven-year-old sister. All four are seeking refuge.
The five of them, and Girl, work out ways of living together. While it becomes clear while Luis and Alejandra need refuge, it is less clear (at least to begin with) why Cat and Josh do. Alejandra is clearly traumatised; Luis is very protective. Cat wants to make a difference, by helping others who need help fleeing persecution. And Josh?
But the time comes when Wolfe Island is no longer safe. And Kitty must decide whether (and how) she can help those fleeing for their lives.
‘Get busy, that’s the way to deal with it. Doing something helps you forget your troubles.’
Much of the novel is a long journey, from past through present and into what is at best an uncertain future. Everyone must make choices, but Kitty’s choices are made more difficult because she is older and more aware of consequences. She’s practical and protective, focussed and strong. The group is travelling north, to try to find safety for Luis and Alejandra. Slowly stories unfold and as they do, I thought about the world this novel is set in. Much of it is recognisable: vigilantes focussed on who is ‘legal’ (or looks legal), suspicious of strangers, wanting to move on those who don’t belong. Kitty intervenes where she must to keep her group safe. The world is changing, and not for the better.
‘I still have to live with it, though. The rightness of an action doesn’t set you free from it; only sets you free from the danger.’
Kitty’s notebook, her writing, at first helps her adjust to life on Wolfe Island with others. It’s part reflection on the past, part list of things found and later events. We journey with Kitty, experience her concerns and regrets, understand her choices. And how will it end?
‘It’s a long time ago, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Memories are as faithful as dogs in their way, though not always tame.’
I finished this novel convinced that it will be one of my favourite novels of 2019. I’m writing this review a week later having reflected on why this novel has had such an impact on me. Kitty Hawke’s world is both bleak and beautiful, the threats faced feel so real, as do Kitty’s regrets. Ms Treloar conveys this story through Kitty and her connection to place, her observation of the world. There are hard edges, difficult choices and tragedy. There’s also reflection on the different forms of family, on the beauty of the natural environment, and what we all stand to lose.
‘We went out the next day, it being as fine and still as any other I have experienced, if not as warm. The algal blooms had died and the water had turned old-fashioned blue: taut, brimful, sequined.’
A novel that invites careful reading and reflection. A novel I will reread.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Kitty Hawke has lived on Wolfe Island (set off the north-eastern coast of the USA) all of her life. She’s the last person still living there as the island becomes eroded, salt affected and less habitable. She was married, to Hart, and had two children Claudie and Tobe. But island life was not for them. Kitty has her wolfdog Girl for company, and her work as a sculptor to keep her busy. Turmoil on the mainland is distant: Kitty is not unaware of problems on the mainland, but she doesn’t have to think about it too much. Until one day, when her sixteen-year-old granddaughter Cat arrives. Cat is accompanied by eighteen-year-old Josh and by Luis and Alejandra, a teenaged brother and seven-year-old sister. All four are seeking refuge.
The five of them, and Girl, work out ways of living together. While it becomes clear while Luis and Alejandra need refuge, it is less clear (at least to begin with) why Cat and Josh do. Alejandra is clearly traumatised; Luis is very protective. Cat wants to make a difference, by helping others who need help fleeing persecution. And Josh?
But the time comes when Wolfe Island is no longer safe. And Kitty must decide whether (and how) she can help those fleeing for their lives.
‘Get busy, that’s the way to deal with it. Doing something helps you forget your troubles.’
Much of the novel is a long journey, from past through present and into what is at best an uncertain future. Everyone must make choices, but Kitty’s choices are made more difficult because she is older and more aware of consequences. She’s practical and protective, focussed and strong. The group is travelling north, to try to find safety for Luis and Alejandra. Slowly stories unfold and as they do, I thought about the world this novel is set in. Much of it is recognisable: vigilantes focussed on who is ‘legal’ (or looks legal), suspicious of strangers, wanting to move on those who don’t belong. Kitty intervenes where she must to keep her group safe. The world is changing, and not for the better.
‘I still have to live with it, though. The rightness of an action doesn’t set you free from it; only sets you free from the danger.’
Kitty’s notebook, her writing, at first helps her adjust to life on Wolfe Island with others. It’s part reflection on the past, part list of things found and later events. We journey with Kitty, experience her concerns and regrets, understand her choices. And how will it end?
‘It’s a long time ago, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Memories are as faithful as dogs in their way, though not always tame.’
I finished this novel convinced that it will be one of my favourite novels of 2019. I’m writing this review a week later having reflected on why this novel has had such an impact on me. Kitty Hawke’s world is both bleak and beautiful, the threats faced feel so real, as do Kitty’s regrets. Ms Treloar conveys this story through Kitty and her connection to place, her observation of the world. There are hard edges, difficult choices and tragedy. There’s also reflection on the different forms of family, on the beauty of the natural environment, and what we all stand to lose.
‘We went out the next day, it being as fine and still as any other I have experienced, if not as warm. The algal blooms had died and the water had turned old-fashioned blue: taut, brimful, sequined.’
A novel that invites careful reading and reflection. A novel I will reread.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith