Welcome to Glorious Tuga Francesca Segal London research vet, Charlotte Walker, travels to Tuga to study the endangered gold coin tortoise. Tuga is a tiny British territory reachable only twice a year via a very long boat ride. On her trip over, Charlotte suffers from horrible seasickness and is tended to by Dan, a doctor nervously returning to Tuga after 15 years in order to take over island doctor duties from his Uncle. Upon landing on the tropical paradise the two are swept into the warm embrace of a bevy of quirky islanders and enveloped in the sweet scent of frangipani. It doesn’t take long though for life’s everyday complications to intrude, and staunchly reserved Charlotte is compelled to take on unexpected vet duties for the islands myriad animals and reptiles, giving her no choice but to open herself up to the eccentricities of human entanglements and remote island living with its inbuilt gossip factory. A little drama, a little romance, a few secrets and some tears, but ultimately a lovely story about the warmth of community and the kindness of strangers. It is unfortunate that Tuga is imaginary as I am currently in need of a remote tropical island.
And Then There Were None Agatha Christie One of Christie’s most famous and most popular novels. And with good reason. It’s a clever and excellently plotted mystery set in a creepy mansion on a secluded island off the coast of Devon. Ten strangers find themselves brought together and are amused by the nursery rhyme relating the deaths of “Ten Little Soldier Boys” which is taped to the wall in each of their rooms. On their first evening, awkwardly getting to know each other and wondering where their host is, amusement gives way to shock as a recorded message relays the dark secret they each harbor, which in turn gives way to terror as, one by one, the guests begin dying in the same way as the nursery rhyme. Vintage Christie. There’s also an excellent 2015 series adaptation with a stellar cast.
An Island Karen Jennings I bought this on a whim after reading an article about the author and the novel’s difficult route to publication. Seventy year old Samuel lives alone on an unnamed island off the coast of Africa where he mans the lighthouse. One day a body washes up on the shore — a not too unusual occurrence, but this body happens to be alive. While Samuel is not a total stranger to company on the island — a supply boat stops by every couple of weeks and the boat’s skippers will share a cup of tea with Samuel before leaving — the appearance of a refugee with whom he cannot communicate properly, deeply unsettles Samuel, making him paranoid. It also reignites old memories. Through flashbacks we learn about Samuel’s life, his country’s struggle to gain independence only to fall straight into the hands of a dictator, and Samuel’s path to spending 25 years in prison. It’s a messy story which has left him haunted by his own cowardice and subsequent humiliations — the reasons he sought solitude on the island. Written in prose that isn’t stark, exactly, but definitely efficient, An Island reverberates with the pain of political turmoil and xenophobia which incites fear and suspicion in such a way that humans fail to make the connections so desperately needed to make life worth living. (The author is South African and the book takes place on an island off the coast of Africa, but I read about it in the Guardian and it was long-listed for the Booker Prize, so I am using that as my admittedly tenuous British connection because it’s a fascinating read)!
The Guest List Lucy Foley A swanky celebrity wedding is underway on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. As the festivities get underway and champagne corks pop amidst a brewing storm, the lights go out and somebody turns up dead. And then (shockingly) as the police investigate, we learn that the wedding guests have a laundry list of burning resentments, petty jealousies and secrets — a whole lot of secrets. It’s told from multiple points of view, both past and present (a heads up for anyone who doesn’t care for this approach) with everything woven back and forth, back and forth, before being brought together for a typical thriller denouement — which may or may not surprise. The psychological thriller is not generally my cup of tea — tends to leave me feeling empty — but this is at least nicely atmospheric and creepy, if a little uneven, and I’m wondering if the author drew inspiration from the above Christie novel because it has serious Agatha vibes.
Small Wars Sadie Jones Hal Treherne, a Major in the British Army is dispatched to Cyprus in 1956 to help ferret out terrorists seeking to unite the island with Greece. Thrilled to be seeing some action after years of peaceful service, it doesn’t take long before it becomes apparent that Hal is not terribly well equipped to deal with the brutality of war and its moral underpinnings. As a result, his once solid marriage to Claire, who has accompanied him to Cyprus with their two young daughters, starts to fray at the edges. The stifling atmosphere of the period, the island and the political situation are beautifully evoked in richly detailed and elegant prose, but where Jones’ writing really sings is in its slow motion unfolding of disastrous events. A quiet, understated story of duty, integrity and a soldier in combat, at war with himself.
~The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society Mary Ann Shaffer Annie Barrows Written in letter form between various residents of the isle of Guernsey and Juliet Ashton, a journalist based in London, this is a lively and charming account of life on the island of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during World War II. The Channel Islands, an archipelago in the English Channel just north of the French Normandy coastline, had the rather dubious honor of being the only bit of British soil to be occupied by the Germans during the war. The Literary and Potato Peel Society came into being when a group of islanders gathered for a secret pig roast. Upon returning home, several of them got caught breaking curfew and found themselves in desperate need of a reason for their get-together that didn’t involve the illicit consumption of pork. The letters, written post-war, give a (mostly) light and whimsical account of life for the Guernsey residents during a brutal five years of dealing with a fickle regime and severe deprivation. A lovely, inspiring story about the human spirit and how the warmth and joy of community can help combat even the darkest days. There’s also a delightful film version starring Lily James.
The Daring Girls Of Guernsey Gayle Callen Another book set on the island of Guernsey. In present day, Chelsea visits her grandmother, Helen, in the hospital. Helen has fallen down the stairs, but is convinced she was pushed, especially as her friend Catherine has recently died and Helen has received a note saying she will be next. It is these events that spur Helen to relay to Chelsea the events of her life on the isle of Guernsey during the Nazi occupation. Helen, a nurse, along with her friends Catherine, a teacher fluent in German, and Betty, a waitress forced into a relationship with a German officer, come together to form a little resistance unit, determined to help the war effort by gathering German information to forward to the British. As luck would have it, Helen’s former flame Jack has recently been dropped on the island in order to spy and is seeking safe harbor in a cave which has a trap door directly into Helen’s house. It’s a pleasant and solidly written read but it doesn’t dig deep and it won’t surprise.
Raven Black Ann Cleeves This is the first in a series of mystery novels set on the Shetland Isles and is the inspiration for one of my favourite tv shows; Shetland. We are introduced to Inspector Jimmy Perez when the body of a teenage girl is discovered on New Year’s Day. Local outcast, Magnus Tait, already connected to another murder from years before, becomes the number one suspect, but as you might expect, nothing is that simple, and what unravels is a complex, nicely paced mystery which highlights the unique culture of the island as well as its sense of community and the claustrophobia inherent in being so remote. It’s moody, atmospheric and well written. Unfortunately I had one big problem with it: I had watched the TV show first and there are several glaring changes involving my favourite aspects of the the show which made it difficult to settle into the book. Going forward, I will be sticking with the TV series but this in no way is meant to cast aspersions on the written version.
