Island
Todd, PenelopeThis is the story of an isolated quarantine station and its community; its dedicated staff and those they tend, the sailors and immigrants. It is a place set apart with its inhabitants balancing passion and hope alongside sickness and death. The unusual setting, the evocative descriptions of the island and the sympathetically drawn characters give rise to a tender and accomplished novel of colonial New Zealand. [Larger font]
Comments from Groups
A gentle refreshing read with interesting characters and rich language. Ashburton 003 Excellent. Rawene 003 Our group had divided opinions, however agreed a beautiful poetic experience. Oxford 002 Generally our group found that the style of writing spoilt an otherwise interesting story. Wanaka 011
Pages
299
299
Year
2010
2010
Reviews
10-09-2021
This book had mixed reviews but overall people enjoyed it. Our meeting was to be held on the first day of lockdown so we could see the absolute parallels of dealing with an infectious disease in the late 19th century with today. This pehaps made it more relevant to our lives . A well researched and written book, which gave the reader an understanding of life for women at that period.
14-07-2021
Overall we were disappointed in the book. We agree Todd is a talented writer, but while her idea of a quarantine island was a clever one, we felt it would have been better to be more firmly secured in time and place. Sometimes the language and choice of words seemed unlikely. The pace was too slow but improved once the diptheria epidemic arrived. Some have read her memoir 'Digging in Spain', which was interesting and enlightening.
13-07-2021
Lively discussion, but diverse opinions. Majority felt it did not fit into any genre. It needed lots more information and could have been filled out more. Some thought she could have made more of the cave scene.
13-07-2021
Not to the group's taste. Hardly anyone read it - Covid could be why.
13-07-2021
While we liked the plot/story ( life on a quarantine island), we found the prose VERY wordy.
13-07-2021
A mixed response to this book, with a particular dissatisfaction with the ending.
13-07-2021
We did not feel this book lived up to its potential. It was interesting finding out about the quarantine stations, but would have liked to see the characters developed more.
13-07-2021
The group really enjoyed reading 'Island'. Great development of characters by the author. We are looking forward to the prequel, which was mentioned in the notes. Thank you!