Island

  8 Reviews

This 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

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

Reviews

WINT 001

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.

DUNED 029

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.

PAPA 001

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.

CHCH 397

13-07-2021

Not to the group's taste. Hardly anyone read it - Covid could be why.

NELS 021

13-07-2021

While we liked the plot/story ( life on a quarantine island), we found the prose VERY wordy.

WAITAT 004

13-07-2021

A mixed response to this book, with a particular dissatisfaction with the ending.

AUCK 105

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.

BREAM 001

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!