The Island by Victoria Hislop on February 10, 2008
Genres: Fiction / General, Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, Fiction / Women
Pages: 300
Format: Paperback
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I thought the first half of this book was very slow and could have had 100 pages taken out. The last half of the book was amazing. If this wouldn’t have been a book club book, I may have DNF’d this one, but I am glad I stuck with it. This was a slow burn.
It started at the end with Alexis, the daughter of Sofia. Alexis had a decision to make and needed some clarity on her family history. She visited Crete to see where her mother, Sofia, came from. Alexis is shocked and surprised to learn about the island that is now deserted and was Greece’s leper for much of the 20th century. Alexis meets an old friend of her mother’s, Fotini. The older woman is prepared to tell her for the first time the whole tragic story of her family.
Then the book reverts to pre-Sofia history. The author introduces us to Sofia’s mother & aunt, Anna and Maria. Their story was filled with drama and intrigue. They grew up mostly with only their father, Georgio. Their mother, Eleni was shipped to the Leper colony that was on the small island near Crete. The story centered on Eleni for a while and her experience on the the Island of Spinalonga. This is a story about tragedy and passion. Alexis learns all the secrets her mother wanted to be kept hidden. She learns how she was connected to this leper colony and how the secrets of the past have the ability to help change the future.
Once I got deep into this book, I did really enjoy it. It is about love, family, secrets, and history. I thought it could have been shorter and I felt like there were so many characters to keep track of but I eventually got to know everyone. This story was well researched and I wasn’t aware of the leper colonies before reading this. I didn’t know how they all worked together to build a community even though they faced hopeless health conditions. By the end, I didn’t want to be done with some of these characters. Although, some I was glad to see gone. The Greek setting was also unique and I could almost imagine being there. This is definitely one that will stick with me for a while. This is for those that enjoy historical fiction and slow burns.