The Island by Victoria Hislop

The Island by Victoria Hislop.

Published 10th April 2006 by Headline Review.

From the cover of the book:

On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more.

Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. 

Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. 

She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip...

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For some reason, Victoria Hislop's books have passed me by, even though The Island was a massive hit when it was published in 2006 and her books are just the kind I would normally settle down with on holiday. So with the publication of One August Night, the long awaited sequel to The Island, it was high time that I got around to checking this one out.

This was a bit of a slow beginning for me, starting out with the very modern young woman, Alexis Fielding, who finds herself delving into her mother Sofia's secretive past in an attempt to get some perspective on her own life and the important decision she must make. 

It's is not until the story of her mother's family begins to unfold, told by her old friend Fotini, and this tale heads into the past, that it really come alive. As we head back in time to learn the tragic history of Alexis' great grandmother Eleni, Eleni's chalk and cheese daughters Anna and Maria, and the truth of Sofia's childhood, Victoria Hislop rapidly immerses you in a wonderful tale of family, passion and loss, against the backdrop of a sleepy little Cretan village and the leper colony on Spinalonga - and her love of Greece shines through in her engaging writing too.

This is one of those books that carries you along on the tide of an epic love story and teaches you a lot of fascinating history at the same time without you really noticing, because you are so invested in the lives of the characters. I absolutely raced through these pages, easily finishing this book in a couple of sittings, despite its weighty 480 pages - and even then, it seemed over too soon. Victoria Hislop has certainly won herself a new fan here!

I cannot wait to pick up the story again in One August Night, so watch this space for more Victoria Hislop soon! 

The Island is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or from Bookshop.org HERE.