Customer Reviews

An Island Away

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An Island Away left me with soul-searching questions. I suppose the biggest one is, "How far would you go to give your child a better life?" But there are others, too. Who can you trust? What is the truth? When is enough enough?
The book is mostly the story of a young mother from Colombia who comes to the town of San Nicolas, Aruba, where she works as a prostitute to support her family. There are scenes from the upscale tourist areas of the island, but the majority of the book takes place in San Nicolas which is a refinery town full of bars/brothels. Here Luz meets a rambunctious American expatriate named Sam who loves the island and wants nothing more than to live there for the rest of his life. One night they are on the beach together and discover another American, this one a tugboat captain named Nathan Beck whose boat was sunk in a storm. The interactions between these three characters, in a setting that is full of duplicity, surprises, and somtimes comedy, reveals the tough decisions each of them has to make in life. There are light hearted moments, which are a welcome relief to some of the more heartbreaking scenes.
Anyone who has been to Aruba will find this book a "must read" because it goes beyond the veneer of tourism and into a reality they may not know exists.

As someone who has been traveling to Aruba for the past 15 years, I loved An Island Away. Daniel actually made me feel like I was right there while the story was being told.

I look forward to the sequel... and, can't wait to see what happens to my two favorite characters ~ Luz and Captain Beck! Hurry Daniel, I'll be back in February, and would love to read the new book while on island.

Thanks for a great story!

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I am a 17 time visitor to Aruba and this book put me right on the island. It is not the Aruba that we are used to seeing. It is the dark side of the island. An Island Away details the lives of four people and how all their lives cross. Charlie is an artist and a bar owner. Luz is a prostitute working for 90 days on the island. Sam is a transplanted Aruban who made his fortune in Miami and is returning to retire and live on the island. Beck is a tugboat captain whose boat goes down in a storm and washes up on Aruba. This is a very real story of survival, romance and "how it used to be" in modern day Aruba. An Island Away takes you on a tour of the seamy side of paradise detailing the lives and loves of the aforementioned characters who are painted as colorful and resorceful survivors in a world where the weak get swallowed up and spit out

I purchased An Island Away with the thought of holding on to it till my trip to Aruba in Nov. I could not resist and started the book. I could not put it down. It was entertaining and offered a bit of a different Aruba, from what I have seen. The book was well written and had me so involved with knowing what was going to happen I could not put it down. I can't wait for the next installment.

Donna

Great read... especially for anyone that's ever been to Aruba. It gives a completely different view of the island, away from the glitzy hotels and restaurants that tourists usually see. Through this novel, I feel that I got to know the island that I love better than I had in nine trips there. Definitely worth reading!

Daniel Putkowski has given us an excellent first novel. As one of the "fat American tourists" occasionally hanging out on the commercial side of Aruba, I was enthralled with the seedy side of the island. If you are a reader of "fluff", this might not be the book for you. I can't wait for more from this promising writer.

I am an avid reader, and I was blown away by An Island Away. I just recently visisted Aruba for my first time in January of this year. My girlfriend an I fell in love with the place. I read about San Nicholaas before I traveled to Aruba and knew that I had to visit that area. My girlfriend was a little apprehensive, but I did convince her to go. We went to Bar Charlie's and hung out in the San Nicholaas area the entire night and day. I met the craziest Dutch Marine and one of his friends. We ended up going to Minchi's just for the cultural experience. We ended up hanging out with our new Dutch friends the next day and went wake boarding. I got cocky and ended up loosing half a tooth. I know that it sounds crazy but loosing half that tooth and explaining it to my dentist when I got home was hilarious. My Dutch acquaintances and I exchanged numbers and emails, and we became "fast friends."

In any event, as a person that has fully experiened San Nicholaas, I could not put Mr. Putkowki's book down. With the just the one night that I spent in San Nicholaas, I appreciate the realty that the author so intricately explored in his novel. I was so hooked that I did not sleep for two nights. I am so envious Mr. Putkowski spends half of his year in a place that I fell in love with as soon as I stepped off the plane. I am already planning my next trip to that tropical paradise.

Daniel's book explores a side of the world that people no longer think exists, but it does. That is the beauty and magic of his book. I cannot wait until he releases "Under a Blue Flag." I will be one of the first, if not the first, people to buy it. Daniel has an unbelievable ability to understand and write about the human condition. As I read his book, I was able to escape from work, life, worries, concerns, etc. I was in Aruba! I thank him so much.

I guess the most intersting parts of his book is trying to discern what is fact and what is fiction. I would venture to say that much of the fiction is fact, and it makes for a truly great novel.

Daniel's book is truly the story of "paradise, but not for amateurs!" Thank you so much, Daniel!

Shortly after you start reading this book, you're invested in the likeable main characters, and interested in the fate of the unlikeable ones, too. Daniel Putkowski does a great job of revealing the heart and soul of his four main characters, who all intersect in Aruba. The surprising twist at the end is worth the read, too. Makes you want to go back to Aruba. . .soon. . .and see the part of the island most tourists don't find, unless it's unintentional. Looking forward to the sequel!

One doesn't expect this much quality from a first book. After all writing is a craft and practice develops it. However, Putkowski's first book An Island Away is well crafted and a riveting story. I couldn't put it down. The characters are developed early on in the book, so much so very quickly they cease to be characters and are soon very real people. What is amazing is how Putkowski was able ot get into the mind of a woman who is a prostitute, carefully describing how she might feel and react.

The book also had cinematic qualities, you could see the ocean, the sky, feel the dry breezes of Aruba, see the wonderful paintings by Andres on the little house's walls. Also, being from the Philadelphia area I can see Nate Beck taking his tug down the Delaware River. I can believe I probably passed his tug many times on my way over the Platt or Rt. 95 bridges.

Definitely worth buying and reading. I hear Putkowski is working on a second book and I can't wait to read it.

Did I come to know the paradise island of Aruba after traveling there for 20 years? The answer is no. The San Nicolas side of the Island is a tough, sad, and an intense place. What the author writes about the people who live and work in San Nicolas is gut wrenching. His characters are realistic and "if" I venture to San Nicholas I might just bump into one of them. The 21st time I visit Aruba I will be thinking about the poverty and what people have to do to survive in paradise at the other end of the island.