Customer Reviews

Island Soul : A Memoir of Norway

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Island Soul: A Memoir of Norway, by Patti Jones Morgan, is the delightful and poignant story of one woman's expatriate love affair with her host country. Relocating from Houston, Texas to Norway, the book evokes the phases of the transition experience and describes both the challenges of culture shock and the joys of cultural learning. Filled with insights for anyone relocating internationally, the book speaks especially to the importance of language study, to the role of animals and children as cultural bridges, and, most importantly, to the possibility of new relationships when hearts remain open. I recommend this book highly.

"Island Soul" is about an America woman, Mrs. Patti Jones Morgan, dealing with her feeling of `isolation'. How she went from being a "helpless, isolated woman in a completely foreign land" to a place of semi-belonging. She dutifully followed her husband to Norway. He was a specialist on the Heidrun oil project. This book is the story of Mrs. Morgan's --"survival".

Up-front, I read this book while in Norway and found myself an outsider looking in on a struggle I couldn't comprehend. For the life of me, hard as I tried, I could not grasp the horrific dark foreboding that Mrs. Morgan said she had to faced in Norway. God knows I've tried to understand how she struggled to "survive" another year, but I was definitely an outsider looking in. Hell, I was more than an outsider, I was more like an alien visiting another planet.

I have traveled the world, and spent time in some mighty dark and depressing places. That being said I have great difficulty seeing Norway as a "completely foreign land". Communist Vietnam - sure. War torn Congo - yes. Oppressive Afghanistan - Right. But Norway, where English is their second language; where the infrastructures and national income are the best in the world; where the only hardship was the excessive taxes and that they only served real beer, not 'lite beer', and I gained a few pound while staying there. No, I just can't see Norway as a "completely foreign country", any more than I could identify with her helpless, "isolated" whine.

I'll admit, I must be an insensitive male (ask my girlfriend, she'll tell you), and by popular definition, I am definitely from Mars. This book is not a book I would recommend to men. I would recommend this book to any wife following her husband to a foreign country.

Mrs. Morgan wrote this book for women, feeling both lonely and disposed while living in another culture. On that level the book is commendable. Her writing style is like listening to chatter at a coffee clutch. Her description of Norway's beauty and people is spot on'.

One hundred and thirty five pages into the book Mrs. Morgan finishes her language class, and God knows, I was as happy about her matriculation as she was. "Attempting to learn Norwegian, talk with local people and develop friendships - had been my mission." Mrs. Morgan states. This is her story, this is her song. She did it and moved back to Texas, where she now lives.

Having long been interested in both Scandinavian culture and travel writing, I was very eager to read Island Soul. Morgan paints a wonderfully detailed picture of life in a small Norwegian town, from the trusting children who come to bake cookies and play with her dogs, to her visit with Anna, a 90 year old resident still living independently in her tidy farmhouse. However, it becomes clear these things only happen after Morgan has gained more than a rudimentary grasp of the Norwegian language through intensive language classes, and this becomes a central theme of the book: that you will only scratch the surface of a culture if you fail to learn its language. Hats off to Morgan for being more than the stereotypical ex-pat who only socializes with other Americans, and for giving us a truly unique view of a very special place. I wish MY small town here in Canada had a Santa who visited the village children on a sled and tossed candies and glad tidings!

Reading Island Soul put me into a quandary: did I want to race to the finish to see what happened to the author in her struggles as a foreigner trying to belong on Karmøy Island? Or did I want to slow down and linger, the better to savor every word? Patti Jones Morgan has written a charming and delightful account of being transplanted to a little-known island in Norway and has shared her soul with us in the pages. The book feels cozy and warm, like sharing good talks with a close friend, yet often her observations strike one as richly nuanced and resonant, revealing a poet's soul. She is also in possession of a rare tweaking sense of humor about people and society which will give the reader a good laugh without bile. This book should appeal strongly to a good cross-section of reader interests, since it concerns travel, cultures, human interest stories, language, Scandinavia, and creativity (the author is a writer and an artist), just to name a few. I recommend it unreservedly as a charming book to warm the soul and let's hope we hear more from this fine author!

I have a feeling that many people who read "Island Soul" would like to move to Karmoy, the peaceful little island off the coast of Norway which, with its people, is the star of this story.

Maybe that's a post-9/11 reaction. But in the midst of all that's going on around us, Karmoy seems like the Shangri-La of the 21st century.

Patti Jones Morgan has a nice eye in spotting the idiosyncracies, the lifestyles, the joys and the trials which make up the culture of the people of Karmoy, and she has a nice style in relating them. And she does it with a quiet but funny sense of humor, which befits both the island and her book.

And friend, if you've ever traveled overseas for any length of time, as I have, you'll appreciate her struggles as she works ever so hard to master the Norwegian language. Uff-da, as the Norwegians say.

The book is worth a read, maybe on a rainy day over a cup of coffee. After all, Patti writes accurately enough, "Sometimes a mere hot cup of coffee indoors out of the rain tastes like nectar." And the book will add flavor to the coffee.

One more thought: Patti wrote the book in 2000. She would have no way of knowing the eerie feeling she generates when she tells of a seemingly innocuous incident in the Oslo airport when she was patted down during a routine search for drugs. "My heart skipped a beat," she writes, "as I visualized the agent's reaction if she found my little plastic bag of white powder."

In view of the news today, again I say, "Uff-da."

But I also say hooray to Patti for coming up with an interesting and insightful book about the people of and the peaceful place called Karmoy.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Imagine your husband coming home and saying "Honey, the company is moving us to Norway for three or four years." I'm afraid I might be tempted to say "see ya buddy." Thank God Patti Jones Morgan didn't stay behind. If she had, she would have deprived the rest of us of her delightful account of her time in Norway. Reading this book made me really stop and think about EVERYTHING that moving to a foreign country entails. While I felt her frustration as she tries to find her way in a new country, I was most impressed with the humor with which she deals with everyday life in an unfamiliar setting.

Her survival in Norway hinged on her ability to communicate with the locals. I laughed out loud at some of the situations she found herself in. Imagine going to the doctor's office supposedly for a gynecological exam and having office personnel begin treating you before you have even been able to explain why you are there in the first place. She firmly decides that if they begin cutting on her for any reason, she can just scream NO!

In order to get around she must be able to obtain a driver's license. Driving in a place like Norway can be a very challenging experience when you're used to driving in Houston, Texas where the temperature rarely drops below 60 degrees Farenheit even in the winter. Her account of a driving lesson learning to skid on slippery, frozen roads was hilarious. She tells the reader "I just wanted it all to be over without my killing anyone." After her test was complete, she couldn't understand why her husband and the instructor were shocked that she didn't want to ride along in the back seat while her husband took HIS test!

This book is full of witty little rumblings. My favorite example is when, after anticipating the all important mail from home, she finds that someone has misdirected a brochure for those SIZE 14 and OVER to her! She imagines that U.S. clothiers had been spying on her. She remarks "cookie crumbs lay next to my coffee mug as a testament to their detective work."

I'm looking forward to her next adventure! Mike -- where is the company taking you two next?

Island Soul will truly touch your soul. When forced to move to Norway, this American author from Texas undertook the huge challenge of learning the Norwegian language in an attempt to understand the culture and people of her new land. She writes of her neighbors, the merchants, the children, the fishermen, as well as the new who have emigrated to Norway from many parts of the world. Her anecdotes and characterizations are laced with humor, compassion and great insight. Her descriptions of her new surroundings are vivid and beautiful. Patti Jones Morgan is a master of the metaphor, as her essays are crafted with beauty and heart.

My admiration to Patti Jones Morgan for finding the soul, new and ancient, of the people " in a country where English is a second language". She writes with refreshing honesty about discovering a part of her own soul in the process. A colorful description of the people and nature on the island of Karmoy. I felt her struggles to fit in, cheered her on and found joy in her success! Thanks Patti Jones Morgan

This book is for anyone curious about life in Norway for an outsider.. That can be anyone besides a Norwegian!!!! It brought back many memories of my expat life for over four years in this beautiful country.... A must read if you are planning to move to Norway. It would have helped me a lot had it been in print before 1991... Patti does a wonderful job of letting the readers see with their minds the beauty of Norway and it's people....

Patti Jones Morgan has captured that feeling that so many people, especially women, have felt as they have followed there spouses from one job sight to another. This beautifully written book gives an insight into how to survive those moves and how to grow from each new experience. I certainly came away with the feeling that Patti not only loves people but loves Norway as well.