The Island [Paperback]

Victoria Hislop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2007

The Petrakis family lives in the small Greek seaside village of Plaka. Just off the coast is the tiny island of Spinalonga, where the nation's leper colony once was located—a place that has haunted four generations of Petrakis women. There's Eleni, ripped from her husband and two young daughters and sent to Spinalonga in 1939, and her daughters Maria, finding joy in the everyday as she dutifully cares for her father, and Anna, a wild child hungry for passion and a life anywhere but Plaka. And finally there's Alexis, Eleni's great-granddaughter, visiting modern-day Greece to unlock her family's past.

A richly enchanting novel of lives and loves unfolding against the backdrop of the Mediterranean during World War II, The Island is an enthralling story of dreams and desires, of secrets desperately hidden, and of leprosy's touch on an unforgettable family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Travel writer Hislop's unwieldy debut novel opens with 25-year-old Alexis leaving Britain for Crete, her mother Sofia's homeland, hoping to ferret out the secrets of Sofia's past and thereby get a handle on her own turbulent life. Sofia's friend Fortini tells Alexis of her grandmother Anna, and great-aunt Maria. Their mother (Alexis's great-grandmother) contracted leprosy in 1939 and went off to a leper colony on the nearby island of Spinalonga, leaving them with their father. Anna snags a wealthy husband, Andreas, but smolders for his renegade cousin, Manoli. When philanderer Manoli chooses Maria, Anna is furious. Conveniently, Maria also contracts leprosy and is exiled, allowing Anna to conduct an affair with Manoli. Meanwhile, Maria feels an attraction to her doctor, who may have similar feelings. Though the plot is satisfyingly twisty, the characters play one note apiece (Anna is prone to dramatic outrages, Maria is humble and kind, and their love interests are jealous and aggressive). Hislop's portrayal of leprosy—those afflicted and the evolving treatment—during the 1940s and 1950s is convincing, but readers may find the narrative's preoccupation with chronicling the minutiae of daily life tedious. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When beloved schoolteacher Eleni is diagnosed with leprosy, she is exiled to the Greek island of Spinalonga. Left behind on Crete are her husband and two beautiful daughters, headstrong Anna and dutiful Maria. Years later, Eleni's great-granddaughter Alexis returns to Crete to find answers to her family's mysteries. Conveniently, a witness to her family history is still alive to tell her—and us—the dark story. The novel is a romantic page-turner, but a little shallow. For example, the Nazi occupation of Crete becomes a plot device to turn the boy next door into a hunk, and, after much tribulation, the good are rewarded and the bad punished. The novel, successful in Britain, will probably be a popular beach read and book club selection this summer. There's little to object to in this historical romp. Block, Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0641964765
• ISBN-13: 978-0061340321
• ASIN: 0061340324
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #547,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Island - a must read for a visit to Crete, July 9, 2006

By 

T. Last (A Canadian Expat now living in Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Island (Hardcover)

With a trip to Crete planned for this summer I chanced upon this book and bought it. Victoria Hislop has researched her subject very well and written a wonderful story. The life of the Cretans and the plight of the lepers was brought home with a tour to the Island of Spinalonga where the lepers lived. Having read the book and listened to our guide, you could get a keen sense of the small world the lepers lived in and even though they lived a very tough life they did find hope in the small things that made them a community. I was throughly touched by the story and my visit.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Show, don't tell!, December 13, 2008

By 

ash (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Island (Paperback)

I enjoy books about people searching for the history of their families, and thought this might be an intriguing one. Aside from the tacked on angst of the modern girl at the beginning and the end, there is a potentially interesting story of a family torn apart by leprosy. It soon appeared tho that rather than allow the family itself to show me what was happening, the author chose to narrate the book as if she was a reporter, giving a blow by blow description of every house, everyone's clothing, everyone's feeling. Very disappointing.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Story and Prose, June 12, 2009

By 

Tara (Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Island (Paperback)

I enjoyed this novel so much that halfway thru it I ordered Victoria Hislop's next book. The writing style is fantastic. The descriptions are eloquent without being pompous or overdone. The characters are like everyday people, if a bit exagerated. It starts with Alexis, a young woman trying to get to the bottom of her mother's strange and mysterious past while vacationing in Crete. I would like to note here that it is NOT like the "Forgotten Garden" for those of you that are not fond of time jumping. After a brief Part One in which readers meet Alexis and her mother Sofia, the entire novel until the very end is about Eleni (Alexis's great grandmother) and Eleni's daughters, Anna and Maria. Eleni is banished from her family and sent to Spinalonga, a leper colony, during pre world war II. While she makes the most of her situation and her disease, her husband and daughters deal with the loss of her and the girls especially deal with pre adolesence and the uncertainity of their futures. Anna is an awful character, the daughter that is evil and cruel and wants something for nothing. Maria cares for people as well as her father and has a heart of gold. Shortly after Eleni dies, Anna marries into a wealthy family and has all she has ever wanted, fine clothes, maids, and a life of money spending and idleness. Yet she wants more. She desires her husband's cousin, who has decided to marry Maria. Unfortunately, and much to Anna's glee, Maria contracts leprosy and must go live on Spinalonga. Is this a blessing in disguise? Readers will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Despite her hardships and disease, Maria outshines Anna in life and happiness. A tired but sometimes true moral is hidden within this story.. "Good things come to those that wait.."

I really loved the way the author showed us what life on Spinalonga must have been like, that the people had hope and lived live to its fullest. She also addressed issues such as prejudicy against those that are different and how people's ignorance makes them act harshly and rashly towards others.