The Island - Victoria Hislop

I noticed that this book was a Richard and Judy Book club summer read and in my experience their book club titles are not always as good as they like to think. However, noticing it was written by Ian Hislop's wife made me intrigued and I decided to buy it. I was not to be disappointed. Set on the Greek Island of Crete and the Island of Spinalonga (north coast of Crete) which was a leper colony from 1903-1957. I am interested in family history as is Alexis who is puzzled about her Mother Sophia's family history. Her quest takes her to Crete and Spinalonga to uncover the tragic truth about her ... more

I picked up this book as I often do with books in my local Tesco just because I liked the front cover. Probably not the greatest method of selected stuff to stimulate the grey matter but thats how I work! This is the story of the island of Spinalonga, the Cretain Leper colony. Everything written about Spinalong as far as I can make out is true. However the writer has humanised it by giving us a survivors story to enjoy (a bit of a James Cameron's Titanic story really!). It is about a girls trip to Greece and the village of Plaka, many years after the closing down of the leper colony which lies ... more

I really enjoyed reading this book. My mom and i have very different tastes in books - she prefers Maeve Binchy whereas I'm a bit more adventurous when it comes to looking at the paperback charts in WhSmiths. This book was one that I had bought myself and also received as a Christmas present from her, and I found it very difficult to put down and she found the same after borrowing it. Normally, you can tell when you've picked up an author's first novel, but this left me thinking well after closing the last page, and made me go away and do my own research into the Island of Spinalonga. Victoria ... more

Encouraged to read this book by my friend I finally got around to starting it. Reading is a passed time I have always enjoyed. Recently books I have read have disappointed me. With little spare time for reading, I find it frustrating when a book is not satisfying. This book was not one of those let downs. The narrative travels back through time to tell the story of Alexis's ancestors, giving her the answers she needs in order her gain courage to move on with her life in the present day. The plot moved fast enough to keep you interested in the absorbing story. It was marked with tragedy ... more