Book 10 - 2020
Book 10: Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar - 386 pages
Description from bookdepository.co.uk:
Kitty Hawke, the last inhabitant of a dying island sinking into the wind-lashed Chesapeake Bay, has resigned herself to annihilation...
Until one night her granddaughter rows ashore in the midst of a storm, desperate, begging for sanctuary. For years, Kitty has kept to herself - with only the company of her wolfdog, Girl - unconcerned by the world outside, or perhaps avoiding its worst excesses. But blood cannot be turned away in times like these. And when trouble comes following her granddaughter, no one is more surprised than Kitty to find she will fight to save her as fiercely as her name suggests...
A richly imagined and mythic parable of home and kin that cements Lucy Treloar's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.
Thoughts:
Kitty has lived alone (but for her wolf dog Girl) on her shrinking island in the Chesapeake Bay for many years. She likes her solitude, isn’t comfortable anywhere but her island, the consequence of which is losing her family. She has regrets but is also too stubborn or set in her ways to change. That all changes when her granddaughter Cat and two illegal immigrants turn up on her island.
This was a beautiful book. It took a while to get into it but then I read about half the book on a beach day on an island in Cuba. It’s one of those books that slowly worms its way into your psyche, a subtle layered story that builds on itself and ends up moving you deeply. I cried when Hurtle the dog died, not because it was anymore sad then when Girl (the wolf dog) dies but because Hurtle dies of old age and I couldn’t help reflecting on how I might feel when my dog Ellie eventually passes away. And that’s the kind of book this is - the kind that makes you reflect on your own experiences, on the decisions you might make in the same situation, on humanity and how we treat each other - a thought more important than ever in our Coronavirus landscape. The underlying landscape of a world changing because of climate change, as islands wash away and people are displaced, is a timely and important one. A deep, slow, thoughtful piece of literature, reflective of our times.
10 / 50 books. 20% done!
3032 / 15000 pages. 20% done!
Currently reading:
Journey to the West by Cheng-En Wu - 673 pages
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton - 496 pages
Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe by Dr. Dave Williams - 215 pages
And coming up:
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
The Husband List by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly - 309 pages
Description from bookdepository.co.uk:
Kitty Hawke, the last inhabitant of a dying island sinking into the wind-lashed Chesapeake Bay, has resigned herself to annihilation...
Until one night her granddaughter rows ashore in the midst of a storm, desperate, begging for sanctuary. For years, Kitty has kept to herself - with only the company of her wolfdog, Girl - unconcerned by the world outside, or perhaps avoiding its worst excesses. But blood cannot be turned away in times like these. And when trouble comes following her granddaughter, no one is more surprised than Kitty to find she will fight to save her as fiercely as her name suggests...
A richly imagined and mythic parable of home and kin that cements Lucy Treloar's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.
Thoughts:
Kitty has lived alone (but for her wolf dog Girl) on her shrinking island in the Chesapeake Bay for many years. She likes her solitude, isn’t comfortable anywhere but her island, the consequence of which is losing her family. She has regrets but is also too stubborn or set in her ways to change. That all changes when her granddaughter Cat and two illegal immigrants turn up on her island.
This was a beautiful book. It took a while to get into it but then I read about half the book on a beach day on an island in Cuba. It’s one of those books that slowly worms its way into your psyche, a subtle layered story that builds on itself and ends up moving you deeply. I cried when Hurtle the dog died, not because it was anymore sad then when Girl (the wolf dog) dies but because Hurtle dies of old age and I couldn’t help reflecting on how I might feel when my dog Ellie eventually passes away. And that’s the kind of book this is - the kind that makes you reflect on your own experiences, on the decisions you might make in the same situation, on humanity and how we treat each other - a thought more important than ever in our Coronavirus landscape. The underlying landscape of a world changing because of climate change, as islands wash away and people are displaced, is a timely and important one. A deep, slow, thoughtful piece of literature, reflective of our times.
10 / 50 books. 20% done!
3032 / 15000 pages. 20% done!
Currently reading:
Journey to the West by Cheng-En Wu - 673 pages
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton - 496 pages
Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe by Dr. Dave Williams - 215 pages
And coming up:
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
The Husband List by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly - 309 pages