stunningly beautiful book (The Island - Victoria Hislop)

Member Name: specialman

Product:	The Island - Victoria Hislop
Date:	15/07/09 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you live the lives of these people

Disadvantages: Has been followed with a sequel which may spoil a fabulous first novel

The blurb on the back of the book may make you inclined to reject it as rather depressing. Please don't, give it a chance. It doesn't have the quickest start but that suits the subject matter and the location. You are almost immediately transported to Greece and its rather more relaxed and simplistic way of life, the culture oozes from the pages and you can almost smell the olive groves. This may sound somewhat pretentious but you are made of stone if you don't feel this. I was born to people watch and this book is everything the people watcher could ever wish for. If the human condition fascinates you, as it does me, then this is definitely the book for you. I don't want to discuss the storyline other than to say that the range of characters and how they intertwine and relate is stunning. I spent the whole book hungry for more, more relationships, more emotion, more culture, more pages! Why did it have to end? Quite unbelievable that this could be Victoria Hislop's first published novel. Fabulous.

Summary: helps you see the world in a very different light, emotionally and culturally.