The Island

Előszó

Plaka, 1953 cold wind whipped through the narrow streets of Plaka and the chili of the autumnal air encircled the woman, paralysing her body and mind with a numhness that almost blocked her senses but could do nothing to alleviate her grief. As she stumbled the lastfew metres to the jetty she leaned heavily on her father, her gait that of an old crone for whom every step brought a stáb of pain. But her pain was not physical Her body was as strong as any young woman who had spent her life breathing the pure Cretan air; and her skin was as youthful and her eyes as intensely brown and bright as those of any girl on this island. The little boát, unstable with its cargo of oddly shaped bundles lashed together with string, bobbed and lurched on the sea. The elderly man lowered himself in slowlyy and with one hand trying to hold the craft steady reached out with the other to help his daughter. Once she was safely on board he wrapped her protectively in a blanket to shield her from the elements. The only visible indication then that she was not simply another piece of cargo were the long strands of dark hair that flew and danced freely in the wind. He carefully released his vessel from its mooring - there was nothing more to be said or done - and their journey began. This was not the start of a short trip to deliver supplies. It was the beginning of a one-way journey to start a new life. Life on a leper colony. Life on Spinalonga. Vissza

Fülszöveg

On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. Ali she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters, and a family rent by tragedy, war and passión. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip... Tassionately engaged with its subject' The Sunday Times 'A moving and absorbing holiday read that pulls at the heart strings' Evening Standard 'Hislop carefully evokes the lives of Cretans...but most commendable is her compassionate portrait of the outcasts' Guardian 'Wonderful descriptions, strong characters and an intimate portrait of island existence' Woman & Home Vissza