Island
‘A boy swims through black water. … The night is still. In front of him stars float and he breaks through them. Anger has propelled him from the shore and longing draws him — a longing he is reluctant to name or face because it makes of him a child, a notion he must disprove. The chill water extinguishes the burning edge of his anger; it weakens the cord of his longing.’
Back cover blurb:
An island in a bleak harbour; an isolated quarantine station where a group of nurses works tirelessly to care for sailors and immigrants recovering from the effects of the long sea voyage to the new land.
Kahu swims ashore, searching for a woman. Young nurse, Liesel, caught in a passionate triangle, is faced with choices both harrowing and intoxicating. Martha, who oversees the hospital and guides the community, is making a kind of experiment with life.
Some on the island are too sick to live. Others flame with life. The island is cradle and crucible.
Penelope Todd’s first novel for adults is full of brilliantly drawn characters and a narrative that sweeps the reader along with its power. This is literary fiction of the highest quality, and an intensely romantic page-turner.
