Splendid Isolation
Samuel lives alone on an island off the coast of Africa, charged with maintaining a lighthouse. He is an old man, worn down by the pain dealt by the civilized world. He just wants to be left alone on his land, his island. His function is to oversee the place, keep the lighthouse going, and to bury the dead bodies who wash up on the shore. These are refugees who desperately crammed themselves onto makeshift boats and did not make it. The bodies were no longer of interest to the government and were even ridiculed by the men who drop off the island's supplies⦠âThere were bodies floating everywhere⦠those sharks of yours won't be starving anymore!" and "They deserve it, don't they?... Anyone stupid enough to pack themselves in a rotting boat like that and try to enter another country illegally is asking to die.â
Samuel's world is turned upside down when one of the bodies washes up still alive. Samuel's initial instinct is to help, to be friendly, to do the right thing. This stranger, a much younger and physically imposing man, does not speak Samuel's language and that adds to an estrangement and lack of understanding between the two. His mere presence threatens Samuel and triggers a series of memories pouring out: all his regrets and hardships, all the mistakes he feels he has made, all the trauma associated with his life outside the island. The sense of joy over some companionship is struggling with a paranoia to protect what is his.
Refugees. There are few social issues which test the conscience like the refugee one. Love thy neighborâ hard to argue with that concept. How does this change when a stranger enters the picture and seems a real threat? Samuel has worked hard, has built his walls to seal his world.
âThis land is mine. I am the land.â âSamuel
âAn Islandâ surprised many when it was on the 2021 Booker Prize Longlist. It is a relatively short novel and one that had a hard time getting noticed by publishers in the first place. Karen Jennings has written a beautifully concise and insightful portrait of a man both consumed by and trapped by his island. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Samuel lives alone on an island off the coast of Africa, charged with maintaining a lighthouse. He is an old man, worn down by the pain dealt by the civilized world. He just wants to be left alone on his land, his island. His function is to oversee the place, keep the lighthouse going, and to bury the dead bodies who wash up on the shore. These are refugees who desperately crammed themselves onto makeshift boats and did not make it. The bodies were no longer of interest to the government and were even ridiculed by the men who drop off the island's supplies⦠âThere were bodies floating everywhere⦠those sharks of yours won't be starving anymore!" and "They deserve it, don't they?... Anyone stupid enough to pack themselves in a rotting boat like that and try to enter another country illegally is asking to die.â
Samuel's world is turned upside down when one of the bodies washes up still alive. Samuel's initial instinct is to help, to be friendly, to do the right thing. This stranger, a much younger and physically imposing man, does not speak Samuel's language and that adds to an estrangement and lack of understanding between the two. His mere presence threatens Samuel and triggers a series of memories pouring out: all his regrets and hardships, all the mistakes he feels he has made, all the trauma associated with his life outside the island. The sense of joy over some companionship is struggling with a paranoia to protect what is his.
Refugees. There are few social issues which test the conscience like the refugee one. Love thy neighborâ hard to argue with that concept. How does this change when a stranger enters the picture and seems a real threat? Samuel has worked hard, has built his walls to seal his world.
âThis land is mine. I am the land.â âSamuel
âAn Islandâ surprised many when it was on the 2021 Booker Prize Longlist. It is a relatively short novel and one that had a hard time getting noticed by publishers in the first place. Karen Jennings has written a beautifully concise and insightful portrait of a man both consumed by and trapped by his island. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
