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Writer's pictureGemma
Nov 21, 20204 min read

An Island by Karen Jennings

Published in hardcover, paperback and digital formats by Holland House Books on 12th November 2020

 

SYNOPSIS:

Samuel has lived alone for a long time; one morning he finds the sea has brought someone to offer companionship and to threaten his solitude…

A young refugee washes up unconscious on the beach of a small island inhabited by no one but Samuel, an old lighthouse keeper.


Unsettled, Samuel is soon swept up in memories of his former life on the mainland: a life that saw his country suffer under colonisers, then fight for independence, only to fall under the rule of a cruel dictator; and he recalls his own part in its history.


In this new man’s presence he begins to consider, as he did in his youth, what is meant by land and to whom it should belong.


To what lengths will a person go in order to ensure that what is theirs will not be taken from them?

A novel about guilt and fear, friendship and rejection; about the meaning of home.

 

MY THOUGHTS:

Samuel, a man who has lived a long and challenging life, takes on a job as a lighthouse keeper on a secluded island. Having been in prison for 25 years due to fighting for independence for his country Samuel is content living the rural and simple life, caring for his chickens and battling with nature to upkeep his small cottage and grounds surrounding his home. However, his solitude comes to an abrupt end when a man washes up on the sand. Samuel carries/drags this rather tall man back to his cottage in the hopes that he will pass away peacefully and can then be buried with the other humans who have been washed up on the island over the past years. Unfortunately for Samuel this man does make a full recovery and Samuel finds himself not only nursing him back to health but also sharing his cottage and supplies with him. Although, a language barrier stands between the two men, they communicate through gestures and actions.


The story is set over four days and weaves seamlessly between the past and present day. As the pages turn you hear about Samuel's early life; his struggles, his incarceration, the violence he has faced and his now complete isolation from humanity. The only contact Samuel has with the mainland is through his provisions being sent. After everything that Samuel has been through you can totally understand why he would chose to live the simple life away from others and why he reacts the way he does when he suddenly finds himself in the company of the young man.


Jennings writes a heart wrenching story about the effects of colonialism, dictatorship and political change. The setting of the island was atmospheric and the perfect backdrop for Samuel's solitude life. I loved how the island had a life of its own and couldn't be tamed no matter how hard Samuel worked at it. I guess a bit like Samuel himself. Although a short novel, An Island is an intense, powerful read where you can feel the tension build as you turn each page. And let me just mention that front cover - just fabulous!!!


Many thanks to Emma at Damppebbles blog tours for inviting me to join the tour and to Holland House Books for sending me a gifted copy of An Island.

 

AUTHOR:


Karen Jennings is a South African author. She holds Masters degrees in both English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in English Literature from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.


Her debut novel, Finding Soutbek, was shortlisted for the inaugural Etisalat Prize for African Fiction. In 2014 her short story collection, Away from the Dead, was longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International short story competition. Her memoir, Travels with my Father, was published in 2016, and in 2018 she released her debut poetry collection, Space Inhabited by Echoes.


Karen is currently living in Brazil with her Brazilian husband, and last year completed post-doctoral research at the Federal University of Goiás on the historical relationship between science and literature, with a focus on eusocial insects. In September 2019 her new novel, Upturned Earth, will be published by Holland Park Press. Karen is also affiliated with the mentorship programmes run by Writivism and Short Story Day Africa, both of which promote writing in Africa.


Broadly speaking, Karen’s interests lie in colonialism, historically and in the lasting impact that it has had on the continent of Africa and beyond. She is particularly concerned with the quiet lives of the everyday people who have been mostly forgotten by the politicians, big businesses and the rest of the world. In this way, she strives to give the ordinary a voice that can be heard and appreciated. The idea for An Island came to Karen during an afternoon nap at a writers’ residency she was attending in Denmark in 2015. In her sleep, she saw an old man, fiercely defending his island against interlopers. At the time, there was a vast amount in the news about the Syrian Refugee Crisis, which extended to what became known as Europe’s Refugee Crisis. There was a great global outcry against xenophobic responses and calls for humanitarian aid for Syria’s refugees. At the same time, there was almost nothing about refugees from Africa – not about what drove them to flee their nations, or what their dreadful experiences were, nor about their deaths or their futures. Karen chose to explore the relationship between refugee and landowner, but within an African setting, where xenophobia is as rife as in Europe, though it often manifests itself in different ways despite largely being born of colonialism. By reducing the action of the narrative to two characters, Karen felt that a complex issue could be rendered in simple ways that allowed for a focus on individual experiences. Social Media:

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/34APCHt

Purchase Links:

Holland House Books: https://bit.ly/3jyb0Br







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