By chance, I recently read two novels set on remote islands. It was pure coincidence, but
it helped me think about setting, plot and character in fiction. The island
setting in both books serves essentially as a character and helps develop the
plot.
The first
“island” novel I read was M.L. Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans. It was recommended by one of my favorite bookstore
owners, Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookshop here in Houston. It did not
disappoint. The novel was deeply engrossing fiction of the highest order.
I was immediately drawn into the
story of Tom, an emotionally wounded man just returned to his homeland of
Western Australia after the horrors of World War One. The love of the bright
and adventurous Isabel and the desolate setting of Janus Rock help to heal Tom’s
scars from the war. Tom is the light keeper on this island, a half day’s
journey from the mainland, and the light serves as a symbol for the hope he
begins to feel until he is forced to make a difficult decision for the woman he
loves. As the story unfolds, every character is looking for some kind of
redeeming light. The atmospheric setting of the island and the many layers of
the plot help to create a story you will never forget. This is this first novel
by this Australian writer. I can’t wait to read her next.
The next “island” book I read was
T. C. Boyle’s San Miguel. I heard Boyle
speak and read from the book at Inprint Houston’s amazing Margaret Roott Brown Reading Series and I knew I had to read this book immediately. T.C. Boyle is a
prolific writer and has won multiple writing awards. I have read his short stories,
but never one of his 14 novels. After
completing San Miguel, I was excited
to know that I have so many more of T .C. Boyle’s books to enjoy…and I will.
San
Miguel tells the story of two different families who lived on the island
San Miguel off the coast of California at the end of the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th. The novel is based on the
real story of these families from diaries, letters and newspaper accounts of
their lives. The story is told through the viewpoints of three women.
First we learn the story of the
unhappy Marantha Waters, who, along with her daughter, is brought to the island
off the coast of southern California by her second husband. He promises her
that the ocean air will heal her consumptive lung disease, but in reality the
damp, windy atmosphere ultimately kills her. The story is next told through her
strong willed daughter Edith, who is essentially imprisoned on the island, by
her stepfather. The third and last section is about the Lester family as seen
through the loving eyes of Edith, wife of Herbie. The newlyweds move to the
island in 1930 filled with love for each other and excitement about their new
home. They go on to have two children on this remote, desolate place as
Herbie’s manic-depressive personality overpowers Edith’s optimism.
The women in Boyle’s novel are rich
in the depth of their characterization. The island of San Miguel is more than
the backdrop to their lives; it is a force to be reckoned with and battled
against in both families.
The two husbands are war veterans
in Boyle’s novel, just as the male protagonist in the Stedman novel. The
islands in both novels are places of refuge and healing for the men, but
unforgiving, relentless prisons for the women.
Both books made me realize how the setting in which we live influences
the lives we lead. And how the setting
of an island can create unforgettable novels.
