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The Island
 
 

The Island (Paperback)

by Victoria Hislop (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (280 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.15 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Headline Review (10 April 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0755309510
  • ISBN-13: 978-0755309511
  • Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.8 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (280 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 691 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #2 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > H > Hislop, Victoria

Product Description

Review

'Adding depth and colour to the story is the description of Cretan life... in particular, the vividly detailed account of life on Spinalonga... It is one of the achievements of this thoughtful novel that it presents the lives of the island's inhabitants with such empathy. The result is a fascinating work that combines a moving love story witha  plea for more understanding about this most cruel of diseases.'

(The Times )

'This is a vivid, moving and absorbing tale, with its sensitive, realistic engagement with all the consequences of, and stigma attached to leprosy, elevating it beyond holiday literature.' 

(Observer )

'Gently gripping tale'

(Scotsman on Sunday )

'Brings dignity and tenderness to her novel' 

(Telegraph )

'a compelling story that has rarely left the bestseller list this year and deservedly so'

(Sunday Express )


Product Description

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. All 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 passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip... (20060416)

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Island
93% buy the item featured on this page:
The Island 3.5 out of 5 stars (280)
£5.15
The Return
4% buy
The Return 3.0 out of 5 stars (95)
£4.76
The Time Traveler's Wife
1% buy
The Time Traveler's Wife 4.3 out of 5 stars (994)
£3.82
The Villa in Italy
1% buy
The Villa in Italy 3.9 out of 5 stars (24)
£4.60

 

Customer Reviews

280 Reviews
5 star:
 (111)
4 star:
 (63)
3 star:
 (28)
2 star:
 (24)
1 star:
 (54)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (280 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful novel that makes you re-evaluate your views., 16 Jul 2006
By P. Bradburn "omegacontracts" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This has to be one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is certainly a quality book but without being heavy like an old classic. It is well-researched and contains powerful imagery and detailed descriptions of Crete. It makes you want to go and look up the places on the internet so you can see exactly where the novel is set. It is tragic without being upsetting. This novel makes you think about how we treat people today with certain illnesses and explores class, prejudice and discrimination wonderfully. It also makes you consider those who put themselves at risk for the sake of others and humbles the reader.

The story is well structured and I was not able to guess what was going to happen in the end, but the book was so enjoyable throughout that I certainly wasn't hankering to see what would happen at the end. This is one of those books I was sad to finish and will be pushed to find one so good to read next. I will definately be buying the author's next book and would highly recommend this to anyone who likes books that let you escape abroad in your own home but with a bit of substance.
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133 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Different books for different types of readers, 20 Feb 2007
I enjoyed The Island but I think it has to be admitted that it cast leprosy in an "old" light: a book mentioned below, John Tayman's The Colony was aimed at the serious reader who wants to know about leprosy from a non-fiction viewpoint, and Dinah Kung's Under Their Skin offers readers a more complex, engrossing novel where leprosy medicine is in the fabric of the story, but isn't the focus. The Island was obviously meant for beach reading, even said so on the cover. I'm studying public health so I'm thrilled to see authors looking at medicine this way for all kinds or levels of reading!
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138 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth our reading group's time, 14 Feb 2007
By Beverly (Essex) - See all my reviews
We read this in tandem with Under Their Skin by D.L. Kung, and concluded that Hislop's efforts to capture the pathos of Spinalonga and the problems of leprosy were admirable, but let down by her bad writing and clunky plotting. Under Their Skin was a very modern story, and although the ending didn't suit everyone, its background on leprosy was breathtaking--you really finished knowing how things have changed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Are we reading the same book?
Like previous reviewers, I also read this book as suggested as a book club recommendation. Not only that, it was the only book I took for a weekend away. Bad mistake. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Chris

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read
This is the first book by this author that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows those suffering from leprosy in Crete during the Second World War. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Mrs. S. Payne

5.0 out of 5 stars love it love it love it
i seriously could not put this book down; i was hooked from the first three pages. i wanted to keep reading but i didn't want to finish because i was enjoying it so much... Read more
Published 1 month ago by LMW

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a holiday read
This is a sensitive and detailed story that unfolds with huge emotion and suffering. Thre's always a tinge of hope however. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Derek E. Newton

4.0 out of 5 stars Crete adventure
This was my first read of a Victoria Hislop and I really enjoyed her style of writing. The story was interesting as it made me look at my Crete guidebook to see whether the island... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. N. Moore

4.0 out of 5 stars "No man is an island" ...
Although this novel appears to be a 'light read', it shouldn't be dismissed as mere supermarket-style 'chick litt. Read more
Published 1 month ago by J.A.E.V.SHAW

1.0 out of 5 stars I tried to read this, I really did...
This was chosen for my reading group, chosen by someone I work with, and whom I like very much. Because of this I've tried very hard to read this. I've failed. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Odaline

5.0 out of 5 stars The Island
I loved "the island" it was one of the best books i have read in a long time I was unable to put it down, I have been to Crete and have visited the island of Spinalonga, the book... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Woodcock

1.0 out of 5 stars Unmitigated Rubbish
I have just finished this appallingly written novel and for the first time felt so strongly about how bad the book was that I decided to write a review. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Alan Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars the island
This book has a lot going on could not put it down.The wife is reading for the second time
Published 1 month ago by A. J. Voce

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