Wednesday 9 May 2012

Island Of Wings by Karin Altenberg


Island of Wings is one of the books on the Orange Prize long-list that I was really looking forward to reading.  It's set in 1830 when Reverend Neil McKenzie and his wife Lizzie set sail for the desolate islands of St Kilda from the Hebrides.  Neil is tasked with winning the local population round to Christianity and away from their 'Pagan' traditions.  Neil is also running away from a difficult past and Lizzie is leaving behind everything she knows.  They are both tested in the harsh environment of their new home.

I went into this book thinking that I would love it.  And whilst there were elements about it I very much enjoyed, Island of Wings fell short of my expectations.  To start with the positives, it was obvious that Alternberg had really done her research - I knew nothing about St Kilda before starting the book but almost felt as if I had visited it myself after closing it.  I was very interested in the lives of the residents of St Kilda, especially the high rate of infant mortality (up to 80%) due to neonatal tetanus.  Their whole lifestyle was fascinating, as was watching the lengths Neil had to go to in order to convert them to Christianity.  The basic bones of the story were decent and events played out well.

But for some reason, the book just didn't click.  The writing felt very awkward in places, especially towards the beginning of the novel.  There were multiple persepective shifts within each chapter with no line breaks or signalling, which made the reading experience jarring.  One minute I was deep in Neil's crisis of regret, the next in Lizzie's mind pondering what guests will think of her house.  My example is extreme, but I really do like clear signs of perspective change and don't like constantly having to work out who is thinking what.

Another thing that bothered me was how Lizzie lived on the island for well over twelve years but never learned any Gaelic, meaning she couldn't communicate with the natives at all.  Surely she would have picked it up over time?  All in all, Island of Wings was an evocative book with a good story that taught me a lot about a different place but it was let down by an awkward writing style.  It's Karin Altenberg's debut novel and the promise of the story means I would definitely read her future books.

Source: Library (reserved)
First Published: 2011
Score: 3 out of 5

Read Alongside:
The obvious comparison is with Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible.  This also features a minister visiting a harsh environment (the Congo).  It's one of my all time favourite books, which is one of the reasons I really wanted to read Island of Wings.

10 comments:

  1. Oh bummer that you didn't enjoy this more. I was really fascinated by this one when I saw you were reading it. The library, again, fails to have a copy! Blast these Atlanta libraries. I absolutely hate giant shifts in character dialogue/thought. I actually kind of just did that myself. But I'm not literary and can be forgiven. I could see how that would take away from the book though. At least you're hopeful that her next work will really blow it out of the water. & learning about new places is always fun.

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    1. Yeah, I was fascinated by the idea of it too, just a bit of a bad execution. And my library system is rubbish for new US releases, it usually takes at least a year for them to get a copy or two in stock! I'm sure her next book wil be much better as she gets into her writing stride.

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  2. How did Altenberg deal with the characters of Neil and Lizzie? I often find that missionaries are portrayed as saintly or terrible (i.e. the father in Poisonwood). I would be interested to find a balanced perspective...

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    1. Lizzie was a bit of a wet blanket to be honest, so showed no interest in her surroundings for the majority of the book. Neil was handled well, he had a secret in his past that was driving his religion but he was neither saintly or terrible. He wanted the best for the islanders but was completely unable to see what the best would actually be.

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  3. After seeing so many surprisingly glowing reviews of this one, I'm sad to see it wasn't as successful for you. I'll be reading this one next week and am sort of looking forward to it. Missionary stories can be hit or miss for me, but I am intrigued by the time and geography of this one.

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    1. I've not seen many reviews of it at all, so I am looking forward to your thoughts. I hope you enjoy it a bit better than I did.

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  4. Thanks for the balanced review, Sam. I'm still hovering over this one.

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    1. I have seen lots of other more positive reviews of it, so don't let my mediocre response sway you.

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  5. This made an interesting read. Sometimes I wasn't sure how consistent the characters were but the historical aspect was worth it. Made me realise that life on St Kilda was never going to be easy, even possible. Made me want to visit the islands myself too!
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  6. I love books about times, people and places who are so far removed from our own lives and times; and this book captures a time and place that is totally alien to us now, so far distant in both its own reality and its own time. A time, unfortunately, that was doomed to eventually end for those who had for centuries survived on the harsh world on the edge of the Atlantic.

    A wonderful story, beautifully written; highly recommended.

    Mica
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