A lovely gentle account of high passions around a Cretan leprosy colony in the mid-twentieth century and its consequences a lifetime later. ( )

Despite its promise, I found this international bestseller deeply disappointing. The setting is fascinating – the island of Spinalonga in Crete, which was a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. Hislop does give the reader some idea of village life in Crete in the 1940’s and 1950’s, but this book could have been so much better. The style is prosaic; every punch is telegraphed and every description is three sentences too long. There is little subtlety in the characterisation and Hislop seems to feel it necessary to explain their every move, leaving nothing to the reader’s imagination. The players are generally cardboard caricatures and it is difficult to find much empathy with them. I persevered to the end, to find out what happened to the settlement on Spinalonga, but found it all very contrived. ( )

This is not a story about, Alexis, a young career girl who is headed to Greece with her boyfriend on a vacation, but her mother's family and the past that is never discussed at home. Sofia gives Alexis a letter for a old family friend and asks that her families history be passed on to Alexis. In the small village of Plaka an old family friend tells Alexis the story of her family over the past three generations.

We follow Eleni, who is torn away from her family due to leprosy and sent to the Spinalounga the island off Plaka where all the lepers in Greece are sent. We then hear the story from what happened to the family on both sides of the water. Her daughters grow up, the older one Anna gets married and eventually gives birth to Sofia. Just when her life is looking good , Maria the younger daughter is torn away from happiness with leprosy, but is she really set up for the same fate as her mother, and what will happen to Sophia Anna's young daughter.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, but parts of it did drag at times and it seemed the author got carried away with giving details at times. ( )

A haunting tale of Crete and a small island used as a leper colony close by. It certainly takes you to a "different place" while you're reading it. A good read. ( )

Provides an insight into leprosy and leprosy sufferers that I personally found really interesting and gave me food for thought. While the story did hook me with all its tragedy/romance, though, I found the characters a bit too one-dimensional - a bit more depth and a few more shades between good and bad would have definitely enhanced it. ( )