Victoria Hislop

The Island is Victoria Hislop’s debut novel and is set on the island of Crete. The book covers the lives and loves of a number of generations of women from one family and covers much of the 20th century. It opens in the present as Alexis comes to Crete both on a holiday with her boyfriend and to search out the story of her family on her secretive mother’s side. What she finds is a strange history of leprosy, adultery, and murder. She also finds that the women in her family have been show more strong, loyal and caring.

I loved the story and was intrigued by all the information about leprosy and the small community of Spinalonga where lepers were sent to live away from the general population. Spinalonga is a tiny island just off the coast of Crete, it was a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. This terrible, misunderstood disease was a living death sentence as victims were shunned and forced away from their families and homes. Considered “unclean” a leper was unwelcome wherever they went. Spinalonga was, for many, a refuge. Here they could live in relative peace, had access to doctors, and the company of others afflicted by the disease.

The story draws the reader in with it’s wonderful descriptions, strong characters and moving story-line. There were some flaws to the book mostly in the predictability of the family saga and some overload of information, but her research was excellent and I learned a lot about the disease of leprosy and fell in love with the island of Crete. Overall The Island was well worth my time invested in the reading. show less

One August Night by Victoria Hislop is the sequel to The Island, continuing the story connected to the leper colony on Spinalonga Island.
This novel unfolds as a sweeping family saga exploring love and betrayal, stigma and scandal, and the difficult process of rebuilding life after tragedy. Hislop vividly portrays the lingering effects of the past on the lives of the characters, capturing both personal struggles and the social realities of the time.
Beautifully written and deeply immersive, show more the story brings the setting and its emotional landscape to life. Fans of historical fiction will appreciate the rich atmosphere and the continuation of the powerful story that began in The Island. show less

I wasn't sure I was going to like this when I started it, but I am pleased to say how wrong I was! I thought I would never remember who was who with the unfamiliar sounding Greek and Turkish names, but the book drew me in so much that I felt almost a part of each family.

Having looked through the wall into Famagusta on a family holiday to Cyprus in 1992, it was a sight that has stayed with me for so many years. The abandoned city described in this book was not just a glimpse through the wall show more but a walk down the desolate streets.

This is a story of those who left Famagusta and those who stayed behind. Both are equally disturbing and heartfelt; Aphroditi whose husband had ploughed all their money into hotels and now has nothing but her parents' apartment in Nicosia; the Georgious and the Özkans who refused to leave Famagusta so their loved ones could find them when they returned from fighting. Markos Georgiou is the character I loved to hate! He runs the nightclub in The Sunrise for Aphroditi's husband, Savvas. Aphroditi always felt suspicious of him but as they grow closer will she find out that first impressions are often right?

I was really moved by this story. The two families surviving together, looking out for each other and creating links that can never be severed, when they were in effect on opposite sides of the conflict. I loved the message that they are Cypriots first and foremost - whether Greek or Turkish is irrelevant.

I received this book from the publisher, Headline, via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review. show less

This book provides the reader with a sense of the personal cost of the Spanish civil war on families. The writing is competent if not dazzling, and both the frame story and the historical story embedded in it are quite compelling. Hislop gave me exactly what I was looking for: a fine sense of southern Spanish culture both in the present and during the time of the Spanish Civil War. Ms. Hislop's writing is so vividly detailed that you feel as if you are whisked away on an epic adventure to show more Spain where you have a front seat to bullfights, flamenco dancing, and a stroll through the streets of Granada. My favorite character was Mercedes - her love for Flamenco and her guitarist Javier were an inspiration show less