Victoria Hislop

Book Review: One August Night by Victoria Hislop

Posted on by Libby Price

When I posted my review of The Island, Victoria Hislop’s novel about Spinalonga, a couple of friends asked if I’d also read the sequel – One August Night. I hadn’t, but I’m very easily lead, so immediately bought it – and then saved it for when we were in Crete on holiday.

The view of Spinalonga from the village of Plaka

Here’s the blurb:

“25th August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.
When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.
In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.
Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop returns to the world and characters she created in The Island – the award-winning novel that remains one of the biggest selling reading group novels of the century. It is finally time to be reunited with Anna, Maria, Manolis and Andreas in the weeks leading up to the evacuation of the island… and beyond.”

The sequel cleverly interweaves the final chapters of The Island – starting just as the leper colony is going to be disbanded – so you know some of the storyline already (but having said that, One August Night would work as a standalone book – but I would suggest you should read The Island first anyway!) I’d expected it to bridge the gap between the ‘present day’ and historic elements of The Island – but it’s actually only for a very short period, and doesn’t bring in the more recent characters at all. It focusses on Maria and Manolis and their supporting family and friends, old and new.

Maria has stayed locally – albeit just down the coast in Agios Nikolaos – whilst Manolis leaves immediately after that fateful August night – and his travels and subsequent new life are well described and evocative. The fall out from that evening is examined from all of the people it has affected, and it is really well written.

It was lovely to be reunited with all of the characters – and reading the book whilst being able to see Spinalonga from the hotel was amazing. We visited Spinalonga by boat one day, walked to Plaka another, and drove to Agios Nikoloas in torrential rain another day and Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing both books brought to life. And obviously the rest of the family loved us sharing everything we knew!!

Book Review: The Island by Victoria Hislop

Posted on by Libby Price

Later on this year we are taking my parents to Greece to celebrate their respective 75th and 80th birthdays (one for each parent, we haven’t been waiting for 5 years!) Mum has been keen to go to Crete – and more specifically to visit Spinalonga. Pretty much every female friend I’ve mentioned this to has said ‘Oh, have you read The Island by Victoria Hislop?’ Now, Mum had – which is what had piqued her interest in visiting Spinalonga – The Island in question – in the first place, but I hadn’t – until now! Thanks to the kind loan of the paperback from a neighbour of my parents, I’ve joined the club. Here’s the blurb:

“On the brink of her own 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…”

Whilst the book is top and tailed by Alexis’s story – the fundamental part of the book goes back in time to the 1930s and Eleni, Alexis’s great grandmother and her family. It is then a family saga over many years. The descriptions are wonderful and really evocative and you can totally imagine life both on Crete and over the narrow stretch of water on Spinalonga. Learning about how people with leprosy lived was incredibly interesting – and I really enjoyed that aspect. Real world events such as the Second World War are also interwoven throughout the book – and I found out recently how much Greece was part of the war in Europe (my grandfather in law was a prisoner in the Peloponnese in Greece at that time) I had thought of visiting Greece for Classics type history (and we’ve done Athens and Olympia for exactly this) – but this more recent history is equally interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book – and I’m now looking forward to our trip to Crete even more.

At this point I often thank publishers for copies of books – but in this instance, I’d like to thank my parents’ neighbour Wendy for letting me borrow her hard copy!