“The Island” by Ana María Matute (Spain)

Review

Once they had gotten used to the style of writing and dated language, most readers liked this coming-of-age story. They felt that the long passages and the frequent use of parenthesis as commentary demanded that they pay attention. They loved the descriptions of the people and places, and thought the imagery used was highly evocative of both the claustrophobia of the island and the harshness of the characters’ relationships. Readers warmed to the narrator, finding both her naivety and the sensitivity she brought to her situation convincing. They agreed it was a very perceptive story of adolescence and could relate to it. One reader felt that she would have enjoyed it more on a second reading. Overall, it averaged an 8.1 out of 10.

Synopsis

Expelled from her convent school for kicking the prioress, and abandoned by her father when her mother dies, rebellious teenager Matia is sent to live with her domineering grandmother on the island of Mallorca.
There she learns to scheme with her cousin Borja, and finds herself increasingly drawn to the strange outsider Manuel. But civil war has come to Spain, tearing communities apart, and it will teach Matia about the adult world in ways she could not foresee.

Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 23 – “Myth and the Magical” (Dec 2022 – May 2023)

“Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko (USA) *
“Man Tiger” by Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia)
“The Island” by Ana María Matute (Spain)
“The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola)

* The book club favourite
In italics, Nicola’s Coup de Cœur