"Rugged beauty and resilience abound in this inspiring, poetic “new lives in the wild” memoir "
“Twenty-two acres, a mile round, the island could just be a large field, were it not for the steep hill at the west, the darkness of the woodland to the north, the distinct areas of grassland and shingle, gardens and cliffs. Because of that, that isolation, it is automatically romantic, fat with legend and history”. So the landscape is set for Mary Considine’s beautifully-written memoir of returning to rugged St George’s Island, a place she loved from childhood.
When Mary and Patrick’s London life all but disintegrates during a year of tragic loss, feeling “caught between the loss of my old family and any new one”, Mary longed for the island, for any contact with it. It called to me”. So, the couple put their house on the market and seize an opportunity to becomes tenants of Island House, on condition that they renovate it. The work is hard, the winters are harsh (the island is inaccessible in winter), and the raw beauty is palpable as Considine relates their experiences, sharing stories of former tenants and local friends, Cornish history and legends, island nature and wildlife.
Skipping with poetic style and shot-through with a profound love for this specific island, this personal memoir also speaks of the power of place more generally. It’s a mesmerising read that will enchant all of us who’ve fallen for a place and felt that longing to return, that longing to belong. In Mary’s case, her island “speaks to us with the voice of a gull, a seal, a storm, with the voices of the drowned and the departed”. Beautiful.
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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A book that will leave you needing to know more and probably, haring off down the M5 to see Looe Island for yourself.
What an enchanting book! From the first paragraph, I was drawn into Mary and Patrick’s dream and their experiences. It is beautifully written with a poignancy that reaches out and touches the heart.
Mary Considine spent much of her childhood holidays on Looe Island, helping the indominable sisters, Attie and Babs Atkins. These ladies had bought the island in the 60’s and, through offering “working holidays”, managed to keep their frugal lifestyle going until 2004. In her will, Babs left the Island to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and this is when Mary was able to realise her dream of living there.
They take a twenty-year lease out on The Island House, committing to renovate it in the most sympathetic and environmentally friendly way they could.... Read Full Review
