Saturday, January 25, 2025

2025 book 20

 Allegra Goodman's Isola

Goodman's latest is totally engrossing, the story of a wealthy orphan girl growing up in 1500s France, with occasional visits from her clearly sketchy guardian. Eventually he plans to lead a journey to New France (Canada lol) and drags her with him. But when she falls in love with his secretary, he punishes them by leaving them stranded on a deserted island. (That all is in the description but doesn’t happen till halfway through—everything before that is just as interesting though.) I love reading survival stories from the comfort of my couch and this was a compelling one, and it turns out to be based on a true story!!!! Parts of it reminded me of The Vaster Wilds but it’s less grim (comparatively). Gonna give this an A.


__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on February 4th.

No comments: