Burning Island by Suzanne Goldring
Genre: Historical fiction, contemporary fiction, women's fiction, Dual timeline
Read: 28th March 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 22nd January 2020)
★★★★ 4 stars
I always knew that Suzanne Goldring would have difficulty topping the brilliance of her first book "My Name is Eva" and any others would just be a shadow of that one. BURNING ISLAND is her second and, whilst I did end up enjoying it, the story wasn't nearly as compelling as her previous offering.
1944: Isaac and Perla Nikorkiris, along with their daughter Rebekka, live a quiet life in the Jewish quarter of Corfu Town. However, for the past few years they have kept the existence of their two youngest daughters secret and not registered their births, keeping them hidden in an effort to keep them safe. Now they have a difficult choice to make. The Germans are making noises around town that the Jewish residents will soon be leaving the island and Isaac and Perla have a plan in place for the youngest girls to be taken to a safe place to be be kept hidden. A middle-aged childless couple, Agata and Georgiou, are willing to put themselves in danger to look after the girls and keep them safe until the war is over.
The following morning, five year old Matilde and two year old Anna awake confused with no idea where they are or where their parents and Rebekka are. Agata explains that they have been sent to live with them while their parents and Rebekka go to work for the Germans, and that after the war they will return and be reunited with them. The girls are malnourished and have a sickly pallor from never having been outside for fear of discovery by the Germans. Agata endeavours to fatten them up with good clean air, sunshine and plenty of wholesome food from their land.
The coastal cottage where the girls now live with Agata and Georgiou is far from town and prying eyes. They will not be discovered there...but should any stranger happen by, Agata shows the girls a very special hiding place where no one will ever discover them, making an adventure out of it. But they still miss their parents and Rebekka and sometimes cry at night for them. Agata comforts the girls as she would her own, singing them to sleep or telling them stories. Within days it is clear the girls are happy, playing outside in the fresh air and sunshine and soon begin to look healthier.
While their little haven remains secret Agata knows it is only a matter of time before their little cottage is discovered, as Germans continue to scour the island for Jews who may have slipped through their net. Then when a stranger appears on their beach one having been swimming, the couple are spooked and decide to relocate the girls to an even more remote area...high in the mountains.
2006: Amber and her husband have left their old lives behind in cold and miserable London for the warmer climes of Corfu, filled with hopes and dreams of starting their own business. They stay with friends while searching for the perfect location and meeting some interesting characters along the way who assist in making their dreams a reality. When they come across the perfect mountain hideaway that will be their home, plans are soon put in motion to restore the existing building and extending it into a restaurant and a bed and breakfast.
During the building phase, James spends more time with the two men who have helped make this dream possible - Greg and Dimitri. Without their invaluable knowledge and assistance, Mountain Thyme would never have come to fruition. But James keeps their discussions secret from Amber, without confiding in her the extent of Greg and Dimitri's involvement.
When Amber falls pregnant, James is anything but pleased. This moment that is to be savoured and enjoyed is dampened by his relentless need to build his reputation and put Mountain Thyme on the map as a sought after place. He is furthered bothered by the fact that the baby is due around the beginning of August, at the height of their summer season, which will further inconvenience him. I could have honestly slapped him for his lack of feeling and sensitivity! Of course, Amber's pregnancy made her excessively hot, particularly when summer arrived, prompting him to sleep in one of the spare rooms if there wasn't a guest booked in. Failing that, he then began to spend the nights at Greg's place, leaving Amber alone in their remote mountain view home.
Whilst James explores business opportunities with Greg and Dimitri, Amber befriends two women - Marian and Inge - who run a couple of quaint shops on the island specialising in rustic items from furniture to pottery, with which they intend to furnish their new home and business. During her visits with the women, Amber learns how Inge came to own the shop and the story behind the couple who bequeathed it to her when they passed.
As Amber listened to the stories Inge related to her, she finds herself drawn to the stories of decades ago when the couple helped hide two little girls from the Germans during World War 2, and those of the Jewish people living in Corfu during the war. Inge's passion for the forgotten Jewish people of the island is reflected in her desire to educate tourists about them at the gate of the Old Fort, where the thousands of Corfiot Jews were gathered in the days before they were shipped off the island in barges...in the foolish belief they were going to work for the Germans. Instead their 27 day journey to Auschwitz was long and without food or water bringing death to most and those who did survive were merely destined for the gas chamber.
Told over dual timelines, BURNING ISLAND is a captivating read although the 1944 time period was far more absorbing and I would have liked that story to have featured more prominently. As it was, it was Amber and James' story that was main storyline and in parts was a little too repetitive. I wasn't particularly interested in the life and times of Amber and James as they built their dream only to end up at each other's throats. It wasn't until about halfway through when Amber finally hears the stories of the Corfiot Jews and the of Matilde and Anna, and the threads begin to pull together. The plight of the Jews and the inhumane journey to Auschwitz was both fascinating and heartbreaking that just pulled at your heartstrings. The final chapter for 1944 had me shedding bucket loads. And yet the final chapter of Amber and James' story was somewhat anti-climatic.
I said at the beginning that I didn't find BURNING ISLAND as compelling as "My Name is Eva". This is true. Although both books are completely different, I guess I was expecting something just as breathtaking and as brilliant as the author's previous offering.
I think my biggest issue with this book was that it was promoted as historical fiction about the fate of two little girls in Corfu in 1944 when in actual fact the primary story was that of James and Amber in 2006. I felt kind of ripped off that it wasn't as much a historical read as I had hoped but more of a contemporary one with threads of the historical story woven throughout.
Another issue I had was at the height of the season that James was so bothered with being inconvenienced with the birth of their baby, when it came down to it, there were no guests in their bed and breakfast at that time and Amber was left alone on the burning mountainside about to give birth! Wasn't his gripe being that it was at the height of the tourist season? And yet there were no tourists booked in! It didn't make sense that their bed and breakfast was completely empty at the end of July when it would normally be at its busiest.
Another gripe was the dates were all wrong. The premise had the story taking place in 1943 and 2016. The historical date could be forgiven with being just a year out but the later storyline was nowhere near 2016, but rather 2006 through to 2009. Little things like that make me wonder if those who wrote the premise or even the reviews had actually read the book, as they all pretty much quote those same dates.
But...having said that, BURNING ISLAND is a moving story underneath, which is both poignant and heartbreaking. I just wish Matilde and Anna, and the plight of the Jews had been a more prominent storyline and not a secondary plot. The Historical Note at the end was incredibly emotional and had me shedding even more tears.
Overall, I do love Suzanne Goldring's writing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #BurningIsland in exchange for an honest review.
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