The Islands

 The Islands

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       February 11, 2022

 

Author  Emily Brugman

Distributor:      Allen & Unwin
ISBN:                 9781760878580
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:   February 2022  

Website:    https://www.allenandunwin.com 

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There is so much to enjoy in The Islands. Much of it is set in the Archipelago called Houtman’s Abrolhos off the coast of Geraldton in Western Australia. This area is steeped in History. The wreck of the Batavia is nearby; the stories surrounding the Abrolhos are horrendous. Many Dutch and Portuguese sailors passed this way on their voyages of discovery. This part of the Indian Ocean is vast and only interrupted by the few coral atolls which form small Islands.

How did it come about that young people from Finland decided to migrate to these Islands and begin a cray fishing industry? Arriving on Little Rat in the mid 1950’s, the Saari family are captivated by the almost mesmeric lure of the Abrolhos and a very different future that appears to be calling.

The next amazing thing is that a descendent of the Finish settlers has written this book and so she has firsthand knowledge; many of her stories have been passed down. The text is interspersed with the Finish language which releases a sense of authenticity and the desire to maintain an attachment to that culture. Some of the old pagan Folktales were chanted in times of crisis.

We follow the lives of some of the young families who lived and worked on Little Rat Island. Onni arrives there to search for his much-loved brother who went to pull his cray pots and never returned.

Onni had come to Australia and worked for the mines, but now he would take over his brother’s cray lease. He took a wife and it is through her story we learn about the character of these hardy fishing people, their determination, and hard work ethic. We observe the few families and their day to day lives, watch the future generations and how they either slot in to fishing life, or move away.

The astute descriptions of these hardy people and wonderful pictures of the sea, “Pulsing with life,” makes The Islands a must-read book.

Biographies, History, Non Fiction