The Island of Longing

Some books you read, some you consume, and some consume you. I devoured Anne Griffin’s 3rd novel. I loved [book:When All Is Said|39863464] and, although I didn’t enjoy [book:Listening Still|57693425] so much, I had been looking forward to more from her.

Rosie and her family have suffered what is, for most of us thankfully, an unimaginable loss. She and her husband grow apart and agree that she should return to the island she is from and join her father in running the ferry to the mainland. It’s the story of a very painful personal journey, relieved by the warmth of friendships and typical Irish humour. A guide to pronunciation would have been helpful rather than resorting to Google which isn’t entirely reliable. I think I now know how to pronounce Saoirse (Seershu), Rosie’s daughter’s name, and Aoibhneas (Eevnass), the name of the ferry, which I believe means something like joyful news. Like Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic is not intuitive when it comes to pronunciation! Fionnuala would have been a great help!

I read this in a couple of days. I couldn’t put it down and can’t recommend it highly enough.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.

I have loved Anne Griffin's previous two books and when I was approved this advanced digital copy I was truly delighted and immediately jumped into the story. Anne has a beautiful way with words that as a reader I felt I was there with Rosie on the island. The glimpse into what families go through when somebody they love goes missing longterm and the torment. At times I was close to tears. Such a moving way to tell a story and a book I am so glad I got to experience.

Beautifully written with some wonderful characters but absolutely heart breaking. I've read both of Anne Griffin's previous books and absolutely loved them and this is full of the same charm, eloquence and truly evocative language. An incredibly talented author.

Tell me if anyone else does this.... I loved Anne Griffin's previous novel When All Is Said, one of my favourite ever novels. I love it so much I haven't read it again for fear that I won't love it as much. I have also been fearful of trying her other novels for fear my love for her wouldn't be as powerful as it was when I read WAIS.

However fear not, a brilliant start to 2023 continues with this one. In The Island of Longing, a child has gone missing and her mother Rosie has been looking for her for eight years. Whilst life goes on, Rosie cannot move on until she knows the truth of what happened all those years ago....She returns to life on the Island where she grew up to look after her father but can she really move on without knowing.

This is my second Anne Griffin novel and the second time I have finished the book in tears. I don't really want to say much more than that.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Im not new to Anne Griffin, I start her books fully expecting to be a bit teary by the end.
This book managed that, I really felt for the family left behind in limbo when a daughter goes missing,
Also though, I was made to feel homesick for a place, and community I've never been to.
Such warm relatable characters.
I'm a little sad it finished.

The story is about a family whose daughter vanishes from right outside their gate. It is heart wrenching witnessing how each family member is eaten up with the trauma of losing a daughter/sister and the guilt of 'what if's'. The mums grief is tangible, she is a broken woman. Your heart will break for her.

If you are ex pat Irish, part Irish, past generation Irish or even 0.01% Irish, you will love the setting of this story. You'll love the Irish names, the towns, the dialogue, the Island and the sense of place.

My chest physically hurt while reading this book, I could not put it down. If you love an emotional read, that is sure to bring you close to tears, then this is one for your 'To Read' list! I am keen to see what other books this author has written now.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. Beautiful writing, gorgeous vivid settings and very real characters. The story is engrossing but it's the people in it that keep you reading. Even background characters are so well drawn. Everyone has quirks and flaws and even Rosie often reacts in ways that were unwise, but still understandable. I was so enthralled by this book that it was hard to move on to another one. The people and place stay with the reader a long while. I'll be making everyone I know read it.

Rosie and Hugh suffer just about the worst thing that could ever happen to any couple - a child going missing, Saoirse is 17 when she disappears, leaving a devastated family trying to cope with her loss in differing ways. As the years pass the couple’s relationship begins to break down, with Rosie convinced that she is still alive and Hugh trying to support her but falling apart himself.

I can’t imagine how any family could cope in this situation but Ann Griffin writes so movingly about such a difficult subject, Rosie can’t move on, but also can’t cope with her feelings or communicate with Hugh about them. A woman falling apart, the husband feeling so helpless but also struggling to cope with his own grief. There are some very moving moments, but also some humour, particularly when Rose goes back to the island where she was born, and where she can still feel close to Saoirse. I loved the descriptions of the island and close community, the support that Rosie received when she went back there, and her relationship with Iggy. I did feel that the pace was a bit too slow at times, and while I can’t say I enjoyed the book, it was one I had to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a beautifully written story of a mother struggling to cope with the unexplained disappearance of her seventeen-year-old daughter. I found it incredibly hard to read (as the mother of a teenage daughter myself) but at the same time I couldn’t put it down and have just stayed up far to late to finish it. The way the author describes Rosie’s feelings of anger and loss, her relationships with her husband and son, her determination to find Saoirse, her hope and uplifted spirits when she returns to the island, is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The development of her friendship with Iggy and the conflict with Liam are perfectly portrayed. The descriptions of the island and the other characters are really lovely, and the dialogue is written so well that you can hear the characters speaking - it really brings them and the story to life. I thoroughly recommend this beautiful story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

A heartbreakingly beautiful story about the impact a vanishing child can have in all factors of your life. Emotional throughout this is so hard to put down.

This book just oozes with pain and hope from the very first page.
The disappearance of Saoirse triggers the breakdown of a family and the crumbling of lives mixed with the ever present insistence of Rosie that she will return one day.
The island setting plays well to the loneliness and isolation Rosie feels, estranged from her husband as they struggle to agree on Saoirse being alive or not and how their personal feelings impact on how to move forward.
Each relationship is beautifully relayed and delicately balanced and the book, whilst tackling something unbelievably sad is a joy to read.

Anne Griffin is a brilliant writer, consistently creating empathetic characters who drive her stories far more than the plots do. Island of Longing is no exception, with bereaved mother Rosie taking centre stage as she returns to the Irish island where she was brought up, to help out her father captain the ferry that takes passengers to and from the mainland.
Rosie loves her boat with a passion that is in some ways a metaphor for her love of her daughter Saoirse, who went missing at seventeen, eight years ago. Rosie's refusal to give up on her search for her underpins a story that is all about love, loss and grief. It examines how a disappearance affects a whole family - Rosie's husband Hugh and son Cullie grieve in their own ways - and how it can bind them closer, or tear them apart.
The peace of the island should help Rosie heal, but no matter how far she goes, she cannot escape her grief, frustration and longing for her missing daughter. Her profound sadness touched me deeply - imagining myself in that situation broke my heart - but I was never depressed by this story, For like her small ferryboat, Rosie has resilience, and she has the support of a whole island of friends and family to guide her through hard times.
The prose is beautiful, the atmosphere warm and welcoming and the plot meticulously paced to take us to a conclusion that is satisfying. This is not a murder-mystery or a thriller, but a story about people, and how they survive the worst life can throw at them.
There's a touch of feyness about it, too, another hallmark of Anne Griffin's writing, which adds to the gentle atmosphere.
A poignant, heartbreaking and powerful read.

Anne Griffin writes with such emotion. This was not an easy read by any means but it was skilfully and sensitively told. Rosie and Hugh’s marriage has been rocked by the tragic disappearance of their daughter years earlier and Rosie returns to her childhood home in an attempt to gain some equilibrium.

I was completely absorbed from start to finish. This is a great book and highly recommend it.

5* Anne Griffin just keeps getting better. Starting with the stunning debut novel When All Is Said (if you haven’t read it, you must), The Island of Longing is her third and is another stunner.

Eight years ago Rosie watched her teenage daughter cycle up the street towards their front door. But her bicycle was found abandoned on the other side of the hedge and her daughter hasn’t been seen since. As Rosie’s home life in Dublin limps on she receives a call from her father. Recently widowed and living in Rosie’s childhood home on a small island community, he needs Rosie’s help to keep the family business going over the Summer.

Rosie’s temporary move home evokes a life that could be lived alongside an incredible cast of characters.

Anne Griffin writes beautifully and imagines characters that the reader cares about deeply. The Island of Longing is a moving story that had me turning the pages and penetrated deeply into my (sometimes called concrete) heart.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for an ARC. I would highly recommend this book.

I've read both of Anne Griffin's previous books and enjoyed them very much, so I was very excited to see she had a third book coming out. I am so glad I found out, because this book, as far as I'm concerned, is probably the best book I've ever read. Beautiful writing, beautiful descriptions of the little island in Ireland, Roaring Bay (though fictitious, I am sure there are places just like it along the Irish coast).

It's told in the first person by Rosie and starts out 8 years after her 17 year old daughter Saoirse disappears without trace. After years of searching, of not knowing, the stress has taken its toll on the whole family.

It is a compelling read, I flew through the pages and the further into the book I got, I just wanted it to go on and on for ever. There are so many wonderful characters. The relationship between Rosie and her dad is so moving. Rosie's love of their family business, operating the ferry that takes visitors and residents back and forth to the mainland. She has an affinity with the ocean and feels closest to her daughter when she's out at sea, navigating the ferry Aoibhneas.

By the end of the book, I felt I knew every one of those characters, the residents on the island, Rosie's husband Hugh, her son Cullie inside out. There are some incredibly emotional scenes throughout, but it is interspersed with lighter moments too. I adored this book and the story will stay with me for a long time. Absolutely superb.

**Review to be posted to my blog around publication day**

What an utterly beautiful, totally heartbreaking story.

One day, after a minor row, Saoirse Driscoll, goes missing. We join the story some eight years later as Saoirse's mother, Rosie, has returned to her birth place to help her father run the ferry between Roaring Bay Island and the mainland. Rosie has come home after a breakdown both mental and marital. She has come to find some peace while she wants for Saoirse to come back to her family.

There are several threads to the story that includes brief looks at Saoirse's view of the day she went missing. Rosie not only has to contend with trying to convince everyone her daughter is still alive but also the recent death of her mother, keeping her ailing father and his job as captain of the ferry going all while trying to give herself some peace of mind.

The characters Anne Griffin gives us are all expertly drawn. They have real life to them. We feel everything Rosie feels from despair and confusion to hope and an unwillingness to lie down and give up.

This is my first Anne Griffin. It most certainly won't be my last. The book itself is easy reading but not easy subject matter. I had to constantly slow my reading down because it is such a shame to rush through such a beautiful book.

Highly recommended.