Customer Reviews

Islands/Low Country

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I first read Anne Rivers Siddons many years ago when I came upon Fox's Earth and The House Next Door, which I throughly enjoyed. While I continued to buy this authors books, it wasn't until I read Up Island that I revived my interest in reading her other books. Shortly after this I read and eually enjoyed Up Island, Low Country and Colony which continue to be one of my all time favorite books. Then word reached me that a new book, Islands, by this author was going to be published and I could hardly wait to buy it. I even saved the book for a while before opening it and finally read it this past week. Early inhto the book, though, I wondered what happened to one of my favorite authors. And now that I finished the book I'm afraid to say that at this point in time Islands is my least favorite book by this author. For all of the reasons why I usually love Siddons books, her wonderful characters and poignant scenes, this book was truly disappointing.

Islands is the story of a group of life long friends called The Scrubs.As the book begins Anny is a 35 year old woman who meets a doctor named Lewis. When they marry he brings her into his group of friends as its newest member. Always a nurturer, at first Anny feels rather out of place in the group but in time she becomes a solid member of the clan. She not only loves the other members but is loved by them in return. Through the years the four couples spend time together at a beach house they co own and form a family they all prefer to their own blood relatives. But then tragedies befall several of the Scrub members and the friends must weather these storms.Again they renew their vows to always there for each other. And they are as members of the group struggle with their grief, the passing of time and illnesses They seem to form a cocoon around each other which as long as they continue to be together will protecxt them from the outside world. But things aren't always as they appear and old events and resentments will cause another near tragedy and one in which the remaining members of the Scrubs will learn a very bitter lesson about their long standing friendships.

On the surface this should have been an endearing book about a group of people and places in and around the Charleston area. And desptie that Siddons descriptions of the area are worthwhile to read about, I had a hard time with the characters from this book. None of them ever really came alive to me and I couldn't feel too much for any of them eventhough they certainly had things happen to them which should have elicited some emotion on my part.I guess to some readers the ending was very surprising but to me it was as if Siddons changed her genre and offered her reader an ending worthy of a suspsense novel rather than a contemporary fiction novel. I almost feel as though the author wanted to finish the book and therefore came up with a shocking conclusion. But it made little sense to me cosnidering allthat came before and wasn't the resoltion I thought appropriate. On the plus side Siddons does a fine job of decribing the areas where these people spend their time and I did feel as though I was there when she described Anny sailing with the dog Gladys or dancing with Lewis at Booters, a friends clam bar.

Despite what I have written I did give this book an average rating. I also plan on reading Peachtree Road, one of Siddons older books, in the fall with my book group. I still consider Siddons one of my favoriter authors and chalk this book up to one title book I just didn't like. I know this happens from time to time to readers but hope this is the only book of Anne Rivers Siddons I didn't enjoy. I know that I will continue to read her older titles I haven't read and her new books in the future. And I will continue to recommend those books of hers which were mentioned in this review when asked about a favoties author's books.

This was my first ARS book and was well worth the weekend I devoted to it! While, to a certain extent, I shared the feeling about lack of character development expressed by other reviewers, for me, it was more a book about the exquisite character of Charleston and Edisto, and Sullivan Island. The first two are personal favorites, and the story that covered so many years included wonderfully descriptive narratives about places I love dearly, although I felt the devastation of Hugo was understated. ARS must have utilized very subtle foreshadowing because I had an uneasy sense about the villain almost from the beginning - these Southern women can be lethal when crossed (speaking as transplant from the north). Perhaps it was that uneasiness that made me feel I'd learned as much about these women as I cared to! This was a very enjoyable book that'll be the catalyst to reading some of her other, more highly recommended, books. I cannot compare this to others by this author, but on its face, Islands is a great read.

Anny Butler has made her way through life,caring for her younger
brothers and sisters, then finding work with children in need. While taking yet another young client for medical care, she meets Dr. Lewis Aiken, orthopedic surgeon and son of one of Charleston's prominent families. Despite their wildly divergent upbringings, they fall in love. Their marriage is embraced by the group of friends from Lewis's childhood, the "Scrubs". Lives intertwined, they often retreat to the adventures. They vow that when the time comes, they will come to the island to care for one another. The heart of the group is Camilla Curry, one of the original Scrubs, she worries and mothers them all, gently chiding them for their behavior. No matter what life brings, death, fire, loss they can always return to the island for comfort and renewal. Things are not always as they seem. The island cannot soothe the undercurrent of loss and bewilderment that unsettle the remaining Scrubs, or protect them from unseen dangers.
Anne Rivers Siddons remains one of my favorite southern writers. "Islands" has an unerring ear for the rythyms of life in the south, blending a diverse group of people into a seamless story. Characters come to life. Never patronizing, or slipping too far into cliches(though Gaynelle is almost too far the other way ) she brings to life people who share a past and love and who see things in the gentle light of caring. Sometimes secrets are revealed too late and love is
not enough to save the ones you love.

Siddons has long used her intimate knowledge of Charleston's Low Country for her many novels. Her fiction has made an imaginative history of persons affected by the rituals and traditions of the Old South, especially those of a certain echelon of Charleston society, whose heritage has passed from generation to generation.

In Islands, the author introduces a "newcomer" into a group of islanders, a young woman who marries one of them. As Anny merges her life with this exceptional group of loyal friends, she is thrilled to feel herself part of family in a different context than she has ever experienced. Spending weekends at their communal beach resort, Anny cannot imagine anything ever changing. Of course it does, as the years pass and the group reaches the millennium, having lost only one of their number.

These friends have made a pledge while on one of their weekend retreats: no matter what happens, they will always keep the group intact, healing and comforting when spouses are lost, as of course must happen. And they do hold together through the most devastating and painful losses. When only a few are left, the commitment remains and the center of them all is Camilla. Earliest widowed, Camilla has been the strength that holds them together, these few dear friends from childhood and their spouses. The more fragile Camilla's health becomes, the concerns of advancing age and debilitation intrude. As much as friendship, Siddons writes of loss and the gradual attrition of the years.

Through it all, Anny clings to those who have been her family and given her the emotional security she has craved all her life. But Siddons hasn't mellowed all that much, planning a few surprises for her readers. The author's message is clear: getting older doesn't mean life is over. Nor is life ever as simple and uncomplicated as a group of old friends gathered around a cozy beach fire on a winter afternoon, pledging their undying loyalty. For some the heart is a place of thoughtless mischief, for others a well of generosity. For this author it is a source of endless inspiration. Luan Gaines/2004.

I am a fan of Siddons' books and while this isn't my favorite, it still is a good read ideal for summertime.

Anny is 35 and still single. She meets Dr. Lewis Aiken who is near 50. The two become a couple and he introduces Anny to the "Scrubs", his longtime friends and life companions of sorts. Anny becomes involved with the group and one of them quickly.

Siddons weaves a tale rich in description of the Charleston and surrounding islands area. The writing is very good but does lag in parts. There are numerous sadnesses and there is quite an ending that surprised me.

Overall a nice book. Give it a try! You might find your self heading to the beautiful Charleston area after reading it!

I was disappointed in Ms Siddon's latest offering, "Islands." As a fan of long standing, I always am happy to hear when she has a new book about to be published. Unfortunately, "Islands" was not up to the standards set by such outstanding earlier works as "Colony," "Hill Towns," "Downtown," and "Outerbanks."

In this book, Ms Siddons' narrator is just plain boring:it is easy to understand why Anny Butler has spent most of her adult life devoting herself to her work, as the woman is as dull as dirt! Given that, it is less than understandable why a man-about-town takes an instant shine to her and immediately begins courting her. This improbable romance takes on the characteristics of a wish-fullfillment for potential readers, most of whom will be female of a certain age (being that age myself, I have to state that I dislike being manipulated in that fashion by an author, although maybe I am being too unkind to Ms Siddons).

Unlike many of Ms Siddons previous works, there was nothing gripping about the plot of the story, and none of the characters stood up and grabbed the reader. Ms Siddons has explored the nature of sexual and personal obsession before, and done a much better job of it. My biggest gripe is reserved for the secondary character of Gaynelle: the reader is supposed to believe that Gaynelle has an advanced degree in library science, but can only support herself and her obnoxious child by cleaning houses. In addition, most of her spare money goes to entrance fees and tacky costumes so her 7 year old girl can enter beauty pagents. It just doesn't wash! My advice on this book is to save your money for the paperback edition.

One more plea for better writing or editing.... I live in Charleston and found several of her facts to be a bit "confused" now and then, but when that sailboat was found lying on its side in the water, I just had to consult my own sailboat expert. He assures me that this kind of sailboat (with what's called a weighted keel) could *never* end up like that! -- unless the keel is removed, and if that was the case, the story should have included that information. A sailboat like this is like a kid's tippy cup: it will right itself.

Running into such flawed writing is just like running aground in our beloved pluff mud. A sad situation.

I love Siddons's books. I'll read anything that has her byline on it and I'll enjoy it whether I like it or not!

How can that be, you ask? Well, she's a pictoral writer. By that I mean her words conjure mental pictures of characters and scenes in the reader's mind. The setting she writes about in ISLANDS (the coastal South) is beloved and familiar to me. She has the ability to create a charming world for the reader that is a delight to experience.

All that said, although I enjoyed reading ISLANDS, I felt the story was weak. The ending seemed dux ex machina and the characters were too familiar to avoid the feeling that they were cliches.

She's still my favorite author and I'll read every book she writes, but ISLANDS strikes me as a book written by someone who no longer has anything to say. Ms. Siddons has lived in her world so long and written it so well that it's time to stretch her talent with something new.

I have read all of Siddons' books over the years and some were better than others. One expects an author to become more adept at suspension of disbelief and capturing the reader in a web of tendrils from which we do not want to be let go, even to not putting the book down till we are finished.

Not so this time. The first half of the book literally sings with Siddons' usual command of our senses as we experience Charleston and the low country once again. She makes one yearn to be there with her, to feel the warm sand under bare feet and to experience the heat and humidity as well as the graceful and langourous people she populates her books with.

But something goes wrong in the second half of the book: one begins to sense what is coming; what the secrets are, and it is hard not to see the comparison between Anny and Maud in COLONY, as well as the same scenes simply reworded but not entirely disguised. This is expecting the reader to have forgotten a plot turn of another book or else to agree it is fine to use it again.

I found Siddons' best works to have been FOXES EARTH, COLONY, and OUTER BANKS. This book is good but not great, in my opinion. I will continue to read each new book of hers and hope to find again the one that holds me in her spell till the last word.

I too have read them all. Yes, there is some uneveness among her books, perhaps because "Peachtree Road" would be a hard act for anyone to follow . However, I loved "Islands". In my view Siddons evokes a "sense of place" better and with more grace & style than any contemporary writer. Each of her books has been like a travel beacon to me, especially Charleston. I chose to visit that city alone 2 years ago, armed with only impressions of a facinating & beautiful place gathered from ARS. I was not disappointed; I felt as if I was coming home. No other author (I'm an avid reader) comes close to her ability to give readers a glimpse of a genteel way of life, where friends are essential, where history of people & place and the natural world are valued and central to "the good life." She creates people that I wish I knew. She gets the concerns of middle age & even the dogs just right! The only difficulty I had with "Islands" was accepting the number of "accidents" that claimed members of the group. They were a bit high on the drama scale. However,Anne I forgive you and please, please keep writing. I count on you to "take me away."