Book Review: The Islands by Emily Brugman

I was recently given the opportunity to read The Islands with thanks to Allen & Unwin. This was a different style of story to what I have read lately, and it was told very well and with a lot of heart. The author has researched the topic of migration in detail, and has drawn on her family's own personal experience which added another level of depth.

The story begins on the coastline of Western Australia where Finnish migrants Onni and Alva Saari, along with their baby daughter Hilda, set up camp on a tiny island known as Little Rat to begin their lives as a fishing family, in particular, fishing for crays. It is the mid 1950's and the decision to migrate is made once Onni receives some sad news about his brother Nalle. It isn't long before Onni is hooked in by the exquisite landscape. As the story unfolds, it spans over the years, and we learn about each of these three characters more.

Onni is an ambitious young man who aims to provide for his family. He works hard and wants to make a great future for his wife and daughter.

Alva is a quiet yet determined woman who has had to deal with her share of tragedy from a young age. She struggles to fit in and make friends as she has a hard time of communicating with people in English.

As Hilda grows into a young woman, she learns about life near the coast, and dreams of becoming the skipper of her own fishing boat. She can be complicated at times, but it is all part of growing up.

Together, they face many struggles but they do their best to make things work. Like the other families that have migrated there, they slowly adapt to their new life and eventually make friends within the community.

The book is told in two parts, first, when the family is in the West and then when they travel back to the East where Onni gets a labouring job in the Australian Capital Territory.

It reverts back and forth through time and I felt that it may have benefited from a date being included at the start of each timeline change, or some sort of indicator that the story had shifted in time as it confused me (briefly) on more than one occasion. 

Whilst this story is fictional, it captures the real story of the migratory path that Finnish people took (including the author's grandfather). It was interesting to learn about their journey, as I wasn't aware of it prior to reading this book. 

The Islands is available through Allen & Unwin, RRP $29.99