Island books?

18 years ago

IÂm looking for books, both novels and non-fiction, that take place Â mostly or entirely Â on small islands. There doesnÂt have to be isolation involved, but the fact that it takes place on an island must be important.

In fiction I already have:

And then there were none Â Agatha Christie

Captain CorelliÂs Mandolin Â Louis de Bernieres

CatÂs Cradle Â Kurt Vonnegut

Catch 22 Â Joseph Heller

Death on Demand Â Carolyn G. Hart (I donÂt know which other books in the series take place in the island)

GulliverÂs Travels (series of islands) Â Jonathan Swift

Lord Jim Â Joseph Conrad

Lord of the Flies Â William Golding

Peter Pan Â J.M. Barrie

Robinson Crusoe Â Daniel Defoe

The Beach Â Alex Garland

The House Without a Key, The Black Camel (Charlie Chan) Â Earl Derr Biggers

The Island of Dr Moreau Â Jules Verne

The Magus Â John Fowles

The Mockery Bird Â Gerald Durrell

The Odyssey (another series of islands) Â Homer

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming, A Winter's Tale Â Nathaniel Benchley

The Tempest Â Shakespeare

Treasure Island Â Robert Louis Stevenson

Vestal Fire Â Compton Mackenzie

Whisky Galore Â Compton Mackenzie

In non-fiction:

Bitter Lemons of Cyprus Â Lawrence Durrell (donÂt some of his novels also take place on islands?)

Castaway & Faraway Â Lucy Irvine

Letters from Iceland - W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice

My family and other animals, Birds beasts and relatives Â Gerald Durrell

The Islander Â Gerald Kingsland

Can you name more for me? I would quite like to see more romances and thrillers, but they can be any kind of books as long as they fit the criteria.

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Comments (33)

syry
18 years ago
Nim's Island - Wendy Orr
England England - Julian Barnes
The Island of the Day Before - Umberto Eco
ccrdmrbks
18 years ago
Almost all of the Death on Demand-the Annie and Max Darling series-take place on Broward's Rock. In her other series,about Henrie O., Dead Man's Island, Death in Paradise and Resort to Murder also take place on islands.
Lord of the Far Island Victoria Holt
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georgia_peach
18 years ago
Fiction:
The Stone Raft, Jose Saramago
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell
Hawaii, James Michener

Probably various novels by Joseph Conrad and Jack London (can't recall titles right now)

Non-Fiction:
The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction, David Quammen
sheriz6
18 years ago
Two old favorites of mine are set on islands, Death in Andamans and Death in Cyprus, both by M.M. Kaye.
carolyn_ky
18 years ago
From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Silversword, Phyllis Whitney
Diamond Head, Charles Knief

Can you tell I love Hawaii? James Michener's book is one of my favorites.
donnamira
18 years ago
Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea novels all take place on islands: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, The Other Wind.
Kath
18 years ago
Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle was originally called Storm Island. It's a good book too.

PD James set The Lighthouse on an island, I think (it was a dreadful book that I have tried to erase from my memory LOL)
netla
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the additions. Some titles there that I have read but had forgotten about. Please keep them coming!
mummsie
18 years ago
Non-fiction:

Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge and Her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island -Jo Anne Van Tilburg

My Father's Island: A Galapagos Quest -Johanna Angermeyer

On Persephone's Island : A Sicilian Journal -Mary Taylor Simeti
veer
18 years ago
A Pattern of Islands - Sir Arthur Grimble about his time as a District Commissioner in the Gilbert and Ellis Islands (excellent)

Aku-aku Easter island - Thor Heyerdahl

The Shetland Bus - Trygue Sorvaag/David Howarth (different books) about the small fishing boat used to bring Norwegians to safety during WWII.

Crowdie & Cream/Crotal & White/Corncrake & the Lysander - Finlay J Macdonald. Growing up on the remote island of Harris (the bottom end of Lewis) all highly readable.

Onions in the Stew - Betty MacDonald. Her life on Vashon Island.

A Length of Rope (and several other titles) - Lilian Beckwith set in the Hebrides

South Sea Spell/A Gift of Islands - June Knox-Mawr, about Fiji.

Fiction

Coral Island - R M Ballantyne

Sea Wolf - Jack London

Appointment with Venus - Gerrard Tickell (rescuing a prize cow from occupied Jersey)

Island Magic - Elizabeth Goudge (set on Victorian Guernsey)

Probably lots of children's stories set on islands; Enid Blyton et al!

Netla, can you remember the name of the book by Sir Peter Scott (son of the Polar explorer Capt Robert Scott) about the exedition he led to the centre of Iceland in the early '50's, please?
vickitg
18 years ago
The Moonspinners - Mary Stewart (Crete)
An odd island plays a big part in LIfe of Pie.
Moloka'i by Alan Brennart
netla
Original Author
18 years ago
Veer, I am not familiar with the book you mention, and the National library does not have any books by Sir Peter Scott, but a little sleuthing suggests that it might be A Thousand Geese. The book was published in 1953. Scott came to Iceland in 1951 to look for the breeding grounds of the pink-footed goose, so the publication date and title both fit.

Now I'll have to go look for it. I love to read travelogues about Iceland, to look at my country through the eyes of visitors.
rule34
18 years ago
The Mysterious Island - Jules Verne
Castaways of the Flag - Jules Verne
Their Island Home - Jules Verne

The last two are sequels to
Swiss Family Robinson - Johann Wyss
syry
18 years ago
The Water is Wide - Pat Conroy
woodnymph2_gw
18 years ago
The Kingdom by the Sea - Paul Theroux
phaedosia
18 years ago
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
twobigdogs
18 years ago
A few more that I didn't see (but perhaps I just missed them.)
Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
The Sex Lives of Cannibals - J. Maarten Troost (non-fiction, he and his wife spend a year on a small island in the south pacific. the title is weird, but the book is interesting.)
Blue Latitudes - Tony Horwitz (following the voyage of Capt. Cook - quite funny, lots of island stops.)

I find this thread fascinating. Who would have thought there would be so very many books about islands!
PAM
kren250
18 years ago
Although I haven't read it yet, there's Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones.

Also:

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (mystery/thriller)

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve (historical part takes place on a secluded island)

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

Batavia's Graveyard by Mike Dash (non-fiction about a group of people ship-wrecked off the coast of Australia in 1628)

Kelly
ccrdmrbks
18 years ago
Widow's War Sally Gunning, is set on Cape Cod. I haven't read it, so I'm not sure if the island setting is integral or not.
carolyn_ky
18 years ago
That reminds me of the Phillip Craig mystery series set on Martha's Vineyard. I like them a lot. He died recently, but there is one last book coming out soon.
netla
Original Author
18 years ago
That's quite a list! Thanks for all the responses.
ccrdmrbks
18 years ago
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
lemonhead101
18 years ago
Small Island - Andrea Levy
veer
18 years ago
Picked up Stormy Petrel by Mary (Lady) Stewart for a few pennies at a jumble sale.
Set on an imaginary island in the Hebrides, near Mull. Not a great deal of 'story' but well-written and she brings the scenery to life . . . right down to the terrible midges.
connie_in_western_nc
18 years ago
Rainbow's End and Pierce the Veil by Bob Adamov. These are just mysteries that take place on the island I came from in Lake Erie.

Birdman of Alcatraz:the Story of Robert Stroud by Thomas Gaddis

I thought of another one but it slipped my mind already :0(((((
blossomgirl
18 years ago
"Captain Blood"-by Rafael Sabatini
"A Girl from Zanzibar" by Roger King
"Iceland's Bell" by Halldor Kiljan Laxness-maybe Iceland is not small enough?

I know I can come up with some more.
woodnymph2_gw
18 years ago
The Greenlanders - Jane Smiley
Island Magic Elizabeth Goudge
The Greek Islands - Laurence Durrell
The King Must Die - Mary Renault (set in ancient Crete)
The Red Haired Girl from the Bog - Patricia Monaghan (ancient Ireland)
ireadeverything
18 years ago
The Man Who Loved Islands - D.H. Lawrence.
carolyn_ky
18 years ago
I have just finished two by Deborah Atkinson, The Green Room set on Oahu and Fire Prayer set on Molokai. I had already read her first one, the name of which escapes me.
connie_in_western_nc
18 years ago
Oh, and what about Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery... and the sequel? Takes place on PEI, Can.
disputantum
18 years ago
Pitcairn's Island by Nordhoff and Hall. Part of the trilogy that includes Mutiny on the Bounty and Men against the Sea. There're several nonfiction books about Pitcairn also.
woodnymph2_gw
18 years ago
What about "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding?
gininmn
17 years ago
A Superior Death- Nevada Barr
Winter Study - Nevada Barr
both set on Isle Royale in Lake Superior

Island books?

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syry

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