Kirsten McKenzie (1)

The back of this book did not give much away. A chapel bit by Italian POWs on the island of Lamb Holm. The book flashes back and forth between the story of the prisoners and parts of Italy - those related to Rosa, one of the prisoner's fiancee. The first half of the book was slow and not very interesting. There were even moments I considered putting it down. But in the middle of the book more tension is added to the Italian half of the story and that was enough to keep me going through the pages of the short chapters until the end. The ending brings everything to a relatively tidy close but some questions did still remain slightly unanswered.… (más)

Pick this book up at your peril! You will not put it down until you have finished the last page ...

Set in the C18, its plot moves across stormy seas from the Orkneys and Edinburgh through Guernsey, Amsterdam, and St Pierre on the Island of Retribution. It is peopled with characters that are at once both complex and believable. The protagonists Mary and John Fullerton are both bastards. Unknowingly they share a common past through Mary’s mother Margaret. Mary grows up never knowing her father, enters into a disastrous marriage with Captain William Jones only to fall in love with his seeming best friend Mr Cole the ship’s surgeon. She becomes embroiled in the curious intrigues of the two men hardly knowing lies from truth - fact from fiction.

Driven by the cruelty of the bare existence he shares with his mother and grandmother in Orkney, Fullerton turns his back on grinding poverty to become a privateer and pirate. His story links him up with motley and terrifying individuals in the various ports he visits. McKenzie skilfully weaves Fullerton’s tale of adventure with those of the exploits of Mary, William and Mr Cole who he eventually meets up with.

The denouement is fast, furious, spectacular and totally inevitable. I can guarantee that you will be impressed by McKenzie’s skill as a storyteller - she takes you on a journey that cannot fail to amaze, astonish and astound you with the intricacies of its plot.… (más)

Having visited the Italian Chapel on Orkney a couple of years ago, I couldn't resist buying this book when I saw it. The chapel is a magical place, and I thought I would learn more about the prisoners of war who built it and their camp. But I have to say that the book is a little flat and lacking in detail. The plot flips between the Orkney camp, where Emilio spends his time painting the chapel and his home town in Italy, where his fiancee Rosa is dealing with refugees, political prisoners and another lover. I couldn't really engage with any of the characters, and found their attitudes and conversation stilted and changeable. Generally the plot flowed along and there are good 'bookends' to the story which brings it up to the present, but in general I was disappointed.… (más)