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On Hurricane Island

por Ellen Meeropol

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As a major hurricane threatens the northeast, math professor Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal agents and flown to a secret interrogation center off the coast of Maine. Austin Coombs, a young local resident, is a newly hired civilian guard assigned to the detention center. Henry Ames, a man of personal secrets, is the FBI special agent in charge of Gandalf's case and doubts the professor's terrorist involvement; Tobias, his second-in-command, disagrees, preferring violent interrogation. As the hurricane slams the shore, conflict detonates and each character must choose a side if they're to survive the storm. Told over the five days approaching the anniversary of 9/11, by varying voices on both extremes of the political divide, On Hurricane Island is both a fast-paced political thriller and a literary examination of the sociopolitical storm facing our society. How far should government go in the name of protecting our national security? What happens when governmental powers of surveillance and extra-legal interrogation are expanded?  How free are we?  … (más)
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Hurricane Island is the location of a detention centre in Maine, where US citizens suspected of terrorism are taken. As one of the largest hurricanes in recent history bears down on the island, a storm of another kind is taking place inside the facility.

I'm not usually a big suspense novel fan and I wasn't sure about this novel when I started it. First, one of the main characters is a woman named Gandalf. I am a huge LOTR fan so I wasn't really taken with the naming of the character but I went with it. This story is told from the POVs of several main characters. Meeropol does a good job of shifting between characters without disrupting the flow of the story. And the characters themselves are quite well developed, although at times stereotypical, particularly the male characters in the story (Henry Ames and evil Tobias).

The suspense and pacing of the novel are its greatest strengths. Meeropol has a intrinsic gift for knowing when to jump to another storyline and keep the reader engaged. This makes for a relatively fast read (or listen if you prefer the audiobook version of the novel, which I listened to). In addition, there is the mystery of Austin's great-great grandmother. A family secret that is linked to old letters she steals and a hidden cave on Hurricane Island. While not directly involved with the main plot of the story, this subplot adding a richness and depth to the book.

I mentioned the stereotypical male characters already. The antagonist in the book, Tobias, is almost too evil. A man who is determined to climb the ladder of power, he also is obsessed with interrogation methods, torture, and at the same time is lusting after young Austin. While any one of those things could have made Tobias an effective "bad guy," throwing them all into one character was a bit much. Henry Ames is more developed. While he hides a proclivity for women's clothing and a suspected heart condition, overall he is a likeable character.

Without giving away any spoilers, I did find the climax of the story built well to a satisfying finale. However, the actual ending of the book seemed a bit abrupt. Perhaps it was the narration of the audiobook but I actually said aloud "Oh, that's the end?"

Overall I would recommend this novel. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters and will be checking out more Ellen Meeropol novels in the future. ( )
  cathishaw | Jul 9, 2018 |
Ellen Meeropol’s new novel, On Hurricane Island, raises disturbing and profound questions about torture, human rights, the scope and ethical basis of ‘extra-legal interrogation” -- and about exactly how free we, in the U.S., really are.
I finished her masterful new book just as the long-awaited report from the Senate condemning torture by the CIA was made public. These euphemistically government- termed “enhanced interrogation techniques” - in Meeropol’s novel, the use of “cold torture” - have not just been used on suspected Al Qaeda terrorists overseas but on domestic detainees as well.
Her novel is no political tract; it’s a suspenseful page-turner with a varied cast of characters, all utterly human and believable. Using five different points of view – including the professor who is detained, the young woman who guards her, her grandfather, and two interrogators at odds in their approaches – Meeropol interweaves their political viewpoints and rich emotional lives.
The setting is Hurricane Island, off the coast of Maine, which is being used as a secret detention center. Through precise detail and evocative prose I experienced the texture of the rocks, the darkness of the caves, the clammy air. Fog shrouds the island and adds to the sense of danger and mystery, while the approaching hurricane changes the dynamics of everything -- and ratchets up the tension. All these natural elements fully earn their symbolic weight.
On Hurricane Island is a powerful novel. Not wanting to experience torture so visceral you will shake with cold yourself, you might be tempted to give it a pass. Don’t.

Meeropol has a light touch with this dark story, and gives the reader relief by intercutting her scenes and cycling through the various voices and perspectives. She has written a novel of ideas, activism, and political challenge, one that is illuminated by hope and heart. ( )
  celinekeating | Jan 13, 2015 |
I have a friend who, while we have walked many parts of life's path together, is far braver than I, unafraid to scale the heights of conviction, and pursue the passions of belief. (Not that I'm a total wuss, for I try to support my own positions, and follow through in the ways I cast my vote and dollars.) But I marvel, and am a little envious, of activist ability, and I constantly learn about human rights and our responsibilities from the glimpses of that more rugged path she takes. I am grateful that she often extends her hand, and gives me a tug up that rocky road to standing up for human rights. On Hurricane Island also helped me to explore those paths that are harder to climb. It took me on a journey far beyond a small island in Penobscot Bay, Maine and helped me to travel in the world that has become more evident since the evolution of terrorism into this century and the response of various agencies to contain and destroy it.

The course of actions that emerge in On Hurricane Island pit people of conviction against people of conviction, and it is not always easy to see who is right or wrong. Math professor Gandalf Cohen finds herself pulled into this shadow when she is abducted by federal agents and taken to the Hurricane Island's secret interrogation center. Isolated, afraid, and unsure of why she was taken, or where she is, she tries to make sense of what is happening. Populating her new existence are federal agents with varying motivations and secrets of their own, and a young civilian guard, shocked by some of what she learns. That this all takes place as a powerful hurricane rolls up the coast adds an element of tension and fury, not unlike waiting for the back wall of a storm's eye to slam in. the shifting points of view enhanced the reality of conflicts that emerge between various personalities and beliefs. Interspersed in the current day tale is another one, set before WWI when stone from the island was still being quarried.

I am a sucker for "interwoven" tales, and if a book teaches me something as well, I'm sold. This book did more that that, though. It encouraged me to once again, sit down and have a chat with my conscience and examine my beliefs: what is right, what is tolerable, what is wrong. What can I accept, what must I fight to change.

In full disclosure, let me add that the friend I mentioned in my opening paragraph is the author of this book. Thank you, Ellen Meeropol, for once again reaching back and helping me along the path of examining conviction.

The eI have a friend who, while we have walked many parts of life's path together, is far braver than I, unafraid to scale the heights of conviction, and pursue the passions of belief. (Not that I'm a total wuss, for I try to support my own positions, and follow through in the ways I cast my vote and dollars.) But I marvel, and am a little envious, of activist ability, and I constantly learn about human rights and our responsibilities from the glimpses of that more rugged path she takes. I am grateful that she often extends her hand, and gives me a tug up that rocky road to standing up for human rights. On Hurricane Island also helped me to explore those paths that are harder to climb. It took me on a journey far beyond a small island in Penobscot Bay, Maine and helped me to travel in the world that has become more evident since the evolution of terrorism into this century and the response of various agencies to contain and destroy it.

The course of actions that emerge in On Hurricane Island pit people of conviction against people of conviction, and it is not always easy to see who is right or wrong. Math professor Gandalf Cohen finds herself pulled into this shadow when she is abducted by federal agents and taken to the Hurricane Island's secret interrogation center. Isolated, afraid, and unsure of why she was taken, or where she is, she tries to make sense of what is happening. Populating her new existence are federal agents with varying motivations and secrets of their own, and a young civilian guard, shocked by some of what she learns. That this all takes place as a powerful hurricane rolls up the coast adds an element of tension and fury, not unlike waiting for the back wall of a storm's eye to slam in. the shifting points of view enhanced the reality of conflicts that emerge between various personalities and beliefs. Interspersed in the current day tale is another one, set before WWI when stone from the island was still being quarried.

I am a sucker for "interwoven" tales, and if a book teaches me something as well, I'm sold. This book did more that that, though. It encouraged me to once again, sit down and have a chat with my conscience and examine my beliefs: what is right, what is tolerable, what is wrong. What can I accept, what must I fight to change.

In full disclosure, let me add that the friend I mentioned in my opening paragraph is the author of this book. Thank you, Ellen Meeropol, for once again reaching back and helping me along the path of examining conviction.

Expected publication: March 3rd 2015 by Red Hen Press ( )
  bookczuk | Oct 7, 2014 |
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As a major hurricane threatens the northeast, math professor Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal agents and flown to a secret interrogation center off the coast of Maine. Austin Coombs, a young local resident, is a newly hired civilian guard assigned to the detention center. Henry Ames, a man of personal secrets, is the FBI special agent in charge of Gandalf's case and doubts the professor's terrorist involvement; Tobias, his second-in-command, disagrees, preferring violent interrogation. As the hurricane slams the shore, conflict detonates and each character must choose a side if they're to survive the storm. Told over the five days approaching the anniversary of 9/11, by varying voices on both extremes of the political divide, On Hurricane Island is both a fast-paced political thriller and a literary examination of the sociopolitical storm facing our society. How far should government go in the name of protecting our national security? What happens when governmental powers of surveillance and extra-legal interrogation are expanded?  How free are we?  

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