The Island of Desire

Some strange force impelled me to pull this book off the shelf, although it was not even close to the piles of books I‰ЫЄve been wanting to read for weeks and months. How does that happen? Sometimes a random book can seem to hold a lot of promise. Sometimes I want to get rid of a book that has been sitting on my shelf for a long time without ever wanting to read it, so then I have to read it before I can get rid of it.

I bought The Island of Desire during one of our epic trips to Chamblin Bookmine in Jacksonville FL, but I can‰ЫЄt remember why, and there was only one review on Goodreads for it at the time, so it felt like a truly random read. I probably heard of the author in my quest for writers similar to and as good as Barbara Pym (I haven‰ЫЄt found any yet) and bought the book because it was the only Edith Templeton I‰ЫЄd ever seen in a bookstore.

This is an interesting (apparently semi-autobiographical) story about a daughter following and resisting the influence of her mother, and finding happiness (or something like it) once she stops resisting. I read the introduction by Anita Brookner which said that‰ЫЄs what happens, so I‰ЫЄm pretty sure that‰ЫЄs what happens. I‰ЫЄm not very good at comprehending the plot of literary novels. The Island of Desire had some good stuff in it, but I don‰ЫЄt think I‰ЫЄll find occasion to read it again. Hence I‰ЫЄve added it to our box of books to give away, although I would not hesitate to buy a different Edith Templeton if I ever came across one in a bookstore again.

(Originally published in my weekly newsletter, All This Reading, with some differences.)