Book #105 |
Book: Isola | Author: Allegra Goodman | |
| Source: Library loan Format: Audiobook |
Pages: 346 | Duration: 11/04/25 – 11/05/25 (2 days) | |
| Rating: ★★★★★ | Genres: historical fiction, literary fiction, France, romance, survival, Canada | ||
| 📕10-word summary: Epic saga of love, faith, and defiance in reimagined history. 🖌6-word review: Forceful writing with venerable female protagonist. |
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| 💭A favorite quote: “And that is when I saw his soul rising from his body.” “How could you tell it was his soul and not smoke from the tapers?” “The smoke was gray. His soul was white.” | |||
| 🎓Some new-to-me words: virginal, bandolier, citrine, approbation, abnegation | |||
| Description:* Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian’s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished and abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue. Once a child of privilege who dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she’d never before needed.*From goodreads.com’s synopsis. | |||
| Thoughts: I saw this in my daily BookBub email, and it sounded interesting. Since it wasn’t free, I got on my library‘s waiting list on August 13, 2025 at #132, and it became available 2 days ago on November 4, 2025. Inspired by the real life of a 16th-century heroine, Isola is a story of a woman fighting for survival. It covers her saga from 1431-1544, during which she suffers more loss in short enough time that it wouldn’t be surprising if she became a hoarder one day. The narrator sounded British, so there were a lot of “enna-things” and “evrah-things” throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, albeit it was pretty intense at times, especially with regards to death and killing. This was my first book by this author, and I would consider reading another someday. | |||
See the rest of the books I’ve read in 2025 and previous years: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019.
