Review – The Fourth Island

The Fourth Islandby Sarah TolmieGenres: Fantasy Rating: Synopsis: Huddled in the sea off the coast of Ireland is a fourth Aran Island, a secret island peopled by the lost, findable only in moments of despair. Whether drowned at sea, trampled by Cromwell's soldiers, or exiled for clinging to the dead, no outsiders reach the island without giving in to dark emotion. Time and again, The Fourth Island weaves a hypnotic pattern with its prose, presaging doom before walking back through the sweet and sour moments of lives not yet lost. It beautifully melds the certainty of loss with the joys of living, drawing readers under like the tide. Belatedly posting a review of a book I wrote a while ago and somehow never posted! The Fourth Island is a fascinating book which is clearly frustrating for a lot of people who want a story that goes from A to B to C, and comes to a solid conclusion. For me, it read like the author started with the idea of the Aran sweater whose pattern nobody recognised,…