Literature Fiction island luck An island in a bleak harbour an isolated quarantine station where a group of nurses works tirelessly to care for sailors and immigrants recovering from the effects of the long sea voyage to the new land Kahu swims ashore searching for a woman Young nurse Liesel caught in a passionate triangle is faced with choices both harrowing and intoxicating Martha who oversees the hospital and guides the community is making a kind of experiment with life Some on the island are too sick to live Others flame with life The island is cradle and crucible Penelope Todd s first novel for adults is full of brilliantly drawn characters and a narrative which sweeps the reader along with its power This is literary fiction of the highest quality and an intensely romantic page turner Island by Penelope Todd

Island questaway

Todd Penelope 1958 spent her first thirty years in Christchurch and now lives in Dunedin She works freelance as a manuscript consultant and editor