One August Night: Sequel to much-loved classic, The Island

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The story itself had a very relaxed,well written and enjoyable story. Even with tragic elements. Even though this was filled with scandal, heartache and kindness I loved the characters and each one brought a great deal to the story which kept us interested and didnt loose any strength. Having never been to greece i adored the writters imagery and longed to book a holiday to view this for myself!! The affair has consequences and the book goes on to show the life that is lead due to the consequences.

Again there is a lot of historical knowledge shown in the novel about the facts of leprosy and the cure for it. As well as the feeling of somebody who knows about the culture of the area.

Posve mi je razumljivo zašto je gđa Hislop dobila počasno državljanstvo Grčke, njene knjige koje sam pročitala na zanimljiv i pristupačan način opisuju razdoblja iz povijesti ove zemlje (Oni koji su voljeni, Otok, Jedne ljetne noći). Jako sam uživala čitajući ove dvije knjige, prateći obitelji Petrakis i Vandulakis, upoznavajući uz njih puno o povijesti Grčke i Krete. Voljela bih da sam ih pročitala prije nego što sam posjetila Kretu, (Otok je objavljen 2005, a ja sam na Kreti bila 2006) ali bolje ikad nego nikad.

The transition from The Island to this book is perfect, with lots of the main characters re-appearing. In August 1957, as the locals of Plaka are celebrating the closure of the offshore leper colony, Spinalonga, there is a murder, with dire consequences for so many people. Setting: Crete & Greek mainland; Melbourne, Australia. The book is set in the lead-up to the closing of the leper colony of Spinalonga in 1957, when a cure has been found. Anna Petrakis has a good life with Andreas, who controls the family's large olive groves, but her marriage is unfulfilled - so she seeks solace with her husband's cousin, Manolis, with whom she is passionately in love. When news filters down that the Spinalonga lepers have been cured and will be returning home, including Anna's sister Maria, Anna is devastated - as Maria was Manolis's fiancee before she was diagnosed with leprosy. Manolis too fears that Maria will seek to rekindle their engagement, especially when he discovers that she shows no outward signs of having had the disease. But at the party to celebrate the closure of the leper colony, a devastating act of violence takes place that affects all of the characters deeply and for years to come.... When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy. Great book and long awaited if you have already read her earlier book the Island but you need to have read that to put this one into context August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.One August Night focuses on events just prior to and after the return of those exiled on the island, a return made possible by the discovery of a cure for leprosy. You might think it a cause for celebration and indeed for some it is, bringing the prospect of being reunited with relatives and friends, and a return to something like a normal life, albeit that many bear the physical and mental scars of their illness. However, the return of others means bringing to the surface a tangled web of relationships, both past and present. It was a interesting read and I learnt a lot about leprosy sufferers and how they were sent away It was a interesting read and I learnt a lot about leprosy sufferers and how they were sent away International products have separate terms and are sold from abroad and may differ from local products including fit, age rating, and language of product, labeling, or instructions, or plugs (you may require an adapter). Manolis suddenly caught the opening notes of a zeibékiko song and felt something inside him stir. The lyrics of this particular song seemed to mirror his life, jabbing at his heart. As if possessed by the power of the music, he rose from his seat… The movements were personal but the tradition of the zeibékiko was known to everyone. It was a dance that should only be performed by a man, and only by a man with grief to express. As the musicians played and the insistent beat thumped and repeated and thumped again, Manolis revolved slowly in a trance-like state, his eyes glazed, unfocused. Someone threw a plate at his feet and one of the girls tossed a flower that she had been wearing in her hair. He was aware of neither.” In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past’

This novel focuses on the story of Anna, Manolis, Andreas and Maria - maybe because I wasn’t invested in any of the characters enough (even Maria, who was so central to The Island), it felt like I was reading a novel based on a soap, or something a lot less substantial. The characters were mostly one dimensionally, and not fully developed enough for the reader to care about the outcome for any of the characters.Drago mi je što sam ovaj dio pročitala odmah nakon Otoka i što sam odlučila pročitati Otok prije Jedne ljetne noći. Na taj sam način dobila najbolji uvid u sve likove, njihove karaktere i sve događaje opisane u knjigama. Victoria Hislop έγραψε τη συνέχειά του κατά τη διάρκεια της πανδημίας του 2020, όπου βίωσε, όπως κι όλος ο κόσμος, μια σειρά από ομοιότητες ανάμεσα στους ανθρώπους που ζούσαν στο άσυλο της Σπιναλόγκας και στη σημερινή εποχή: «Δεν ήμασταν μεν ασθενείς… όμως νιώσαμε στο πετσί μας την απομόνωση και τις ελλείψεις σε είδη διατροφής… και βιώσαμε τον φόβο απέναντι σε μια ασθένεια για την οποία δεν υπάρχει θεραπεία» (σελ. 10). Η συγγραφέας λοιπόν, συνειδητοποιώντας πως προσπέρασε αρκετούς από τους χαρακτήρες στο κλείσιμο του πρώτου βιβλίου, διερευνά τώρα σε μεγαλύτερο βάθος τα συναισθήματα και την κατάληξη κάποιων από αυτούς.