Isola

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher Penguin Random House, so I’d like to say thank you first. Second, I absolutely loved this book, more than I anticipated. The cover is beautiful and is what initially drew me in, with the historical fiction genre being something I wasn’t as excited about. However, this book was beautifully written and meticulously thought out. It reminds me a bit of “Where the Crawdads Sing”, not contextually but the overall feeling you get while reading. It follows the story of French royalty, Marguerite De La Roque. She was orphaned at birth and left to be cared for by her cousin and traveler, Roberval. Marguerite starts off living in luxury; and as her life goes on, she soon realizes everything rests in the hands of her guardian. He is bad tempered & abusive, and Marguerite wants nothing to do with him. She sins against her guardian, and is cast away on an island, with no one there besides her forbidden lover and nurse. She fights bears, learns to fend for herself, appreciate what she has, seek out God and religion, encounters loss and grief. She is a changed woman by the end of the novel. It’s so easy to fall in love with this story, and sympathize for her, despite her not wanting sympathy at all. Also the fact that it is based on a true story is absolutely amazing. I’m so glad that I read this book, and if you enjoy great literature you will love “Isola”.