What do you think?
Rate this book
Islands
This novel of epic proportions from South Africa, set between 1650 and 1710, covers the first fifty years of the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. Beautifully rendered, this is a world and a time never before dealt with in fiction-a period when powerful colonizers took over the lands of Hottentot tribes, exposing aborigines for the first time to Western eyes and Western ways. Through the life stories of seven men-all involved with and defined in one way or another by Pieternella, the beautiful daughter of the first mixed marriage of the new colony-we gain an understanding of the vast historical forces at work.
Teeming with characters, rich with lived experience, gripping in its unexpected turns, Islands is a story of greed, power, war, courage, and international intrigue, at once a meticulously researched portrait of the age, and a great adventure story.
Teeming with characters, rich with lived experience, gripping in its unexpected turns, Islands is a story of greed, power, war, courage, and international intrigue, at once a meticulously researched portrait of the age, and a great adventure story.
758 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
44 people are currently reading
2,556 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 5, 2013
About Islands by Dan Sleigh: I hated this book in the way you are supposed to hate a book. Dan must have pulled the historical records. He had fires and flood to explain gaps in the history rather than trying to fill in gaps for which there was no record. I can only say that I have dreamt about the characters, hoping that things would change. Characters tortured by well meaning bureaucrats, medical records of the citizenry, prison sentences, dreams of the Orient. Life on Islands thought to be idyllic followed by hurricanes, malaria. Lost at sea and found. Following generations of African natives and Dutch and intermarriage. Hard to read, but hard to put down even after you stop reading it. Very thought provoking. Thank you Dan Sleigh for a wild and terrible journey on they way from yesterday to today.
January 16, 2011
Really enjoyed this just for the history alone, and South Africa is one of those places I want to visit.
Unique way of telling the story of someone, with none of the 7 stories about the main character, but her father, her husband and five other men who know her. Sometimes difficult to see Pieternella as the main character for that reason.
Unique way of telling the story of someone, with none of the 7 stories about the main character, but her father, her husband and five other men who know her. Sometimes difficult to see Pieternella as the main character for that reason.
October 6, 2013
On the long voyage to the Indonesian Spice Islands the Dutch East Indies Company needed a refueling station to take on fresh water, food and fuel. For this purpose they chose a bay in front of Table Mountain with Robben Island in the vicinity. Based on historical accounts and filled with interesting family, botanical, legal, trades and crafts, and ethnologic information, this fascinating novel by South African writer Dan Sleigh recounts the first landing efforts, the negotiations with the local population, and the struggles of eking out a living in a new environment with the rough contingents of the homeland population. For many of the Cape inhabitants it was only supposed to be a temporary stop on the way to live the dream in Batavia, but many got waylaid and never had a chance to leave. Sleigh sheds light on the penal code, the livelihood of people, the strategy of plying the locals into submission with alcohol and tobacco, expeditions into the hinterlands, the setting up of new farm communities, interspersed with lovely flash back to the life the migrants left behind in Europe (with lots of reference to my university town Leiden and its beautiful Hortus Botanicus). The novel is divided in a number of chapters that together cover the period from the 1650-1700’s. Each chapter is loosely connected with relatives or successors to characters in earlier chapters allowing the writer to cover a larger time period effectively while demonstrating the cyclical nature of life.
August 28, 2017
halfway through; they were right when they compared to Tolstoy. Thus far I love the sweep of action all the way from the Cape to Far East and back to the Low Countries....It's not a casual read though....Last chapter not quite as enjoyable as the previous...sort of anti-climatic. Enjoyed it overall.
January 16, 2023
Het ontstaan van de Kaapkolonie is interessante geschiedenis en Sleigh weet die bij vlagen boeiend te vertellen. Het was een echt goed boek geweest als een strenge redacteur het verhaal had gestroomlijnd en ingekort. Het werd mij naar het eind toe nogal langdradig.
February 5, 2015
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2012
I listened this as an audio book last year but still remember it as a terrific historical novel. Since so many reviewers expressed negative view points, it might have been fortunate I listened to this saga but I think I would have treasured it either way.
June 7, 2024
Schrijfstijl:4
Inhoud:4,5
Verhaal:3,5
Uitwerking/Opbouw:4
Inhoud:4,5
Verhaal:3,5
Uitwerking/Opbouw:4
May 21, 2009
I cannot express how happy I am to have finally finished this book. I don't think, out of it's overlong 758 pages, there was a single part I at all enjoyed. It's a ridiculously dry telling of the colonisation of the South Cape of Africa by the Dutch "Company," told from seven different viewpoints, all of which overlap to some, sometime great unneeded extent, all written with the same dry tinge of boredom. A multitude of reviewers have described this book as epic - the only thing about it that is is the struggle to get to the end. Immensely dull, a good structure in theory but wholly let down by the consistently poor tone of the entire narrative - it's impossible to seperate the tellers from the tale. Whether this problem arose in translation or not it's difficult to tell. But I don't care - I wouldn't recommend this book to my worst enemy. It's that bad.
August 11, 2017
Fantastisch verhaal over een ongelooflijk boeiende periode. De verschillende personages laten je echt voelen hoe het was om te leven en te sterven in de Kaap in de 17de eeuw. De geopolitieke rol van Nederland in die periode blijft mij verbazen. En opdezelfde achtergrond zijn er personages geschilderd met zulke details dat je je afvraagt wat feit is en wat fictie.
De Nederlandse vertaling is heel sterk en aangenaam on te lezen.
De Nederlandse vertaling is heel sterk en aangenaam on te lezen.
September 13, 2012
This book was hard work, but not without enjoyment. Interesting way to tell a story, each chapter a different perspective about one person but also about the narrator of that chapter. I enjoyed learning another facet of the Dutch East India company, and more of the history of Mauritius and South Africa.
July 7, 2012
Excellent read! Well researched, well written, up there with my all time favourites
January 27, 2018
Beautiful book with a great historic background. I enjoyed it, even though in places it can be a bit overlong.
November 4, 2021
In the last chapter of Islands, Dan Sleigh's epic historical novel about the Cape settlement in South Africa, the nexus between the Dutch economy and its colonial enterprises is made clear:
But, far away from the Cape in their waterlogged country, those Dutchmen did not know what amateur historian Secretary de Grevenbroek has learned in his long years of service: the key to the Cape replenishment stations was its outposts.ÌýAnd on these outposts were living people, mostly convicts and slaves, who fulfilled the various functions of the refreshment service for the Dutch East India Company.
, an Afrikaans researcher in the National Archives of South Africa, tells the story of these 17th century island outposts.Ìý Covering the Cape's early history in the years 1652 to 1690 and presented in seven long and densely written chapters, seven different voices (all male) are linked together by the tragic story of the first mixed-race child, Eva, whose Koina name was Krotoa,Ìý and by her daughter Pieternella.Ìý ÌýThe novel is cited in 1001 BooksÌýasÌýa vastly ambitious novel of origins and empire,Ìýwhich exploresÌýthe clash between colonisers and indigenous populations.Ìý
The early chapters depict First Contact not unlike what happened in Australia.Ìý On arrival, the strangers seemed benign, and the Koina people were generous and helpful.Ìý There were exchanges of goods, though these could not be characterised as barter or trade since the goods were not of equal value.Ìý Before long there was unwelcome encroachment, and resistance was dealt with through a combination of violence, imprisonment, forced labour, and toxic gifts of alcohol and tobacco.
Fiscal Deneyn enters the story about half way through.Ìý Young, ambitious, and breathtakingly cruel, he soon learns that his education in Holland doesn't seem to be very useful.Ìý Because (as in Australia) the legal status of the Indigenous people was a matter of pragmatism, not human rights.
To read the rest of my review please visit
Every Dutchman who supported the great adventure in the East knew what role the Cape played in the economy of his waterlogged country.Ìý They could all recite it like a nursery rhyme: The key to the Dutch economy was the Company, the key to the Company's success was control of the Eastern trade, the key to the Eastern trade was successful shipping, the key to shipping was the Cape replenishment station. (p.695)
But, far away from the Cape in their waterlogged country, those Dutchmen did not know what amateur historian Secretary de Grevenbroek has learned in his long years of service: the key to the Cape replenishment stations was its outposts.ÌýAnd on these outposts were living people, mostly convicts and slaves, who fulfilled the various functions of the refreshment service for the Dutch East India Company.
One provided thatch, another shell lime; one guarded a frontier, another provided transport, or gathered salt, chopped firewood or planted vegetables; another caught fish, yet another transmitted signals.Ìý There were a great number of them.Ìý [...] They really carried the Company, because without outposts the Cape could not function, without the Cape Batavia could not function, without Batavia the Company was powerless, and so on all the way to the top, where the prince and his advisory council in Holland were carried on a shaky shield. (p.706)
, an Afrikaans researcher in the National Archives of South Africa, tells the story of these 17th century island outposts.Ìý Covering the Cape's early history in the years 1652 to 1690 and presented in seven long and densely written chapters, seven different voices (all male) are linked together by the tragic story of the first mixed-race child, Eva, whose Koina name was Krotoa,Ìý and by her daughter Pieternella.Ìý ÌýThe novel is cited in 1001 BooksÌýasÌýa vastly ambitious novel of origins and empire,Ìýwhich exploresÌýthe clash between colonisers and indigenous populations.Ìý
[Pieternella's] life is inextricably linked with the developing Dutch presence at the Cape and the mechanics of the Dutch East India Company, the VOC.Ìý Her hybrid experience in the emerging colony, neither entirely African nor Dutch, offers a series of perspectives, and her ultimate fate becomes a powerful metaphor for the fate of the colony itself.
The many characters, all superbly realised, are dwarfed by forces beyond their comprehension or control, taking place across the early modern world.(1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die,ÌýEdited by Peter Boxall, ABC Books, 2006 Edition, ISBN 0780733321214, p 933)
The early chapters depict First Contact not unlike what happened in Australia.Ìý On arrival, the strangers seemed benign, and the Koina people were generous and helpful.Ìý There were exchanges of goods, though these could not be characterised as barter or trade since the goods were not of equal value.Ìý Before long there was unwelcome encroachment, and resistance was dealt with through a combination of violence, imprisonment, forced labour, and toxic gifts of alcohol and tobacco.
Fiscal Deneyn enters the story about half way through.Ìý Young, ambitious, and breathtakingly cruel, he soon learns that his education in Holland doesn't seem to be very useful.Ìý Because (as in Australia) the legal status of the Indigenous people was a matter of pragmatism, not human rights.
To read the rest of my review please visit
March 19, 2020
I read this book as background reading for a manuscript I'm currently working on.
'Islands' is an epic book in every sense of the word: spanning decades, generations, and in with its 760 pages, sheer volume. It tells the story of Pieternel, the first half-blood child born in 17th-century South Africa. Pieternel is the daughter of Eva, also known by the Koina name 'Krotoa', and Pieter van der Meerhof. Her story is told through the eyes of the seven men who played an important role in her life one way or another: her father, the men that wooed her, her husband, the clerk that wrote down her story. Their stories in turn are told in great, sometimes excrutiating detail. The book is full of historical flavour of the times, and provides a true window to the lives, hardships and tragedies of the Dutch colonists in the Cape and on Mauritius, where Pieternel lived her married life.
It is a tremendous book that is the result of a serious amount of research by author Dan Sleigh, who used to work as a researcher at the National Archives in Cape Town. His access to these sources shows through in this novel, but at the same time he has fallen into the trap of wanting to including every scrap of information on the time, however interesting that information may be. He names historical characters that have no real part in the story and he takes winding side-paths away from that of Pieternel. As a result I sometimes felt I had to persevere with this book, but I am glad I saw it through till the end, as it is one of those books on South Africa that left an impression and will stay with me. Great background reading for anyone who is seriously interested in the early history of South Africa. Compliments also to Andre Brink, who translated this book from Afrikaans into English: the prose is very good.
'Islands' is an epic book in every sense of the word: spanning decades, generations, and in with its 760 pages, sheer volume. It tells the story of Pieternel, the first half-blood child born in 17th-century South Africa. Pieternel is the daughter of Eva, also known by the Koina name 'Krotoa', and Pieter van der Meerhof. Her story is told through the eyes of the seven men who played an important role in her life one way or another: her father, the men that wooed her, her husband, the clerk that wrote down her story. Their stories in turn are told in great, sometimes excrutiating detail. The book is full of historical flavour of the times, and provides a true window to the lives, hardships and tragedies of the Dutch colonists in the Cape and on Mauritius, where Pieternel lived her married life.
It is a tremendous book that is the result of a serious amount of research by author Dan Sleigh, who used to work as a researcher at the National Archives in Cape Town. His access to these sources shows through in this novel, but at the same time he has fallen into the trap of wanting to including every scrap of information on the time, however interesting that information may be. He names historical characters that have no real part in the story and he takes winding side-paths away from that of Pieternel. As a result I sometimes felt I had to persevere with this book, but I am glad I saw it through till the end, as it is one of those books on South Africa that left an impression and will stay with me. Great background reading for anyone who is seriously interested in the early history of South Africa. Compliments also to Andre Brink, who translated this book from Afrikaans into English: the prose is very good.
August 10, 2017
Die skrywer gee nie die storie met ʼn teelepeltjie vir die leser in nie. Selfs met die inligting wat hy in die inleiding / voorwoord gee, was ek maar goed verdwaal. Eers nadat ek ʼn bespreking van die boek gelees het, het ek agter die kap van die byl gekom.
Met die eerste lees kon ek nie die boek neersit nie, ek was ingetrek in die gebeure, ontsteld, nuuskierig, verslae. Met die tweede lees (ja, al 757 bladsye) het ek stadiger gelees, betekenis van woorde nageslaan, plekke op kaarte gesoek en my probeer indink hoe die Kaap in die laat 1600’s en vroeë 1700’s gelyk het. Ek wil nou langs die Liesbeekrivier gaan stap, na die oorblyfsels van die amandelheining in Kirstenbosch gaan kyk en die kasteel besoek; plekke en dinge wat my voorheen koudgelaat het.
Aan die begin van die laaste hoofstuk, Die Klerk, het ek gewonder wat dit nou eintlik met die res van die verhaal te doen het, maar tog later agtergekom hoe dit die hele verhaal saamtrek en gebeure verduidelik en die laaste hoofstuk in die lewe van die hoofkarakter saamvat. Om ʼn lang, beskrywende hoofstuk oor die Zaaimans se lewens terug in die Kaap te skryf, sou ʼn antiklimaks wees na die interessante, meestal positiewe hoofstuk oor hul lewe op Mauritius.
Dit sal interessant wees om te weet hoeveel die skrywer aan feitelike gegewens verander het.
Voorwaar ʼn boek wat my laat dink het.
Met die eerste lees kon ek nie die boek neersit nie, ek was ingetrek in die gebeure, ontsteld, nuuskierig, verslae. Met die tweede lees (ja, al 757 bladsye) het ek stadiger gelees, betekenis van woorde nageslaan, plekke op kaarte gesoek en my probeer indink hoe die Kaap in die laat 1600’s en vroeë 1700’s gelyk het. Ek wil nou langs die Liesbeekrivier gaan stap, na die oorblyfsels van die amandelheining in Kirstenbosch gaan kyk en die kasteel besoek; plekke en dinge wat my voorheen koudgelaat het.
Aan die begin van die laaste hoofstuk, Die Klerk, het ek gewonder wat dit nou eintlik met die res van die verhaal te doen het, maar tog later agtergekom hoe dit die hele verhaal saamtrek en gebeure verduidelik en die laaste hoofstuk in die lewe van die hoofkarakter saamvat. Om ʼn lang, beskrywende hoofstuk oor die Zaaimans se lewens terug in die Kaap te skryf, sou ʼn antiklimaks wees na die interessante, meestal positiewe hoofstuk oor hul lewe op Mauritius.
Dit sal interessant wees om te weet hoeveel die skrywer aan feitelike gegewens verander het.
Voorwaar ʼn boek wat my laat dink het.
August 1, 2017
Bravo to Dan Sleigh for a meticulous historical recreation of the first fifty years or so of colonisation of the Western Cape and Mauritius by the Dutch East India company. Bravo for selecting a plausible thread to run through his epic tapestry - the central character being Pieternella, the offspring of the Cape's first mixed race marriage. And Bravo to anyone who got through the whole 758 pages without at least once or twice crying out for a bit more emotion and drama. A worthy production, and an education on South African history, but it just lacked a spark to raise it above the pedestrian. To put it in South African cricketing terms, I wanted a bit more Allan Donald and a bit less Fanie De Villiers.
February 25, 2021
Very interesting but difficult read. Read it after Pieternella van die Kaap (Dalene Mathee) which provided some context on the characters, but struggled with the (to me) lack of obvious story ‘line� from start to finish. Would however be interesting to see what I’d make of Pieternella story if I had to reread it with all this background info. Also found the interpretation of personalities interesting vs how they were portrayed in Pieternella (sometimes similar and sometimes completely different). Such rich history and with human nature being so unkind at times.
October 1, 2023
Well, it’s a very long book. If you are interested in the history of settling the cape and making contracts with the Hottentots you will find the book very interesting. Also if you are interested in the history of the Dutch East India Company and it’s huge influence at that time.
Nevertheless if you want to read a thrilling story, move on. The author throws out sentence after sentence and at times not the content is boring but the presentation.
I’ll give it 4 stars because I was interested in the history. Without that, it’s a 3-star book.
Nevertheless if you want to read a thrilling story, move on. The author throws out sentence after sentence and at times not the content is boring but the presentation.
I’ll give it 4 stars because I was interested in the history. Without that, it’s a 3-star book.
March 24, 2021
Meedoënloos. Die wêreld was nog altyd 'n harde plek. Hierdie werk deur die gesag in die geskiedenis van die VOC aan die Kaap laat my verwonder staan in hoeveel keer die aarde al sedert die middel 1600's in die rondte gedraai het en hoe drasties anders ons die lewe vandag ervaar. Ek sou dit nie oorleef het nie.
January 17, 2022
Wat een indrukwekkend boek! Daar waar het waargebeurde verhaal van Krotoa en haar familie niet geheel bekend is, geeft dit boek een prachtig inzicht over het leven op de Kaap en Mauritius. De vertellingen door de ogen van zeven verschillende mannen geven een interessant perspectief op de halve eeuw van kolonisatie die wordt beschreven. Essentiële geschiedenis in mij opinie.
September 1, 2023
Verslag? Roman? Geskiedenisboek? Eilande is meer as een genre. Die inhoud is ryk van die verlede wat net ‘n kenner soos Sleigh kon versamel. Daarmee saam liefde, boosheid en swakheid van die mens. Fantasties!
March 6, 2018
Well done - good read for any South African!
August 23, 2020
Absolutely fantastic book. Just one of those that you come across and know immediately that you’re going to end up buying someone a copy because you just want to share the wonderful experience of reading it. You’re disappointed when you reach the end which is saying something for a book which comes to over 700 pages.
I found it utterly captivating, a fantastic insight into the establishment of the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa by the Dutch in the 18th century. It’s just replete with historical detail with beautifully recreated details about clothing, society, relationships, maritime travel, industry and so much more.
It’s a historical novel; you’re not reading non-fiction here. But Sleigh, a history teacher himself, has done a wonderful job in taking historical characters who you can look up online and fleshing out their lives with details that, although imaginary, are entirely plausible given what we do know.
Sure, he’s taken some liberties here and there in creating the details of their lives, but he’s done that so well you have just enough for them to come vividly to life without it being overdone. He’s done this so well, it’s just such a beautiful read.
One of the very important aspects of his characterisation, as Christopher Hope points out in his Guardian review, is that the “great white settlers� are portrayed far more accurately as mere, and entire, mortals. Their impact on the lands they visit is as horrific as can be imagined by anyone who has read the truth portrayed in such masterpieces as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Sleigh’s prose is beautifully matched to his subject. I read a review online where someone was saying that the prose was difficult and slow, and I had to comment and say that the reader didn’t understand the purpose of the prose. It’s perfectly paced to the point where it contributes to the very story that’s being told.
In this, it reminded me strongly of two other superb novels, namely Growth of the Soil and, even longer than Islands, Kristen Lavransdatter. But while the writers of those novels won Nobel prizes, Sleigh and Islands were completely unknown to me. It’s a great shame that neither his writing nor this novel in particular is not more widely known. There are a great many lessons here that we still have not yet learned.
If there’s a weakness it could be argued that it lies in the structure that Sleigh adopts. For me personally, it was a strength that the novel does not have a single voice or anyone you can point to as protagonist. Instead, those who appear at the forefront of each of the long chapters are used to show us different angles of the history.
In this way, like a mould, we can guess at who or what Sleigh’s work is forming at its center. I imagine it is the innocent people, ways of life, animals and environments which are laid to waste in the name of a desire to possess that has still not left humanity and which, in South Africa, as in many other parts of the world has left open sores which still fester.
To get some insight into the legacy of Dutch colonialism in South Africa, I watched Farmlands after I’d finished Islands. I have to say, my reading gave me more sympathy than I otherwise would have had for the black community’s demand that the whites leave Africa for the Africans. They’re visitors, at best, who have arguably overstayed their welcome and certainly behaved badly.
I found it utterly captivating, a fantastic insight into the establishment of the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa by the Dutch in the 18th century. It’s just replete with historical detail with beautifully recreated details about clothing, society, relationships, maritime travel, industry and so much more.
It’s a historical novel; you’re not reading non-fiction here. But Sleigh, a history teacher himself, has done a wonderful job in taking historical characters who you can look up online and fleshing out their lives with details that, although imaginary, are entirely plausible given what we do know.
Sure, he’s taken some liberties here and there in creating the details of their lives, but he’s done that so well you have just enough for them to come vividly to life without it being overdone. He’s done this so well, it’s just such a beautiful read.
One of the very important aspects of his characterisation, as Christopher Hope points out in his Guardian review, is that the “great white settlers� are portrayed far more accurately as mere, and entire, mortals. Their impact on the lands they visit is as horrific as can be imagined by anyone who has read the truth portrayed in such masterpieces as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Sleigh’s prose is beautifully matched to his subject. I read a review online where someone was saying that the prose was difficult and slow, and I had to comment and say that the reader didn’t understand the purpose of the prose. It’s perfectly paced to the point where it contributes to the very story that’s being told.
In this, it reminded me strongly of two other superb novels, namely Growth of the Soil and, even longer than Islands, Kristen Lavransdatter. But while the writers of those novels won Nobel prizes, Sleigh and Islands were completely unknown to me. It’s a great shame that neither his writing nor this novel in particular is not more widely known. There are a great many lessons here that we still have not yet learned.
If there’s a weakness it could be argued that it lies in the structure that Sleigh adopts. For me personally, it was a strength that the novel does not have a single voice or anyone you can point to as protagonist. Instead, those who appear at the forefront of each of the long chapters are used to show us different angles of the history.
In this way, like a mould, we can guess at who or what Sleigh’s work is forming at its center. I imagine it is the innocent people, ways of life, animals and environments which are laid to waste in the name of a desire to possess that has still not left humanity and which, in South Africa, as in many other parts of the world has left open sores which still fester.
To get some insight into the legacy of Dutch colonialism in South Africa, I watched Farmlands after I’d finished Islands. I have to say, my reading gave me more sympathy than I otherwise would have had for the black community’s demand that the whites leave Africa for the Africans. They’re visitors, at best, who have arguably overstayed their welcome and certainly behaved badly.
September 30, 2015
I originally picked this book up in the library to help me understand Dutch colonial culture as I am writing my own work that takes place in Sumatra in a colonial setting. Also, this was Sleigh's first novel himself so I thought the this novel was perfect.
Honestly, this was rugged South Africa in an nutshell in a fictive tale of the pre-Boer Wars era. Sleigh did an excellent job in portraying Griqua (mixed Euro-African person in South Africa) and Indigenous South African cultures prior to Dutch contact and the sub-plot of Chief Harry was very well written as was the plot of Eva and her attempts to bridge the gap between Van Riebeeck's settlers and the Hottentot cultures. Their daughter's plot, named Pieternella, seemed to fit in justly and explains the "choosing a side," complex that is evident in many mixed cultures today such as the mestizo in Mexico and others.
Yet, I felt like this novel would severely lose its non-historian audience because the plot is too inter-tangled and languidly long. Eva, Chief Harry, and Pieternella could have really stood out strongly in this novel but Sleigh lacks a strong ability to put aside historical vividity to paint a canvass of a great story of great portion of Dutch and South African lore. For example in the story the Dutch surgeon who fathered Pieternella had little emotiveness from him and the cruelty and backhandedness of Dutch masculinity needed to be sharpened more so in this work. The marooning scene did not do it enough justice.
Though the purview and attentiveness were admirable in this work. I gave it 4 stars because the Griqua portions of the novel were top notch and Sleigh has lots of potential to be a good author. He out-plotted himself and his themes were not colored as deeply as they should have been such as the greed of the Dutch and the courageousness of the key characters needed more attention. Decent work but had the potential to be a much better novel!
Honestly, this was rugged South Africa in an nutshell in a fictive tale of the pre-Boer Wars era. Sleigh did an excellent job in portraying Griqua (mixed Euro-African person in South Africa) and Indigenous South African cultures prior to Dutch contact and the sub-plot of Chief Harry was very well written as was the plot of Eva and her attempts to bridge the gap between Van Riebeeck's settlers and the Hottentot cultures. Their daughter's plot, named Pieternella, seemed to fit in justly and explains the "choosing a side," complex that is evident in many mixed cultures today such as the mestizo in Mexico and others.
Yet, I felt like this novel would severely lose its non-historian audience because the plot is too inter-tangled and languidly long. Eva, Chief Harry, and Pieternella could have really stood out strongly in this novel but Sleigh lacks a strong ability to put aside historical vividity to paint a canvass of a great story of great portion of Dutch and South African lore. For example in the story the Dutch surgeon who fathered Pieternella had little emotiveness from him and the cruelty and backhandedness of Dutch masculinity needed to be sharpened more so in this work. The marooning scene did not do it enough justice.
Though the purview and attentiveness were admirable in this work. I gave it 4 stars because the Griqua portions of the novel were top notch and Sleigh has lots of potential to be a good author. He out-plotted himself and his themes were not colored as deeply as they should have been such as the greed of the Dutch and the courageousness of the key characters needed more attention. Decent work but had the potential to be a much better novel!
June 24, 2016
I obtained Islands through play.com’s used book section and I did have to wait a bit in order to receive it.
What makes it more disappointing is that the hassle was not worth it as I did not really like the book.
Islands takes place in South Africa, during the mid 1600’s when it was just being colonised by the Dutch. Here we meet the South African Native Chief Harry, who was the first African to make friends with these colonisers and act as a go-between. He later inducts his daughter Korota into the colony and the whole story focuses on her relationships and interactions with the Dutch people she grew up with. Later the book then moves on the life of her first born Pieternella. In all cases there is a clash as neither culture wants to accept each other fully.
Really, though, what we are getting is an extended history of South Africa, and an explaination on all the problems that occurred some centuries later. However this is the only reason why I stuck to the novel, as I found it to be very flawed.
For one thing I did not find the character memorable in any way no matter how hard I tried I could not sympathize with them, I found the plot and dialogue to be plodding and in the end I began to get irritated with everything and was glad to read the last sentence.
What makes it more disappointing is that the hassle was not worth it as I did not really like the book.
Islands takes place in South Africa, during the mid 1600’s when it was just being colonised by the Dutch. Here we meet the South African Native Chief Harry, who was the first African to make friends with these colonisers and act as a go-between. He later inducts his daughter Korota into the colony and the whole story focuses on her relationships and interactions with the Dutch people she grew up with. Later the book then moves on the life of her first born Pieternella. In all cases there is a clash as neither culture wants to accept each other fully.
Really, though, what we are getting is an extended history of South Africa, and an explaination on all the problems that occurred some centuries later. However this is the only reason why I stuck to the novel, as I found it to be very flawed.
For one thing I did not find the character memorable in any way no matter how hard I tried I could not sympathize with them, I found the plot and dialogue to be plodding and in the end I began to get irritated with everything and was glad to read the last sentence.
February 1, 2015
Fascinating historical fiction starts off strong but wanes in the latter half. I struggled to complete the final chapter. One can only tie so many loose ends before it becomes tedious. However on the whole, the book was very interesting, informative and worth the effort.
I think this story illustrates how little we really have changed over the centuries. The details of our circumstances have evolved, but our hopes and disappointments, our fight to reach orang lama or vanish into oblivion trying, our isolating struggle to keep our heads above water in a rising sea is intact and unaltered.
I think this story illustrates how little we really have changed over the centuries. The details of our circumstances have evolved, but our hopes and disappointments, our fight to reach orang lama or vanish into oblivion trying, our isolating struggle to keep our heads above water in a rising sea is intact and unaltered.
June 21, 2015
An in-depth description of early Dutch colonial days on the West Cape and Mauritius. This work of fiction is firmly based on historical events, and Google has been a great additional source to me for verifying the complex genealogical and professional links between the characters.
Being a South African, the author has done a great research job to write in detail about Dutch places, culture, habits, language, etc.
As for its subject - the rise and decline of the Dutch/East-Indian trading company - the novel shows some similarities to David Mitchells 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'. (But don't let me be misunderstood: Mitchell rules!)
Being a South African, the author has done a great research job to write in detail about Dutch places, culture, habits, language, etc.
As for its subject - the rise and decline of the Dutch/East-Indian trading company - the novel shows some similarities to David Mitchells 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'. (But don't let me be misunderstood: Mitchell rules!)
August 9, 2014
This book was... well, for lack of a better term...ok. I read it because I'm going to South Africa, and it's true, I did gain a lot of valuable insight into the history and colonization of the Cape. None the less, the English translation is a bit messy, making it even harder to follow. The book is too long and just doesn't suck you in the way some other epic historical novels do. I enjoyed some parts but definitely wouldn't recommend it.
December 23, 2021
Van de tien waren er maar drie die het boek uit haddeen. Het was een dik boek, maar dan nog... het zegt wel wat. Eiland in zee is een boek voor geschiedenisliefhebbers. Het thema, het begin van de Apartheid in Zuid Afrika, is boeiend genoeg. Helaas vonden de meesten van ons Sleigh geen groot verteller.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.