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This beautiful, heartbreaking and redeeming novel told the story of Marguerite, a French noblewoman, orphaned shortly after birth. She is raised by her nurse, Damienne, but her life is controlled by her guardian Roberval. Marguerite grows up in a life of 1500’s luxury, she learns to read and write and to play music. Faith is a very large and active part of her life. Her childhood ends abruptly when Roberval removes her from her ancestral home and then demands that she and Damienne accompany him to Canada, then known as New France. On board the ship Marguerite falls in love with Roberval’s assistant. Roberval discovers their love and abandons Marguerite, her love and Damienne to a rock island. Life on the island becomes an almost insurmountable challenge � and I’m not going to say more for fear of giving away details.
This novel drew me in completely. The juxtaposition of Marguerite’s wealthy but controlled life and her life on the Canadian rock island was overwhelming. Roberval was one of the most mercurial characters I have read in a long time. His moods vacillated wildly, but his evil heart was ever present. As Marguerite recognizes, by exiling them to the island, he gave her and her lover their freedom as well as their ultimate prison. Faith is a strong theme in the novel. As a young woman, faith came easily, but when Marguerite is challenged by life on the island, so is her faith. The descriptions of the natural world on the island are outstanding. Amidst all the pain and stress of finding food, Marguerite eventually recognizes the beauty of the rocks, the sea, the sky and the (one) flower. Most powerful, however, was the transition of Marguerite from a wealthy (but controlled) young woman to a woman fighting for every bite of food and struggling to keep those she loves alive in the harshest of environments. This novel will remain with me for a very long time.