title: I Am An Island by: Calidas, Tamsin published: 2020-05-07 read: 2022-10 preview

I am an island was a bestseller in the UK.  An autobiographic story of a couple which move to the Hebrides. It is an area to have visited, on a holiday. Remote, reachable with patience only, and extreme beauty and solitude with that.

And if you did, many of the descriptions in the book will ring home to you.

But not all.

The story goes like this: the couple move from London, where they are fed up with the impersonality as well as petty crime, to this Scottish Island, which has not much but a few houses, sea, sheep, and solitude. And the last they get in abundance.  They buy a dilapidated cottage, start repairing, start making their money from sheep and (this book) writing.  It describes a many-years-long battle between these people and the “locals”, nature, hardship, etc.  Long story short: don’t unless you’re the kind of person who never gives up.

Indeed, island life proves far more challenging than they anticipated. The isolation, harsh weather, and physical demands of restoring the croft and tending to animals strain their relationship and test their endurance. As the couple faces numerous hardships, Tamsin finds herself increasingly alone and struggling with the emotional toll of their situation.

Her husband’s eventual departure leaves Tamsin to navigate the island life on her own. Despite the loneliness and adversity, she perseveres, finding strength in the natural beauty and harsh reality of the island. Her journey is marked by personal loss, encounters with the island community, and moments of profound solitude.

And compelling as the story is, the book is at times a bit tedious.  I felt for the ‘locals’, who are portrayed as one would never want to be.  Rude, heartless, violent. Is it that extreme? Or is the view of a ‘stranger’ that extreme?

‘Didn’t mean to surprise you,’ one of them says, apologetically.
The other laughs, leaning forwards, and offers me a hand. ‘Well, look what we have here.’
I do not take his hand. I roll over on to my side and get quickly to my feet. I am flustered. I scrunch my hair tight into a knot and take a step backwards, clumsily brushing off seeds and grassheads. I glance from one to another. Then I look down at my bare toes.
I feel hugely at a disadvantage. And yet I am standing, fair and square, with two feet planted on my own croft. I wonder if it is commonplace to find others walking across fields that don’t belong to them, or are things seen differently here?
I don’t know why, but I find myself apologising. And that both confuses and annoys me even more, because I feel all the more off-guard, out of my comfort zone.
‘I’m sorry, but I didn’t see you,’ I say awkwardly.
The second man laughs. ‘Aye, but we saw you.’
Flushing, I flash him a look and he winks at me. My cheeks are burning so I quickly look away.
‘Oh, don’t mind him, lass.’ The first man shoves him mockingly. He has clear hazel eyes, piercing, shrewd. I feel them looking right through me.
I lean forward and pick up my things: a book, a pair of trainers. The men do not move.
‘But what are you doing?’ I ask clumsily, ‘I mean, why are you here?’
‘Good question. What were we doing?’ He turns to his friend. ‘Think I must’ve been looking for you.’ He winks. ‘But that’s not right, either,’ he chuckles, shaking his head. ‘Sun’s gone to my head.’ He stares at me, unabashed. ‘Stock’s gone walkabout. We came looking for a ewe.’

I understand that the extremeness of the stories told herein made the book a bestseller.  I didn’t mind the book but did not get carried away.