One Night On the Island by Josie Silver

 

4*

Cleo Wilder, a newspaper columnist who has spent the past few years reporting on a series of failed dates, is sent to a remote Irish island prior to her 30th birthday to marry herself in a self-coupling ceremony. However, instead of the idyllic luxury cabin that’s been reserved for her voyage of self-discovery, she’s been double-booked with Mack Sullivan, a gruff American photographer with a striking resemblance to Han Solo. He’s there to discover and document his roots while also giving himself and his estranged wife some distance because it is painful for him not to be under the same roof as his sons whom he deeply loves.

Although the first impression of Cleo is selfish and whiney, in time it becomes clear that her fear of her impending birthday and need for Salvation Island’s isolation have deeper significance, making the standoff between her and Mack more balanced. As they spend time together, initially on opposite sides of their chalk line boundary, they share three things about themselves each night and slowly come to appreciate and grow comfortable with each other.

It’s clear early on that this isn’t a typical romance since Mack is married and still at least a little in love with his wife. The moral ambiguity will undoubtedly elicit a range of reactions from readers, but the language Silver instills in her characters is poetic, heartfelt, and enchanting. It is refreshing to witness a couple handle their emotions and actions with maturity and consideration for others (although I guarantee debate on this opinion).

Like any good work of women’s fiction, the female friendships are front and center in the island’s knitting group and the men are equally welcoming and supportive. As Mack says in his speech at his exhibition, the Salvation Island inhabitants could have been very clannish and suspicious but, instead, were very welcoming unique characters who provided warmth on this beautiful, but cold, harsh island.

As for the self-coupling ceremony that seemed very self-indulgent on the surface, it actually proved to be a lovely expression of self-love and a celebration of the next chapter of Cleo’s life. After almost two months, she gains the clarity to realize that the noisy, frenetic pace and superficiality of relationships in London are no longer sustaining her and that her dream of writing a novel can come true with the island and her newfound friends as her muses.

In the spirit of the book’s “three things,” here are mine:

One, the colorful cast of characters who inhabit Salvation Island
Two, the emotional parting between Cleo and Mack and their need to stay connected via text by continuing their “three things” conversations, and
Three, Silver’s poetic descriptions of the rugged beauty of this wild Irish island

…and Four (even if Mack doesn’t like them), a wish for an extended epilogue several years later. You’ll understand why after you finish the book!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.