Jude's father has not been seen in almost a month. Him disappearing is not unusual, but Jude's mother wants her to look anyway. One of the last places left to look is Gull Island, a private island and home to the family cottages. It's early in the season still with snow still on the ground. She doesn't think he'll be there, but her mother has also asked her to look for some documents.
The lead characters is of course Jude. Everything we see and hear is from her view and perceptions. With every new picture she finds or a treasure found from her younger days, memories of her childhood are remembered and inspected.
Is what she remembers the truth? Has she covered up the ugliness and hidden it away all these years? As a reader, can I believe what she is saying and seeing? Why? Well, Jude is a (very) unreliable narrator, for a number of reasons. She's a raging alcoholic for one. But what about the noises she's hearing? This uncertainty kept me turning pages to the final chapter. I had to know what the truth was. Porter teases the reader, dropping foreshadowing many times and alluding to what happened in the past.
"My dreams were leeching into my consciousness, making it hard to know what was real. That's all. I had to focus."
Porter has given us a detailed setting for the novel. I was able to easily build the island in my mind.
Gull Island is a slow burning read, one that takes the reader through a disturbing exploration of a dysfunctional family. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Gull Island.
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