The beautiful isle of Estillyen is the
home to monks, nuns, a myriad of animals and a cantankerous old man
named Oban Ironbout. Hollie and Godwin Macbreeze are on a month long
pilgrimage to the island to hear the lectures on redemption and, in
Godwin's case, to visit the point where Oban Ironbout has a cottage.
Hollie is facing a difficult diagnosis,
and understandably, is more interested in the redemption lectures
than Godwin. He is fulfilling a boyhood ambition to see the cottage
on the point that he calls My Cottage Rare. He drew a picture of the
cottage when he was a child from a photograph taken by his
grandfather, and it has haunted him ever since.
The book has two intertwined foci: the
redemption lectures and the quest to see the cottage. The plot is
very simple, but it supports the redemption focus of the book. I
found the writing for the lectures acceptable. It's stilted and
somewhat archaic, but it fits the subject. This is not the case with
the dialog. I found the dialog, particularly the conversations
between Hollie and Godwin, stiff.
One of the treats of the book is the
setting. The Isle of Estillyen is beautifully described as are all
the buildings. It makes you want spend time in such a special spot.
I recommend this book if you enjoy
stories with a religious slant. However, as a novel, it doesn't work
well. The plot is too thin and the characters act too much in the
service of the plot.
I reviewed this book for Handlebar
Publishing Company.
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