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Literary works set on islands
Thread poster: Philip Taylor
Philip Taylor
Philip Taylor  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:19
French to English
Mar 13, 2006

In connection with a potential journalistic article, I’m compiling a list of literary works (short stories, novels, poems) set on islands, and written in English or available in English translation.
Some of the more obvious ones include:
Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe
R.M. Ballantyne – The Coral Island
R.L. Stevenson – Treasure Island
H.G. Wells – The Island of Dr. Moreau
William Golding – Lord of the Flies
D.H. Lawrence – The Man who love
... See more
In connection with a potential journalistic article, I’m compiling a list of literary works (short stories, novels, poems) set on islands, and written in English or available in English translation.
Some of the more obvious ones include:
Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe
R.M. Ballantyne – The Coral Island
R.L. Stevenson – Treasure Island
H.G. Wells – The Island of Dr. Moreau
William Golding – Lord of the Flies
D.H. Lawrence – The Man who loved islands (short story)
Michel Tournier – Friday (orig. Fr. title: Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique)
Aldous Huxley – Island

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, particularly for short stories, but also for novels and poems.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions…
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Aurora Humarán (X)
Aurora Humarán (X)  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 15:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
hola Mar 13, 2006

Philip Taylor wrote:

In connection with a potential journalistic article, I’m compiling a list of literary works (short stories, novels, poems) set on islands, and written in English or available in English translation.



Nice project, Philip. Hopefully our prozmates will be able to help you.

I will have a look at my books later today to see if I can also add my two cents.

Good luck!

Au


 
Jalapeno
Jalapeno
Local time: 19:19
English to German
The Beach... Mar 13, 2006

by Alex Garland, I believe. Also made into a movie starrnig Leonardo DiCaprio.

 
Daniel Bird
Daniel Bird  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:19
German to English
Papillon... Mar 13, 2006

...springs to mind.
Any limit on the size of island by the way?
I would suggest Middlemarch as a contribution from England.
Good luck
db


 
Miia Mattila
Miia Mattila
Estonia
Local time: 20:19
English to Finnish
suggestions Mar 13, 2006

Philip Taylor wrote:

I’m compiling a list of literary works (short stories, novels, poems) set on islands, and written in English or available in English translation.



Hello,

I'm not quite sure if these'll do, but here's a couple:

Hannah, Kristin. 2001. Summer Island
Harris, Joanne. 2002. Coastliners

Good luck on your article

Miia


 
Aurora Humarán (X)
Aurora Humarán (X)  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 15:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
Argentine Adolfo Bioy Casares Mar 13, 2006

"La invención de Morel" ("The invention of Morel", the name of the translation into English.)

Au


 
Ellinor Larsen
Ellinor Larsen
Sweden
Local time: 19:19
English to Swedish
+ ...
Two suggestions Mar 13, 2006

Foe, by Coetzee, and An Aroma of Coffee, by Dany Laferriere.

Great novels both of them!


 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 02:19
English to Chinese
+ ...
Another one Mar 13, 2006

Penguin Island. 1930. Anatole France.

 
Philip Taylor
Philip Taylor  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:19
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Reply to Daniel Bird Mar 13, 2006

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the suggestion of Papillon.
In terms of size limit, I'm thinking primarily of small islands, whether fictional or real. These can be anything from the desert islands of classic adventure stories to islands used to symbolise/satirise wider society/political systems, etc. Have to admit, to my shame, that I haven't read Middlemarch. Is it set on an island?

More generally, I should probably have mentioned that suggestions can include children's
... See more
Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the suggestion of Papillon.
In terms of size limit, I'm thinking primarily of small islands, whether fictional or real. These can be anything from the desert islands of classic adventure stories to islands used to symbolise/satirise wider society/political systems, etc. Have to admit, to my shame, that I haven't read Middlemarch. Is it set on an island?

More generally, I should probably have mentioned that suggestions can include children's lit or popular fiction, just in case the term "literary works" sounds a bit more exclusive than intended.
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Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:19
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Two more Mar 13, 2006

"Faraway", by J.B. Priestley
"Captain Corelli's Mandolin", by Louis de Bernières


 
Yvette Neisser Moreno
Yvette Neisser Moreno  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:19
Spanish to English
+ ...
Neruda: "Night on the Island" and "Wind on the Island" Mar 13, 2006

Two beautiful love poems by Pablo Neruda included in the book (English translation) The Captain's Verses. In particular, "Night on the Island" is one of my favorite Neruda poems. Here are the first two stanzas:

All night I have slept with you
next to the sea, on the island.
Wild and sweet you were between pleasure and sleep,
between fire and water.

Perhaps very late
our dreams joined
at the top or at the bottom,
up above like branches
... See more
Two beautiful love poems by Pablo Neruda included in the book (English translation) The Captain's Verses. In particular, "Night on the Island" is one of my favorite Neruda poems. Here are the first two stanzas:

All night I have slept with you
next to the sea, on the island.
Wild and sweet you were between pleasure and sleep,
between fire and water.

Perhaps very late
our dreams joined
at the top or at the bottom,
up above like branches moved by a common wind,
down below like red roots that touch.

Well, the original Spanish is more beautiful, but it's still a great poem... If you go further with this project and would like the complete text of the poems, let me know.

Yvette
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Aisha Maniar
Aisha Maniar  Identity Verified
Member
Arabic to English
+ ...
Eco Mar 13, 2006

The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco ... okay, so the protagonist is stuck on a boat at a distance from the island located on the international dateline for most of the story but it definitely still appears in the story...and the title!
Aisha

I forgot a book that I recently read and really enjoyed - it's definitely worth a read: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, also set on an island.

[Edited at 2006-03-13 14:29]


 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:19
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
More novels and poems Mar 13, 2006

"The Count of Monte Cristo" ("Le Comte de Monte Cristo"), by Alexandre Dumas
"Catch-22", by Joseph Heller (mostly set on the island of Pianosa)
"Whisky Galore", by Compton Mackenzie (set on the Hebridean islands of Great and Little Todday; filmed under the title of "Tight Little Island")
"My Family and Other Animals", by Gerald Durrell (set on Corfu)
"Swallows and Amazons", by Arthur Ransome (children's novel; set on "Wild Cat Island" in a lake of the Lake District in Eng
... See more
"The Count of Monte Cristo" ("Le Comte de Monte Cristo"), by Alexandre Dumas
"Catch-22", by Joseph Heller (mostly set on the island of Pianosa)
"Whisky Galore", by Compton Mackenzie (set on the Hebridean islands of Great and Little Todday; filmed under the title of "Tight Little Island")
"My Family and Other Animals", by Gerald Durrell (set on Corfu)
"Swallows and Amazons", by Arthur Ransome (children's novel; set on "Wild Cat Island" in a lake of the Lake District in England)
"The Mysterious Island" ("L'Isle Mystèrieuse") by Jules Verne.
"The Island of Adventure", by Enid Blyton (children's novel)

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree", by W.B. Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Then there's this by William Shakespeare, from "King Richard II":

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

And Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" is set on an island.

[Edited at 2006-03-13 17:13]
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marie-christine périé
marie-christine périé  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 19:19
English to French
+ ...
And another one Mar 13, 2006

Prosper Mérimée's Colomba, set out in Corsica

 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 20:19
Turkish to English
+ ...
Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrel Mar 13, 2006

Describes the author's own experiences of living in Cyprus a few decades ago. Life here has certainly changed since then!

 
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