Inishbream

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

A young woman from Vancouver Island, backpacking around Ireland, falls
in love with Inishbream, a small, rocky island off the coast of
Connemera. She marries an islander, settles in, and tries to become part
of the community. Although she does her best to learn the language and
the customs, and even helps out with the fishing, she is never quite
accepted by the local people.

It is not an easy life. The weather can be wretched, especially in
winter. The natives eke out a living by fishing and raising what crops
they can in the thin soil. As the young woman becomes more restless, her
marriage deteriorates until she and her husband decide to call it quits.
(The decision is spurred by a local government plan to move the people
to the mainland where they will be provided with council houses.) As the
book ends, she is on her way back to British Columbia.

Theresa Kishkan’s previous works include six volumes of poetry. Her
poet’s feel for language is evident throughout Inishbream. The
delightful novel is just the right size to be slipped into a purse or
pocket to be enjoyed on a journey.