Last semester I decided it was time for me to get back into reading. So I looked into the big pile of my procrastination bookshelf, saw this book, and instantly remembered how I got it.
A few months before, I was on a call with my best friend and as always, asking her for book suggestions. She thought for two seconds, jumped out of excitement, and told me how I needed to read Sukkwan Island. She described it as “an amazing book” and how apart from that, she couldn’t tell me anything about it because, as she said, “you just have to read it”.
So here I am, in front of my bookshelf, thinking it might be time to read this book I've had for months now. I proceed to go and sit on my couch, in my perfect morning spot, right next to the window, my coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other, as I embark on the path of Sukkwan Island.
As I have never read a book so fast in my life, I want to try and convince you of how amazing this book is. However, I must stay true to my best friend, who did not tell me anything about it beforehand, and sell you the book without telling you about it.
Before starting off with the details, let me tell you a bit about the technicalities. Sukkwan Island is originally a novella, part of Legend of a Suicide, which includes other short stories that complete Sukkwan Island. For all the “I’m not too much of a reader” type of people, who might feel discouraged only by the fact that I am talking about a book, this is a novella. So, I hope this reassures you, because you won’t spend too much time on it.
Now, for the part you should actually be interested in, the story. Sukkwan Island is not one story, but two. When you first dive into the book, you meet Roy, a teenage boy from California, and soon realise he is not in California anymore. In the deep wildlife of Alaska, on an oddly isolated island, far from everything, this is where Roy and his father Jim will be spending the next winter together. Roy will be far from his family, friends, home, and everything he knows, to live with his dad and their cabin, alone and in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else but each other.
As I dived into this book, I remembered asking my best friend again if she could give me a little more info about this book, instead of just telling me “you just have to read it”. Her answer was clear: “I can’t tell you a lot… It takes place in Alaska where a father takes his son to a far and remote island, and at some point, something bad happens, but I can’t tell you more”.
Looking back, I thank her for not telling me anything, as I believe she described it perfectly. She gave me the perfect amount of information so that I’d be able to keep on reading. Take it as a side note for me: although the start of the book is a bit slow, you won’t be sorry once you realise how remarkably written the remaining is. However, you will only realise this at the end. Once I started reading, I thought the story just had odd turns and felt kinda uncomfortable, but at the same time, I couldn't stop reading.
If I speak for myself, I don’t think this story will ever get out of my head, and to be honest, I felt depressed after ending the book. But at the same time, I was amazed at how good it was. See, it is not only about the plot: once you start reading, you’re directly plunged in. You feel the characters, their sentiment and frustration towards this rough place, living conditions, and the uncomfortable feeling of “nothing around”. You feel lots of empathy and pity towards Roy, the son. While at the same time, you have Jim, this rough pack of discomfort and distress, who seems mad from the outside. Until you see the inside.
Okay, I have to stop. I’ve said too much already.
Now, as a disclaimer, this is not a story for the weak. If you don’t personally feel like you are in a good place or have been feeling down lately, I would advise you to keep it for another time.
Remember I said there were two parts in the book? I did say it. Am I going to tell you more? Absolutely not. Actually, I realised I shouldn’t have said it at all, but now I believe it’ll get you even more curious.
As I come towards the end of this article, I genuinely hope you will take a turn into a terrible nightmare, full of fear and madness, and wish you a good trip in the lost islands of Canada.
Comments