The Islands
Feb 2022 · Allen & Unwin
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7 reviews
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312
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About this ebook
A moving and original debut novel. Observant, warm and extraordinary.
'There is an other-worldly quality about the Abrolhos which is beyond the reach of ordinary storytelling. Emily Brugman has captured them, staked them to the page in all their isolation and aridity and scoured indifference, because her storytelling is extraordinary.' Jock Serong, bestselling author of Preservation
'Strongly written, deeply felt, original.' Tegan Bennett Daylight
'Beautiful, fresh, wise and true - startlingly good.' - Robert Drewe, award-winning author of Whipbird
In the mid-1950s, a small group of Finnish migrants set up camp on Little Rat, a tiny island in an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. The crayfishing industry is in its infancy, and the islands, haunted though they are by past shipwrecks, possess an indefinable allure.
Drawn here by tragedy, Onni Saari is soon hooked by the stark beauty of the landscape and the slivers of jutting coral onto which the crayfishers build their precarious huts. Could these reefs, teeming with the elusive and lucrative cray, hold the key to a good life?
The Islands is the sweeping story of the Saari family: Onni, an industrious and ambitious young man, grappling with the loss of a loved one; his wife Alva, quiet but stoic, seeking a sense of belonging between the ramshackle camps of the islands and the dusty suburban lots of the mainland; and their pensive daughter Hilda, who dreams of becoming the skipper of her own boat. As the Saari's try to build their future in Australia, their lives entwine with those of the fishing families of Little Rat, in myriad and unexpected ways.
A stunning, insightful story of a search for home.
'A beautiful, breathtaking, salty book about finding home on the far reaches of the continental shelf.' Marele Day, author of bestselling Lambs of God
'There is an other-worldly quality about the Abrolhos which is beyond the reach of ordinary storytelling. Emily Brugman has captured them, staked them to the page in all their isolation and aridity and scoured indifference, because her storytelling is extraordinary.' Jock Serong, bestselling author of Preservation
'Strongly written, deeply felt, original.' Tegan Bennett Daylight
'Beautiful, fresh, wise and true - startlingly good.' - Robert Drewe, award-winning author of Whipbird
In the mid-1950s, a small group of Finnish migrants set up camp on Little Rat, a tiny island in an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. The crayfishing industry is in its infancy, and the islands, haunted though they are by past shipwrecks, possess an indefinable allure.
Drawn here by tragedy, Onni Saari is soon hooked by the stark beauty of the landscape and the slivers of jutting coral onto which the crayfishers build their precarious huts. Could these reefs, teeming with the elusive and lucrative cray, hold the key to a good life?
The Islands is the sweeping story of the Saari family: Onni, an industrious and ambitious young man, grappling with the loss of a loved one; his wife Alva, quiet but stoic, seeking a sense of belonging between the ramshackle camps of the islands and the dusty suburban lots of the mainland; and their pensive daughter Hilda, who dreams of becoming the skipper of her own boat. As the Saari's try to build their future in Australia, their lives entwine with those of the fishing families of Little Rat, in myriad and unexpected ways.
A stunning, insightful story of a search for home.
'A beautiful, breathtaking, salty book about finding home on the far reaches of the continental shelf.' Marele Day, author of bestselling Lambs of God
A moving and original debut novel. Observant, warm and extraordinary.
'There is an other-worldly quality about the Abrolhos which is beyond the reach of ordinary storytelling. Emily Brugman has captured them, staked them to the page in all their isolation and aridity and scoured indifference, be...
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Ratings and reviews
7 reviews
Marianne Vincent
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February 18, 2022
The Islands is the first novel by Australian author, Emily Brugman. While Onni Saari’s brother, Nalle was not one of the original five Finns to take up a crayfishing lease on Little Rat Island off the coast of Western Australia, back around 1950, he came not long after. When, five years later, Nalle goes missing without a trace, presumed drowned (or worse), Onni quits his mining job, takes over the lease and brings his wife, Alva over for the season. Alva is a little surprised to find that she quickly settles on this barren speck of crushed coral out in the Indian Ocean, connecting with the other wives, and looking forward to each return from necessary trips to Geraldton. After too long waiting for her to be born, she quickly brings baby Hilda home to the island. During the off-season in Geraldton, members of this tight-knit little island community of Finns negotiate integration into a society, culture and expectations very different to their own, but not all abandon their language or the pagan superstitions and rituals that ward off evil, keep them safe or bring luck. While the story is mostly of Onni and Alva and their close family, it is also told from many other perspectives, describing significant events and incidents in the lives of the community, as well as some of Alva’s and Onni’s back stories. Brugman’s gorgeous, lyrical prose and exquisite descriptions tell of moments of cruelty and kindness, sorrow and joy, belonging and grief and, as the next generations come of age, confusion, loyalty and betrayal. Her taciturn Finns, when they do speak, share philosophy and wisdom. She heads her chapters by naming what is significant therein. “The tourist boat headed back east, and Onni watched the islands dip below the horizon. He’d learned many years ago that the Sampo couldn’t be kept. It was a feeling. A moment. A shard of island that may disappear at any time in the waters of a rising sea.” A glossary of common Finn words is the only thing that could enhance this marvellous debut novel. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
Dimpho Motsemme
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August 4, 2025
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About the author
Emily Brugman grew up in Broulee, on the far south coast of NSW, on the lands of the Yuin people. Her writing has previously appeared in literary journals, magazines and anthologies, including Tracks, the UTS Writers' Anthology and Lines to the Horizon: Australian surf writing. She currently lives in Mullumbimby, on Bundjalung country, and works at Byron Writers Festival. The Islands, her first novel, is inspired by her family's experiences living and working on the Abrolhos Islands between 1959-1972.
Emily Brugman grew up in Broulee, on the far south coast of NSW, on the lands of the Yuin people. Her writing has previously appeared in literary journals, magazines and anthologies, including Tracks, the UTS Writers' Anthology and Lines to the Horizon: Australian surf writing. She currently live...
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