REM had it right, It is the End of the World as we KNOW IT!

The Island at the End of the World by Sam Taylor

The song that comes to mind after finishing this book is “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”  This is a post-apocalyptic journey about a family surviving in the wild after the world as they know it was destroyed by a flood.  Eight years later everything in this perfect world that Ben, the father of this family, is compromised as a stranger is washed up on the shore of their island. 

This book was a first for me.  I have never read a published book by a person that I know.  Sam Taylor is a member of the Olive Books Book Club and married to Kathy, a charter member of the club.  So, I was excited to finally read one of his books.  I have to be honest, I am so glad that I liked the book, because I would be horrified to either tell him the truth that I didn’t like it or lie and tell him I liked it.  Thankfully it was an excellent read and the characters were well developed and the plot was complex and riveting.  I loved how the story was written from several perspectives.  I enjoyed Finn’s inner voice the most.  At first it was very hard to read Finn’s perspective because it was written like a ten year old would write it.  Everything is very phonetically written and so my eyes did not want to read the word that was meant to be read, but instead my brain wanted to read the correct spelling of the word.  During part 2 of the book, I missed Finn very much.  I longed to read his innocence that was lacking from Alice’s point of view.

The book was divided into two sections, up to part 2 we have a father and his three children living life.  They have chores and daily projects that must be completed in order for the delicate balance of their lives to stay that way.  In part 2, two stories collide and the truth comes out, but not necessarily for the betterment of the island and its inhabitants.    

Within the story, Sam would have no ending to his sentences, especially as the story concludes.  I enjoyed this because no ending to sentences, created suspense and the need for the reader’s imagination.  I didn’t know what the character was thinking and therefore I had to fill it in with my thoughts, which can be a crazy place to get the missing pieces from.   

At the very end of the book, I have so many questions.  I want to ask Sam what his thoughts are about the ending.  What really happens?  No worries, I’m not going to give spoilers, but next time I see him, I’m going to make sure that I ask him what happened, I have only one big question, and I guess I can believe whichever way I want, but I want to know what he intended when he finished the book.  What was the ending?  Also, am I the only person that is highly disturbed that Will shows up, he knows his relationship with the last surviving family, yet…disturbing. 

Go buy Sam’s book The Island at the End of the World or any of his other great novels.  I have already received The Amnesiac, and I can’t wait to get it read.  Keep Reading my friends!