3 stars. I appreciated the writing and how the author paints a vivid picture of Madagascar. But I found the book disjointed and inconsistent. In reading the Acknowledgements, this makes sense: It was originally written as a series of short stories. Lee says "I did see they could actually become part of one narrative" but I disagree. I was drawn into the book, engaged in the introduction to Shay, Bertine, and the Red House. But they do not connect with the other stories in the book in a meaningful way. It just left me disappointed, and shocked at the conclusion when you are reintroduced to Shay decades later, and don't fully understand how she got there. I would have enjoyed this more as a short story collection, or a novel, but not a Frankenstein of both.

3 -3.5 stars

I was intrigued by the description of this book and was expecting a story of Madagascar’s people’s culture, beliefs, practices of magic and charm, etc. surrounding an Italian husband and African-American wife on building a luxurious vacation home on the island. Instead, I found the novel to be a collection of short stories surrounding around Shay and Senna. The author is talented in her words are lyrical and this is beautifully written, but so detailed that this is a slow, but important read.

I didn’t like the way the book jumps in time; a few months is fine but then 5-10 years pass. It is too much. Senna was an unlikable character from the beginning. He reminded me of an Italian relative I am not fond of. I didn’t think Shay’s character quite matched the strong personality and education she was given. While her high level of education is apparent, I just felt too much disjointed behavior. This may be my own misunderstanding or perhaps my own experience coming into play. I cannot divulge further without it being a spoiler. In the end, this is really a story about marriage and it’s ups and downs. I wanted more of the house, land and people. Bertine was my favorite character, and I enjoyed the parts with her in them the most. I felt more of an understanding of Madagascar through her as well as the colonialism and social class divide. This book is an important read and I would be interested to read more of the author’s writings, but I don’t think I could reread this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy. This review is my own.

Chronicles the tumultuous marriage of Black American professor to a wealthy Italian businessman and their vacations in Madagascar.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3
A couple who being of two different countries and upbringings live off and on in a house the rich husband had built for her. They go there with the idea they will just live there off and on with not much interactions or issues. They find it is not that easy though with the land being filled with myths, folklore and native people who have their own feelings and views of the outsiders. This house and area sees many outsiders come and go with differing intentions and views that effect both the native dwellers and the couple as well. It is a look at a place from foreiners point of view. It is also seen through the eyes of the wealthy and what is going on around them. The point of view is of a foreigner looking in and trying to grasp all the questions and happening from their culture and race and economic position as they venture back and forth in their marriage as well as where they live and the people around them. I felt the book brought up alot of issues but sometimes got a little confusing in that as well. I wish they would have given the meaning of some of the foreign words as well. The story goes from foreigner to foreigner and also on several natives. The magic is interwoven into the myth and folklore which was interesting even when i did not always understand it. I enjoyed reading the different stories but i lacked knowing any of the characters well and caring deeply. It also says she raises her kids there but there was very little about that. I think the book raised more questions about foreigners and their relation to natives and how places change due to them. Also questions on race and how their perspectives see things but not so much the diving into the characters to really know them and a plot that is easy and deep to get into. I liked the book and the points it brings up and the way it brings it around but i did not so much enjoy the messy backa nd forth of the places and lack of background and character development to make me care.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

Here is the line that intrigued me…”Occasionally she turns her little braided head and makes a cheeky, beckoning motion with a spindly brown arm as she guides Shay and her head housekeeper, Bertine la Grande, to the house of the man referred to, usually in whispers, as the Neighbor.”

I really wanted to like this book it just got a little muddled up in the beginning and I really wasn’t sure what the purpose was.

Important messages that the story conveys but I didn't find it amazing or anything out of the ordinary. I do love the cover though. Thanks for the copy of the book!

Book Review for Red Island House by Andrea Lee
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

This book is about a Black woman living in a Red Island House built in Madagascar by her wealthy Italian husband. In the Red Island House, Shay's journey as a wealthy landowner in Madagascar has her realizing Madagascar's social issues and her situation's irony.

First off, this book is well written, and I loved the descriptive sentences. There are so much information and detail in one sentence that it the book's strength and weakness. With the book being so detailed, it leads to a tedious read. The reader has to pay close attention; otherwise, they lose essential details.

This book is about a Black woman living in a Red Island House built in Madagascar by her wealthy Italian husband. In the Red Island House, Shay's journey as a wealthy landowner in Madagascar has her realizing Madagascar's social issues and her situation's irony.

First off, this book is well written, and I loved the descriptive sentences. There are so much information and detail in one sentence that it the book's strength and weakness. With the book being so detailed, it leads to a tedious read. The reader has to pay close attention; otherwise, they lose essential details.

“For all of them, Madagascar has become not just the nostalgic lost land of childhood holidays, but also the country of secrets and silence.”

Red Island House is the story of a vacation home in Madagascar and how the time there impacts Shay and her family over decades.

Red Island House was an ambitious undertaking — trying to show how foreigners are impacted by time spent in Madagascar, but for me it was a bit of a miss. Whenever a an overarching story is told through several smaller tales, all of them must be of equal interest or else the reader can be left comparing one section to the next rather than enjoying them. Some of the chapters of this book were amazing, but others were just plain hard to get through.

Over all this one gets 3 stars from me.

I'm so thankful that I got the opportunity to read this book set in the beautiful, distant Madagascar while I'm in lockdown. Red Island House is a unique portrayal of marriage, migration, race, colonialism and sex,

This novel tells the story of Shay, an African American professor married to a wealthy Italian Senna, who announces that he is building a dream estate in Madagascar where he would like to move their family. So the two live in Madagascar, trying to stay married and bring up their children, while nothing is easy - especially for Shay, who is the main focus of this novel. As an African American woman, she moves to a country where everyone else is Black like her, but it's not an equal relationship because she struggles with feeling the colonial undertones of her situation. In addition, Senna is cheating on her, undermining Shay's dignity and confidence in herself. But there is more to her story, and as she learns more about the culture of Madagascar, her two worlds collide.

I was blown away by the character development in this novel. While I have little in common with Shay, I came to really care about her. On the other hand, Senna was totally unlikeable with his executive decisions, anti-feminist stuff and cheating. I suppose this made me love Shay even more and find her place in her new home - and her identity.

Red Island House is a magical, unique and often heartbreaking novel perfect for readers who want to be challenged and surprised. The exploration of heritage and identity is familiar, yet it is put in a completely different setting.

Finally, I have never been to Madagascar or know much about its culture, so I can't speak whether this book paints an accurate picture of the place. And as one of the first reviewers of this novel, I don't have a point of reference of those more familiar with it than me. I didn't find anything unlikely, but it would be nice of the Publisher to mention if/how the author did her research. I know, however, that Andrea Lee currently lives in Italy with her family, so this part of the plot definitely speaks for her personal experience.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*This book was received as an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley.

Red Island House is one of the more unusual books I've read this year. Not in the sense of dystopia, invention, or paranormal; but rather, that it takes you to a setting that is not one that I've encountered in a lot of books. It takes you to Madagascar, by way of an unusual set of characters.

Shay is a professor from America who falls in love with an Italian several years her senior. Wealthy, when she meets him he is in the middle of building his dream house on some property in Madagascar, and she soon finds herself the lady of the house. This causes internal conflict, and outward conflict as Shay herself is African American and has to adjust with interacting with the people of color around her, but from a standpoint that she views as almost colonial or hearkening back to plantations. This confusion, combined with a tumultuous relationship, gives her a unique story across this backdrop that spans decades.

I had a hard time relating with Shay. An independent, intelligent woman in the beginning, I won't say that she loses that sense; but with the troubles in her marriage I do wonder at her interactions. Maybe it's the globe-setter type of culture that comes with her marriage being in Italy and the vacationing in other places that takes it out of context for me. But, and this will be a spoiler, I just can't see her as a character that would accept infidelity. And yet she does, so many times through this book. Senna, her husband, I'm never fond of, but I'm not attracted to the brash type of which he is. But really, this is Shay's story, not Senna's, so he's more of an afterthought anyway. There are plenty of other characters; some likable, some comedic, some with stories that take Shay out of her comfort zone, and they're all pretty important to the story in their own way, even if you don't take a liking to them.

While I enjoyed the plot and the meandering it sometimes took; the timeline was a bit rougher for me. We meandered over the first few years of their marriage and then wham, 5 years later, wham, 10 years later; I would have liked to not have as large of gaps and a more cohesive storyline. I think all of the themes were important; Shay's struggle with identity and how she should act on the island, the various trials and tribulations, the uncomfort and acceptableness of the sex-work on the island (which no doubt reflects a lot of tourist areas in the world with the need for money causing people to enter a line of work they might not have otherwise).

Overall, for me this book was important in its message, but I wouldn't call it enjoyable. The characters struggles and joys caused a lot of empathy, but it was a hard read.

Review by M. Reynard 2020