An island community facing extinction. Sisi finds herself pregnant and has to decide if she will abandon her traditional ways for the possibility of what the outside world offers her. This writing style just wasn’t for me. Others may enjoy it!

A small island community of indigenous people struggle to survive as climate changes cause rising sea levels which is killing off their crops. One member, Sisi, is hit even harder with the unexpected death of her husband and then a revelation that she is pregnant. A team of englishmen arrive to do research and try to convince the inhabitants to leave their island and head to lands where they can be better taken care of.

This story is heartbreakingly beautiful. It is written so well and makes you feel the immense pain and suffering these islanders feel. The characters are strong and their stories are awe-inspiring. This was a great read.

The synopsis sounded absolutely wonderful and was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately the writing style was not for me and I could not get into the book. I ended up dnfing around 25% after wanting to give the book a chance.

Well done! I enjoyed this book; a nuanced mixture of folklore with a modern twist. I enjoy books like this that highlight the current issues, specifically, global warming, presented in contemporary fiction.
My only criticism, is there were some 'hard turns; between the turmoil facing the scientists and the protagonist, Sisi.
My only criticism, is the blatant use of "leave the island' without explanation. I would have appreciated a more in depth discussion of why the community needed to leave.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Mother Sea
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Lorraine Wilson
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Dystopia
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 18th May 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 22nd April 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3/5

Content Warning: Child death, suicide

”What was faith worth if you believed the wrong thing?”

This was an extremely intelligent story that made my heart ache. Unfortunately, I really struggled to fully immerse myself into this book. I found the writing undeniably beautiful but also convoluted to the point where I found it difficult to forge connections with the characters.

Whilst this disappointed me—I really looked forward to this book after reading the synopsis—I found the exploration of very intense themes sharp, tender, and forthright. Mother Sea explores climate change, British colonialism, faith versus science, depression, grief, family, and community.

I actually really liked the ending, though the ambiguity wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea. The ending is left semi-open, as though the focus shouldn’t be on the resolution, but the questions themselves. And what important questions they are.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

A gorgeous and moving book, "Mother Sea" has some of the most beautiful line-level prose I've had the pleasure of reading. I enjoyed the island setting and the nuance with which the author discusses grief.

3/5 Stars

TL;DR - An incredibly intimate exploration of grief, depression, hope versus fear, and the struggle between the way things were and the way things are. Also a visceral and timely commentary on climate change and its effects on island communities, and all of it beautifully and hauntingly written.

Big thanks to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for providing the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

‘Mother Sea’ by Lorraine Wilson is the story of a remote, fictitious island off the coast of East Africa, an island whose indigenous population is struggling with the effects of climate change and the rising sea, as well as a deadly strain of tetanus that won’t respond to vaccinations or traditional treatments, that takes any babies born on the island by only their ninth day. This book is told in two POVs, one from Sisi de Mathilde, a scientist born and raised on the island, now working to save her people and their home, and one from Kit Benedict, a British college student who came to the island to heal after personal tragedy. We follow both characters as they navigate their own pasts, fears, and thoughts on the future, and watch as they play their unique parts in the island’s future, dealing with crises both internal and external. Past and present collide, and the future is wholly uncertain.

**Trigger warning for suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, and the death of a child.**

A brief overview of the triggers in this book:

Kit comes to the island after surviving several suicide attempts, and when we meet him, he is still suicidal and extremely depressed. We’re inside his head for this, at least as much as we can be in third person, and speaking as someone who has been where he is, it’s very accurate to my lived experience. This culminates in him trying to take his own life again, on-page, and we do experience it with him, so if this is something you struggle with, I would not read this book. Please, care for yourself first.

I realize that this is a spoiler, but it involves the third trigger I mentioned above and I feel I need to state it. A character close to Sisi gives birth, and her child contracts the tetanus plaguing the island, and we see the child die in non-explicit detail. And, as Sisi is pregnant herself at this point, she experiences this loss viscerally, as does her best friend, and it’s hard to read even as someone who hasn’t experienced this personally. Again, please proceed with caution.

Those laid out, on with the review.

First and foremost, this book was not at all what I was expecting. The ARC of this book was listed on NetGalley under Sci-Fi/Fantasy, my preferred genres, but that’s not at all what I got. I would consider this Contemporary Fiction that includes science, but Sci-Fi it is not. There’s a good deal of climate and biological sciences, but it’s (in my opinion) totally within the realm of real science and not fantastical in any way. As far as fantasy, there are some incredibly brief mentions of strange presences that may or may not be imagined, and animals acting as omens or servants of the island’s deity, but again, nothing truly fantastical happens outside what I would consider normal aspects of faith and believing the lore of that faith. I didn’t dock any stars for this, because it’s a perfectly lovely Contemporary Fiction book, but I requested it because it was listed under my preferred genres, and I did not get what I was promised.

That said, I did enjoy the book as a tropical island vacation away from the kinds of books I normally read. If by vacation, I mean a tale that was both bleak and hopeful, depressing and optimistic, and left me pretty bummed out after finishing it. The subject matter is really heavy, which I don’t normally mind in a fantastical setting, but because this book is about real-life issues happening in the real world, it was hard to read in a lot of places. For me, personally, the hope and optimism didn’t outweigh the depressing subject matter, but your mileage may vary.

The writing is as lush and vibrant as the island. There are a lot of very hard-hitting lines, in that they’re written so beautifully and devastatingly well, and I was often struck by the deep truths this book delivers about grief, fear, depression, hope, and much more. The island’s flora and fauna and geography all take center stage in an immersive way, and the characters all have a unique way of speaking that I enjoyed as a boring American who’s never been anywhere cool in her life. The island itself (himself, actually) is a prominent character as much as Sisi or Kit, and I felt the heat and heard the birds and smelled the flowers through the author’s gorgeous descriptions.

Both Sisi and Kit are interesting characters, and though we’re privy to their innermost thoughts and secrets, I still found it hard to fully connect with them on a deep level. I’ve been in Kit’s shoes, struggling with a great loss and the depression that follows, combating suicidal ideations and giving into them, and then finding a reason to live again, and he seemed like a really solid guy, but I just didn’t connect in the way I had hoped. Sisi was much the same, even if I haven’t experienced the things she goes through in this book. I would consider her an actual strong female lead, but again, I didn’t have that connection so I didn’t enjoy her story like I thought I would.

Side characters are complex in their own ways, and there’s some great non-binary rep that I really enjoyed, but I didn’t really connect to anyone. I couldn’t even make myself fully care about the colonizer scumbag antagonist either, which is saying something, because I'm always down to read about colonizers being thwarted and getting their asses handed to them before being booted the hell out. This book explored some deep things, but it just didn’t make it out of the shallows for me.

The plot is what’s really lacking for me in this book, though. There is a traditional story arc, but it meanders a bit, and all the hard-and-fast plot points are often underwhelming and lost under the introspection and inner worlds of the characters, which is all well and good if you’re a fan of that, it’s just not my preferred kind of story. The climax was anticlimactic, and the tension that slowly rises during the course of the book never pays off. There are a lot of subplots that never get resolved, and the ending is wide open and leaves more questions than answers. Again, this book is meant to be character-driven and not plot-driven, and you would probably enjoy it if that’s your deal, but it’s not mine, so I was, unfortunately, bored and then disappointed.

Shoutout to the author, who mentions in the acknowledgments being disabled and chronically ill, and as someone who’s also in that boat and aspiring to be an author, I’m super stoked that she’s been able to put out books and win awards. You wrote a good book and I’m cheering for you!

Final Thoughts:

I would almost put this book into the ‘No Plot, Just Vibes’ category, but there is a plot, even if it wasn’t to my tastes. It definitely delivers on the vibes, though, and if you’re looking for a tropical hideaway to spend the weekend in, exploring the landscape and journeying alongside the characters in their grief and their healing, I would definitely recommend this book.

This was an interesting tale with very cool island vibes. The writing was a bit wooden and difficult to get into, but overall a very interesting story!

Mother Sea was an incredibly interesting ride on the emotional train. This book is filled with so much suffering and hope, it definitely needs a trigger warning. The writing was very poetic and beautiful, the author captured the raw emotions of the characters very well.

Sisi is a scientist trying to convince both herself and the people on her island they need the help of scientific advances while still holding onto the culture of the island. After tragedy strikes those closest to Sisi she starts to question her way of thinking.

Kit is a transplant to the island who is there to recover from his inner demons. At the beginning of the story Kit is in a very dark place but slowly the island and his blooming friendship with Sisi pull him out just in time for him to help others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this lovely book.

How do you reconcile faith and science when both fail you?

A tiny, remote island grappling with climate change, globalization and infant mortality finds itself on the brink, its tiny population fragmented as an Administrator with a hidden agenda comes to the island. Torn between science and tradition, Sisi believes that both are crucial to the survival of their people, but as crops continue to wither and infants continue to succumb to an antibiotic resistant disease, she finds herself under increasing scrutiny and staring down the barrel of losing everything she holds dear.

A story about how the climate crisis affects the most vulnerable populations shouldn't be a unicorn, but it is. Brother Island may be fictional, but the problems faced by its people are all too real...coastal storms, crop failures and saltwater intrusion coupled with food insecurity and exploitation under the guise of protection.

I thought the story was excellent, my heart hurt for Sisi, especially when her beloved community turned on her for trying to do the right thing although their grief was understandable. Every character was so nuanced and well fleshed out that even when they made questionable choices, you could see the hurt that put them on that trajectory.

Kit's story started off feeling like nothing more than a distraction, but became increasingly compelling as the story progressed and he grew into himself, especially when confronted with the choice between his family and his personal values.

I liked the ambiguous ending and the fact that while there were hints of a potential romance, the focus was on Sisi's relationships with her family and her community. In real life there are no easy answers and the choices we make don't necessarily lead to the solutions we hope for, and so while I enjoy a happy ever after as much as anyone, sometimes reality suits better than fairytales.

The paternalistic and exploitative nature of the foreign administration, pretending to act in the best interest of the community while secretly selling them out was infuriating, but ultimately unsurprising for anyone who lives in a small island.

This would make an excellent book club read because its the kind that lends itself very well to discussion, to interpretation, where there are no right answers but everybody will take something different from it.

This story was absolutely heart-wrenching, haunting and beautiful. At the present moment, I cannot put into words the indelible impression this book has left on my soul. This short review is but a placeholder for a longer review to come once I have had some time to put my thoughts in order. To be edited and ammended later.

The story of this book is truly powerful. In a post-colonialism world, the indigenous inhabitants of a small island community are struggling to survive. Their babies are not surviving due to medication resistant tetanus and climate change is wreaking havoc on the island and the potential sustainability of the population. The British government is trying to get the indigenous people to relocate so they can survive, but are their intentions really that pure?

The book follows Sisi, a local inhabitant of the island who is trying her best to use the tools the outsiders have brought to help her people stay. She is fighting an increasingly uphill battle as her people are incredibly angry at the outsiders (rightfully so) and no longer want anything to do with them. Will she be able to get the islanders to come together to help save themselves and her unborn child?

The book also follows Kit Benedict. He is being sent to the island to live with his uncle, who is currently the British ambassador to the island and trying to get its inhabitants to leave. He is very lost and the island and Sisi might just be what he really needs to follow his dreams and breakaway from overbearing family traditions.

My thoughts: Doesn’t that synopsis sound wonderful? This book had so much potential but I really did not like it. I had a very hard time following the writer’s style. I appreciated her efforts to make us experience Kit’s chaotic and depressed mind in the beginning of the book which seemed to become more clear as he became less depressed as the book progressed. But I barely understood any of the events that happened during those parts. The way the author used verbal communication followed immediately by thoughts was also very difficult to follow. It took me about 3/4 of the book to get used to the style and by then it was just the big climax of the story, so I think I missed some important things.

Other things I really appreciated included the use of gender neutral characters and correcting someone misusing pronouns, themes of colonialism, strong themes of cultural importance and traditions, mental health issues, and contemplating the sense of identity/acceptance.

Overall, fantastic premise with really powerful themes, but the writing style just killed it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a powerful story about climate change, and the love of home to the point where one would be willing to give up anything for it. I think it will cause people to consider that this is the direction our species is headed and this could very much reflect what could happen in the future.

I really liked the premise but I couldn't get into the book. It feels like the two protagonists each keep going over the same ground without moving the story on. DNF

I really bounced off of this book and couldn't get invested in the story. The writing is nice and there's some interesting character work at play, but it was ultimately not for me.

People are slowly waking up to the reality of climate change. I've no doubt in my mind that in my lifetime I'll see mass displacement of populations caused by rising sea levels. Many of the world's most beautiful islands will be some of the very first that we lose. This book addresses that ,by looking at a fictional island trying to find a way forward, in the face of what feels like inevitable loss. It's one of the first fiction books I've read that looks at this, and for that reason alone I believe this is a very important book

It starts so slow and feels like an information overload. I stopped at 3% of the way in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for the ARC.

Thank you Fairlight Books for the opportunity to read rate and review this arc which is available May 18,2023.

Wow. What an incredibly powerful and moving story! It hits on climate change, being a mother, balancing modern society with the traditions of her people. Sisi’s battle to save her home, her people and her unborn baby was eloquently written. Highly recommend

This is one of those books that I can't adequately review.
The more I try put words together, the harder it is.
It's beautifully written, and at times very moving.
I felt for those people unwilling to give up their home despite everything.
Very well done.

a heart wrenching, emotional tale of how an indigenous island community struggles with climate change and medication resistant tetanus. sisi is trying to save her island from disaster; the sea is rising and their crops cannot survive the salt content of the water. when her husband suddenly dies, she finds out that she is pregnant. she has developed an intricate plan in the form of artificial reefs and sea level measuring, yet it is not enough. meanwhile, kit, an englishman, has joined a team of doctors and researchers to study the people of l’ambre. when kit thinks about attempting suicide after his family threatens to abandon him for not studying to become a lawyer, sisi stops him. they develop a friendship. the religion of mother sea is matriarchal, and women as well as nonbinary people govern the island. with the extreme infant mortality rate, the white english people urge the native population to relocate, leaving their island and everything they own behind to start anew.

masterfully written and beautifully crafted, “mother sea” is a work of art that tackles the impact of climate change on indigenous populations. haunting and beautiful, wilson writes of love, family, community, and the preservation of both culture and land. each character has a distinct voice, with all my love going towards each and every one of them. the nonbinary representation is truly phenomenal. this novel left me with many thoughts i will ponder on for a long time. we need to combat climate change and support those who are affected by it more than others.

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!