Faraway

January 1, 2002
Here, finally, is the follow-up to Irvine's tremendously popular " Castaway" (1984), which described what happened after she answered an ad saying, "writer seeks 'wife' for year on tropical island."" "Her latest adventure also began with an intriguing invitation. Diana Hepworth, an 80-year-old woman, invited the " Castaway "author to house-sit for her for a year on (predictably enough) a remote island. So off Irvine went, with her three sons in tow, to Pigeon Island. Readers familiar with the author's previous work will be on familiar ground here, as Irvine describes the joys and hardships of "roughing it" on an isolated island. (Some parts of the story are a little surreal--picture the author trying to submit newspaper articles by e-mail, using a solar-powered dial-up connection.) Some readers may consider the book too similar to " Castaway," but those willing to stick it out will be rewarded with a rich, detailed, often moving story that stands perfectly well on its own and tickles the wanderer's imagination in all of us.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)