The Island - Ana Maria Matute

The Island by Ana María Matute, translated by Laura Lonsdale / ISBN 9780241374283 / 179-page paperback from Penguin *** 'brilliant, devastating . . . every character is remarkable and captivating' The Times Literary Supplement 'a feverish, dramatic brew . . . the style is intoxicating . . . it offers a unique view of a part of Spain usually overlooked by literature' The Irish Times Expelled from her convent school for kicking the prioress, and abandoned by her father when her mother dies, rebellious teenager Matia is sent to live with her domineering grandmother on the island of Mallorca. In the hot, oppressive stillness of an adolescent summer, she learns to scheme with her cousin Borja, and finds herself increasingly drawn to the strange outsider Manuel. But civil war has come to Spain, and it will teach Matia about the adult world in ways she could not foresee. This powerful, lyrical coming-of-age novel depicts Mallorca as an enchanted island, a lost Eden and a Never Land combined,