Inventing Avalon, Destroying Eden
by Kevan Manwaring
Heart of Albion Press, 2008
£14.95
Review by Bobcat
Like many of Kevan's books, Lost Islands reads like a
journey. This one is no clear straight line; instead it takes the
reader all over the world, meandering through history, exploring dozens of
places from Easter
Island to Bardsey Island. And though his aim is
to present a thesis on the notion of the island - those lost, those found,
those invented and those destroyed - this is not, I feel, quite what he
achieves in the book. Instead, what he offers is a kaleidoscope of
experiences and visions, both in what he includes and what he fleetingly
touches on.
Like every valuable adventure, Lost Islands is a series of opportunities,
inspiring the reader to stop and peruse the view. I found myself
wanting to (and at times following that desire) cross reference, pausing to
explore a text alluded to, get out the atlas and find the islands referred to,
dig out and remember a myth or tale quoted. It is this quality of
the book, as a series of pointers to other sources of inspiration that I most
valued in its pages.
If you like Kevan's style, I'm sure
you will like this book too. Indeed, here it is always as if he has created a
work of non-fiction by gathering up research notes for a novel. It is rich with
his inimitable style, that boyishness with which he manages to explain his
ideas, both the serious and the playful.
Available from Amazon.co.uk
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