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Burnt Island
For disillusioned author Max Long, the offer of a writing-fellowship on the mysterious-sounding 'Burnt Island' is a godsend. Max is determined that, inspired by his tenure on this windswept outpost, he will produce every writer's dream - the bestseller. And this time, he plans to subvert his usual genre and write a horror story. But upon arrival, Max's fantasies of hermetic island life are overturned when he encounters a potential rival living in close proximity - the famously reclusive James Fairfax, author of the internationally-lauded novel, Lifeblood.Fairfax's critical and financial success with Lifeblood, coupled with his refusal to court the limelight, has long been the talk of the literary circles. However, as the lives of the two men become intertwined, Max cannot marry the myth of the publicity-shy Fairfax with the apparently urbane and confident reality. He begins to suspect that Fairfax is not the true author of his exceptional debut. Moreover, Max cannot escape the disturbing knowledge that Fairfax's wife has disappeared. Recently-divorced and struggling to keep a grip on his fragile mental state, the vulnerable Max finds himself sliding into Fairfax's world. And he starts to witness alarming visions that take the form of the horror he is attempting to write. Who or what is the sinister, darting figure who appears between the trees of Fairfax's garden at night? Who is the tiny, forlorn little girl who seems to need help? And what has happened to Fairfax's missing wife? With an unnerving plotline in which we encounter doppelgängers, ghostly forms and machines masquerading as humans, Burnt Island is a masterwork of subtle terror. At times evoking The Wicker Man in its growing sense of paranoia and undercurrent of eroticism, Thompson's evocative, compellingly-written story takes a grip on the reader as inexorable as that of Burnt Island on Max Long. An ironic satire on literary ambition, Thompson's sixth novel soon draws the reader into something much darker.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Alice Thompson
38 books34 followersAlice Thompson is a Scottish novelist.
Thompson was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, then read English at Oxford and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Henry James. In the 1980s she played keyboard with rock band The Woodentops.
She has a son and lives in Edinburgh. Her novel Justine was the joint winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. She has also won a Creative Scotland Award in 2000 and was a Writer in Residence in Shetland.
Thompson was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, then read English at Oxford and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Henry James. In the 1980s she played keyboard with rock band The Woodentops.
She has a son and lives in Edinburgh. Her novel Justine was the joint winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. She has also won a Creative Scotland Award in 2000 and was a Writer in Residence in Shetland.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 6, 2020
I'd read the blurb for this book – writer applies for a fellowship on a Scottish island and mysteries ensue – and noted the price (three bucks on Kindle!) and took the plunge. I mean, I've spent more on bad coffee, let alone good spookiness.
This is good spookiness.
Alice Thompson's brief novel tells the story of Max, a writer of several mostly unsuccessful novels. He wins a place on a remote Scottish island, populated by, well, island people, and soon finds himself drawn into various intrigues.
Or are they intrigues? Max is under the gun, and needs to produce a best-seller – no symbolism thanks very much – during his stay on the island. He's stressed. He has writer's block. And his home life has disintegrated in an acrimonious divorce. He's stressed: and who doesn't hear that little voice within rationalising every little thing when they're stressed?
Exactly.
It doesn't help that Max ends up staying in the home of a reclusive writer – an architecturally-designed fortress owned by a Great Man Of Literature who had one masterpiece and hasn't yet followed it with anything. Fame is on hand, even at such a remote locale. Max is constantly pressed up against the high tide mark of publishing success.
The story unfolds in the finest gothic manner. There's a lot going on which could be absolutely nothing – or it could be something a lot, lot worse. A liminal zone, the supernatural (or at least, the unnatural) seem to leach into island life, ratcheting up angst accordingly.
I'm uncertain why so many reviewers seem to dislike this novel. It's an excellent examination of the self-lacerating gig that is writing, and of the wankery that is the publishing world. I enjoyed the sort of outsider-where-they're-not-wanted vibe the novel has, a kind of bookish riffing on The Wicker Man or The Magus. True, the tale is short on detail or slavish backstory but the effect far exceeds what I'd expected. It's a delightfully creepy little read that enjoyably combines psychological horror with weirdness.
Burnt Island is something I devoured quickly. I find, however, the memory lingers.
Imagination is a terrible thing, Max. It perverts reality. You can lose yourself in it. Not realise what’s really happening to you.
This is good spookiness.
Alice Thompson's brief novel tells the story of Max, a writer of several mostly unsuccessful novels. He wins a place on a remote Scottish island, populated by, well, island people, and soon finds himself drawn into various intrigues.
Or are they intrigues? Max is under the gun, and needs to produce a best-seller – no symbolism thanks very much – during his stay on the island. He's stressed. He has writer's block. And his home life has disintegrated in an acrimonious divorce. He's stressed: and who doesn't hear that little voice within rationalising every little thing when they're stressed?
Exactly.
It doesn't help that Max ends up staying in the home of a reclusive writer – an architecturally-designed fortress owned by a Great Man Of Literature who had one masterpiece and hasn't yet followed it with anything. Fame is on hand, even at such a remote locale. Max is constantly pressed up against the high tide mark of publishing success.
The story unfolds in the finest gothic manner. There's a lot going on which could be absolutely nothing – or it could be something a lot, lot worse. A liminal zone, the supernatural (or at least, the unnatural) seem to leach into island life, ratcheting up angst accordingly.
I'm uncertain why so many reviewers seem to dislike this novel. It's an excellent examination of the self-lacerating gig that is writing, and of the wankery that is the publishing world. I enjoyed the sort of outsider-where-they're-not-wanted vibe the novel has, a kind of bookish riffing on The Wicker Man or The Magus. True, the tale is short on detail or slavish backstory but the effect far exceeds what I'd expected. It's a delightfully creepy little read that enjoyably combines psychological horror with weirdness.
Burnt Island is something I devoured quickly. I find, however, the memory lingers.
July 25, 2016
This is quite a slow burner of a story that gradually creeps up on you as it does Max Long, a struggling author offered a unique and somewhat unusual chance by an unknown benefactor to spend three months on Burnt Island focusing on his writing. But as the days pass he finds that there is more to the island than meets the eye and that his benefactor may not have his best interests at heart after all. While I really liked this story I did find Max increasingly annoying as time went on, especially when he realised that something was not quite right but he stayed anyway (personally I would've been swimming to the mainland if I had to!). Putting this aside though this is a good story with the feel of the horrors of the '70s, the Wickerman in particular springs to mind.
July 22, 2018
An island as a holiday retreat, a voluntary escape, is a relatively new idea. In old days you could find yourself on a faraway island most probably after a shipwreck. If you managed to reach the land, your fight for a survival had only began. Books and movies love to fuse these ideas and, for example, in Danny Boyle’s cult movie “The Beach” a dreamy paradise soon turns into a violent hell. Long story short, an island is the perfect setting for an erotic horror story. Tempting, yet claustrophobic.
It has been a while since I had such a good laugh while reading a book. The sixth novel by British writer Alice Thompson, “Burnt Island”, kicks the literary world wittily in the balls. Struggling writer Max Long decides to write his next book with a completely different approach. He will calculate each step to create an easy-to-read bestseller. He gets a place in a writing residency and travels with a ferry to the Burnt Island, soon to discover that he will live with one of the most successful writers of his time in his beautiful mansion, overlooking the sea.
Will poor Faust, so thirsty for a breakthrough, sell his soul to Mephistopheles?
The thin line between the reality and imagination becomes even thinner. Max continues to blame his over creative mind, while the island secretly writes its own set of rules. Is it the place that creates our thoughts or is it the other way round – we see what we believe?
Alice Thompson had the idea for “Burnt Island” while being in a residency on Shetland islands. She experienced the sense of an island so strongly, that she wanted to bring it into a book.
The creeping claustrophobia, where the infinite horizon all around the island ceases to inspire and starts to suffocate, is described similar to what happens in the head of a writer, where imaginary worlds line up like beads on an infinite string. The painting on the cover of the book, “The Solitude” by Salvador Dali, is very fitting.
Sea monsters, deadly sexy sirens, the horrible sheet of paper, “white as an Ahab’s whale”; the book is full of sea references, and it is a strange pleasure to stumble upon them while walking on the slippery underwater rocks. Although the gothic story gives you shivers on a hot summer day, most of the time the satiric prose makes you laugh out loud.
Especially when Max, hiding behind the dunes, discovers that his literary agent is a blood-sucking monster.
It has been a while since I had such a good laugh while reading a book. The sixth novel by British writer Alice Thompson, “Burnt Island”, kicks the literary world wittily in the balls. Struggling writer Max Long decides to write his next book with a completely different approach. He will calculate each step to create an easy-to-read bestseller. He gets a place in a writing residency and travels with a ferry to the Burnt Island, soon to discover that he will live with one of the most successful writers of his time in his beautiful mansion, overlooking the sea.
Will poor Faust, so thirsty for a breakthrough, sell his soul to Mephistopheles?
The thin line between the reality and imagination becomes even thinner. Max continues to blame his over creative mind, while the island secretly writes its own set of rules. Is it the place that creates our thoughts or is it the other way round – we see what we believe?
Alice Thompson had the idea for “Burnt Island” while being in a residency on Shetland islands. She experienced the sense of an island so strongly, that she wanted to bring it into a book.
The creeping claustrophobia, where the infinite horizon all around the island ceases to inspire and starts to suffocate, is described similar to what happens in the head of a writer, where imaginary worlds line up like beads on an infinite string. The painting on the cover of the book, “The Solitude” by Salvador Dali, is very fitting.
Sea monsters, deadly sexy sirens, the horrible sheet of paper, “white as an Ahab’s whale”; the book is full of sea references, and it is a strange pleasure to stumble upon them while walking on the slippery underwater rocks. Although the gothic story gives you shivers on a hot summer day, most of the time the satiric prose makes you laugh out loud.
Especially when Max, hiding behind the dunes, discovers that his literary agent is a blood-sucking monster.
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June 20, 2013Hard slippery little sentences make up this satire of the writing life. Read more here: http://schietree.wordpress.com/2013/0...
April 13, 2025
It must be difficult to write a thriller this flat; wall to wall pretentious filler. Fair play to Alice Thompson for penning what promised to be an eerie old school literary geography, Burnt Island, an arid strip of scorched earth packed to the rafters with wickermanesque weirdos. But she patches the gothic set up to tell us the story of Max, a writer who is visiting the island himself to write a book. Fair enough the isolated author losing his mind in a haunted hellscape is a solid generic caper (See Stephen King’s The Shinning, Henry James Turn of The Screw etc etc).
But, the novel seems more concerned with the writer droning on and on about the crisis of conscience that overtakes him as he might try to write a best seller. However, the task is plagued by his capital C contrived internal doubts and the reader is treated to a scattered commentary on the process of penning masterpieces and cognitive tics of those behind the cannon. It feels like a thinly veiled attempted at signposting. Cue a chorus of halfbake literary discussions aplomb with random tidbits about JD Salinger, John Milton and so on. It all feels like the actual author not protagonist writer (meta right?!) is trying batter us over the head with just how literary an affair we have going on here. And if we miss any of these nonsense bits of intertextual riddles, then don’t worry the expositional frying pan is on hand every few pages to remind the reader of the clever construction of it all.
As for the actual plot, the mystery of the island and the secrets of the shady mansion dwelling geezer whose wife mysteriously vanished with a trace, (btw he is a writer too, but was it really him who penned his best selling novel, or was it written by someone else? And at this point do we actually give a damn?), well rest assumed folks because any time that ol foreboding fog of suspense is setting over the island we can rely on a completely random character to rock up and clear the air. More or less letting us know that ‘aye sure the mysterious Mr Fairfax did murder his wife’. Or something like that… Oh but did he imagine it all? Fuck knows I stopped at 100 pages, so the mystery remains.
But, the novel seems more concerned with the writer droning on and on about the crisis of conscience that overtakes him as he might try to write a best seller. However, the task is plagued by his capital C contrived internal doubts and the reader is treated to a scattered commentary on the process of penning masterpieces and cognitive tics of those behind the cannon. It feels like a thinly veiled attempted at signposting. Cue a chorus of halfbake literary discussions aplomb with random tidbits about JD Salinger, John Milton and so on. It all feels like the actual author not protagonist writer (meta right?!) is trying batter us over the head with just how literary an affair we have going on here. And if we miss any of these nonsense bits of intertextual riddles, then don’t worry the expositional frying pan is on hand every few pages to remind the reader of the clever construction of it all.
As for the actual plot, the mystery of the island and the secrets of the shady mansion dwelling geezer whose wife mysteriously vanished with a trace, (btw he is a writer too, but was it really him who penned his best selling novel, or was it written by someone else? And at this point do we actually give a damn?), well rest assumed folks because any time that ol foreboding fog of suspense is setting over the island we can rely on a completely random character to rock up and clear the air. More or less letting us know that ‘aye sure the mysterious Mr Fairfax did murder his wife’. Or something like that… Oh but did he imagine it all? Fuck knows I stopped at 100 pages, so the mystery remains.
May 11, 2017
This strange and clever little book is incredibly meta in terms of both plot and meaning, as it follows an author in his attempts to write a book, but is in fact a very allegorical take on the writing process itself.
Thompson affectionately takes a satirical jibe at the notion of penning a 'bestseller', as the more the main character talks of wanting to write in a very unimaginative, structured, by-the-books way so that his next book will tick all the boxes of 'the next big thing', the more the plot becomes bizarre and events spiral out of all normalcy and control, as though Thompson is herself acknowledging why she's never likely to top the bestsellers list.
It has a playful edge, with the atmospheric and intrigue-building opening feeling very much like a classic horror story (an isolated island setting, a down-on-his-luck protagonist, mysterious goings-on with the locals, etc.) and even has several references to other such works, including du Maurier's The Birds. The character creates a checklist of dos-and-don’ts for writing his bestseller, including 'no symbolism' and 'no metaphors'; the irony being that this book (and Thompson's work in general) is practically nothing but symbolism and metaphors. This is emphasised when the character then writes, 'no one likes a book they can't pigeonhole', as that is precisely what this is.
The language is simple and understated with flashes of real beauty that create impact, particularly when describing the setting, i.e.: 'The view through the massive window faced west over the sea and the sun setting over the horizon flooded the room, casting a pink hue over the white furniture like slanting sunlight on snow.'
Ultimately this is a book written for writers, examining in a creative, intelligent and darkly abstract way the nature of imagination and how it is both a writer's blessing and a curse, being in essence a cautionary tale about the danger of being increasingly drawn into your own world; how distant this can make you from reality and how destructive that can be.
Thompson affectionately takes a satirical jibe at the notion of penning a 'bestseller', as the more the main character talks of wanting to write in a very unimaginative, structured, by-the-books way so that his next book will tick all the boxes of 'the next big thing', the more the plot becomes bizarre and events spiral out of all normalcy and control, as though Thompson is herself acknowledging why she's never likely to top the bestsellers list.
It has a playful edge, with the atmospheric and intrigue-building opening feeling very much like a classic horror story (an isolated island setting, a down-on-his-luck protagonist, mysterious goings-on with the locals, etc.) and even has several references to other such works, including du Maurier's The Birds. The character creates a checklist of dos-and-don’ts for writing his bestseller, including 'no symbolism' and 'no metaphors'; the irony being that this book (and Thompson's work in general) is practically nothing but symbolism and metaphors. This is emphasised when the character then writes, 'no one likes a book they can't pigeonhole', as that is precisely what this is.
The language is simple and understated with flashes of real beauty that create impact, particularly when describing the setting, i.e.: 'The view through the massive window faced west over the sea and the sun setting over the horizon flooded the room, casting a pink hue over the white furniture like slanting sunlight on snow.'
Ultimately this is a book written for writers, examining in a creative, intelligent and darkly abstract way the nature of imagination and how it is both a writer's blessing and a curse, being in essence a cautionary tale about the danger of being increasingly drawn into your own world; how distant this can make you from reality and how destructive that can be.
October 30, 2019
Another writer of the "Tell, don't show" school.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Thanks, but no thanks.
February 17, 2021
A novel which has mythic and supernatural overtones, effectively set in realistic location.
December 10, 2021
Too pretentious and sloppy. Had potential, but wasted it.
August 3, 2016
Alice Thompson, Burnt Island (Salt Publishing, 2013)
If you are a fan of books about writers and horror novels, you have probably read this setup a number of times before: a novelist suffering writer's block is offered space and time to complete his new novel by another writer. Writer A gratefully accepts, finds his host to be charming if a little off, and then, over the next few days, comes to believe that writer B is putting him up in order to have him finish the book, kill him, and publish it under writer B's name. It's not an original premise, but few things are in the horror world these days, and so whether or not it works comes down to style. Burnt Island has got itself style in spades, and it draws inspiration, unless I miss my guess, from a place or two one doesn't normally see in this sort of thing. The result is maybe a few steps short of greatness, but it is quite good.
Max Long has been struggling with his new novel, a horror piece, for a long time. As these things sometimes go, he can't figure out how to get past a sticking point. He's also having problems in his non-professional life; his marriage has come to an end, and he misses his child something fierce. An offer of a fellowship on Burnt Island seems like just the thing, and when long arrives, he finds it almost impossibly bucolic. The only problem: the island is also home to James Fairfax, a much more popular writer and one Max has always considered a rival. It soon comes out, however, that Fairfax is behind the fellowship, and the two of them start spending time together. It doesn't hurt any that Fairfax has quite a lovely maid/PA and Max is on the rebound.
If the idea of “protagonist goes out to secluded island and is seduced by someone close to antagonist” sounds familiar, well, you don't have to look any farther than The Wicker Man. It strikes me, however, that Burnt Island draws more from The Wicker Man's source material, Ritual. Not necessarily in any plot points, etc., though there is a mystery to be solved, and it has the same sorts of choking tendrils that consume David Hanlin (the inspector who would become Sergeant Howie in the film version), but the greatest debt Alice Thompson owes to Ritual is its atmosphere and the interloper's reaction to it. There is something off about the island in both cases, and we have a protagonist who spends far too much time trying to make the island conform to his view of it rather than trying to adapt to it. Burnt Island's conclusion is a good deal less ambiguous than Ritual's; whether you consider this a good or a bad thing is left to the individual reader. Quite interesting, and worth your time if you've a thing for supernatural mysteries. ***
If you are a fan of books about writers and horror novels, you have probably read this setup a number of times before: a novelist suffering writer's block is offered space and time to complete his new novel by another writer. Writer A gratefully accepts, finds his host to be charming if a little off, and then, over the next few days, comes to believe that writer B is putting him up in order to have him finish the book, kill him, and publish it under writer B's name. It's not an original premise, but few things are in the horror world these days, and so whether or not it works comes down to style. Burnt Island has got itself style in spades, and it draws inspiration, unless I miss my guess, from a place or two one doesn't normally see in this sort of thing. The result is maybe a few steps short of greatness, but it is quite good.
Max Long has been struggling with his new novel, a horror piece, for a long time. As these things sometimes go, he can't figure out how to get past a sticking point. He's also having problems in his non-professional life; his marriage has come to an end, and he misses his child something fierce. An offer of a fellowship on Burnt Island seems like just the thing, and when long arrives, he finds it almost impossibly bucolic. The only problem: the island is also home to James Fairfax, a much more popular writer and one Max has always considered a rival. It soon comes out, however, that Fairfax is behind the fellowship, and the two of them start spending time together. It doesn't hurt any that Fairfax has quite a lovely maid/PA and Max is on the rebound.
If the idea of “protagonist goes out to secluded island and is seduced by someone close to antagonist” sounds familiar, well, you don't have to look any farther than The Wicker Man. It strikes me, however, that Burnt Island draws more from The Wicker Man's source material, Ritual. Not necessarily in any plot points, etc., though there is a mystery to be solved, and it has the same sorts of choking tendrils that consume David Hanlin (the inspector who would become Sergeant Howie in the film version), but the greatest debt Alice Thompson owes to Ritual is its atmosphere and the interloper's reaction to it. There is something off about the island in both cases, and we have a protagonist who spends far too much time trying to make the island conform to his view of it rather than trying to adapt to it. Burnt Island's conclusion is a good deal less ambiguous than Ritual's; whether you consider this a good or a bad thing is left to the individual reader. Quite interesting, and worth your time if you've a thing for supernatural mysteries. ***
January 2, 2014
This is a diverting read, though it gets silly towards the end, which for me makes it lose any real sense of being chilling. Also funny and scathing in parts about the writing world. I'd give it three and half.
October 19, 2014
Not really that chilling or scary, and gets all a bit daft towards the end. It wasn't at all like what I was expecting. I had wanted to read it for some time but it was a bit of a disappointment.
August 17, 2014
In typical Alice Thompson style, this is a dark read. The story is like a mix between The wicker Man and The Twilight Zone. Weird things happen on the island that the narrator can't explain.
February 11, 2015
Rubbish. Really didn't enjoy this, and neither did anyone in my book club. Suspect it's very clever, but did nothing for me.
July 25, 2014
For most the book I enjoyed it but was largely disappointed by the ending
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews