Voices: Short stories from the Seychelles Islands

by Glynn Burridge

Now in its 3rd edition, complete with fresh design and extra stories, the evergreen 'Voices' collection of Seychelles short stories by Glynn Burridge describes the strange secrets, realities and fantasies of life on Seychelles' Outer Islands where the author lived for two decades.

Reviewed by the BBC as 'beautiful and powerful', 'Voices' was also selected by journalist and author Anne Morgan as one of her preferred Seychelles books as she read her way around the world and will lead you on an unforgettably rich literary adventure into the twilight of the fast-disappearing world of the true Seychelles islander. Glynn Burridge is also the author of the dark Seychelles historical thriller, 'Kolony'.

Genres: Short Stories, Seychelles, Africa, The World, Fiction

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2014

About the author

Growing up in Iran during the halcyon days of the Shah, English - born Glynn Burridge would become English tutor to the Pahlavi Royal Household and interpreter/translator in the Farsi language before leaving his adopted home at the onset of the Islamic Revolution.

Escaping to Seychelles, where the Pahlavi family owned a private island estate, the author was based in the Amirantes Islands for twenty years, acquiring extensive knowledge and experience of the Seychelles’ Outer Islands which are the setting for ‘Kolony’.

Reviews

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

No 117 on My Reading the World Quest

Seychelles (pronounced say shelz)

The background of the author enthralled me as did the country.

This is a book of short stories. Some are fantastic, others hardly worth the read. I still give it four stars.

First The Author:

Glynn Burridge is of dual British and Seychellois citizenship and has been living in Seychelles for 35 years, much of those as part of the management team of D’arros Island in the Amirantes group, 140 miles south-west of the mainland.

Having grown up in Iran under the Shah (king), he took an honours degree in oriental languages from Manchester University before becoming commercial interpreter and translator in the Persian language (Farsi), English tutor to the royal children and private secretary to Prince Chahram Pahlavi of the Iranian royal family. Fleeing the Islamic Revolution, he moved to Seychelles and to the Outer Islands, in 1978 where, for two decades, he managed the Pahlavi’s private estate, Dárros Island.

Since leaving D’arros Island to live on the mainland in 1998, he has been engaged by Seychelles’ Tourism Board as sole copywriter behind all Seychelles tourism’s publicity materials. He is also a freelance copywriter, the author of ‘Voices’, the popular collection of Seychelles short stories and ‘Kolony’, a thriller based around the Seychelles Islands. He has also been a major contributor to the “Coco-de-Mer”, “SUBIOS: Seychelles Festival of the Sea”, “Carnival” and “Unexpected Treasures” coffee-table books.

My Favorite Stories and Why!!

Siren's Song

"The siren does not sing to me now, for she has no further need to. She, better than I, knows that I will not leave these shores for long. Such is the call of an island."

Tempest

Graphically shows the danger that can arise while travelling the waters between the islands.

"We were in deep trouble this time. The Avon was not built for these conditions, her only asset being speed. The sea around us closed in for the kill."

The Wedding Guest

More a horror story than a description of the islands but really got my attention as to what happened.

You may or may not like the stories of this book but glad I did as the Seychelles became very real to me.

There is also a story that described the trip from Seychelles to Zanzibar to Tanzania which made the geography surrounding these places come alive for me as well.

4 stars

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author provides a number of short stories - some based on folklore, some of modern day life and some of his experiences and observations. He obviously loves the Seychelles, it's land, people and relationship with the sea.

[Anetq · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had hoped from the title, that this was a collection of stories by different authors from the Seychelles. Turned out I misunderstood, so it's all Glynn Burridge, and I have to say I didn't become a great fan. Heavy on the adjectives, historical fiction-ish, not much plot, a lot of "me, myself & I" ...and someone haven't heard of "show, don't tell" (and yes, in case you're wondering, it is self-published).
I did try for the sake of my reading Africa challenge to finish, as books from the Seychelles are sparse (this one may be it?) - but I've decided that a handful of shorts stories will have to do for that purpose.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my quest to read a book written by an author from each of the 169 countries of the world. This author grew up in Iran but has lived in the Seychelles Islands for 35 years. This country is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. It lies off the eastern coast of Africa. The islands are said to be the most beautiful islands on earth.

It isn't easy for me to do a fair review of this book - it is comprised of about 23 short stories and I have never enjoyed reading short stories (just when you start to get into the story, it ends!!).

The stories tell about many of the author's experiences and also about the people he has met.

[Miranda R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars.
This was a really interesting and unique look at one man's life on the Seychelles Islands. My biggest qualm was the fictional stories being mixed in with the nonfiction. I think it would've read better if they had been labeled more clearly or if the book had been divided into nonfiction and fiction. But all that to say, the writing was good - descriptive in such a way that I could imagine the setting easily. Glynn is clearly very passionate about his home of the last several decades. I hope one day to visit!

Also Glynn is my middle name so go Glynns!!!

[Yrinsyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took awhile to read this as I don't really like reading books on my phone (I changed the start read date for this one as I stopped reading it and took it up again in December last year). This is an eclectic collection of autobiographical sketches, creole folktales and short stories. Some stories are better than others. Leviathan is a fishing story and at first I was prepared to be bored, but it turned out to be rather exciting. Seadogs 2 was a great story about research. The story about the vengeful turtle was funny. The other stories though, are middling to average.

[Maria João · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Voices” is a delightful book of several short stories set in the archipelago of the Seychelles, showcasing its unique cultural and human fabric, folklore, History, and always indissociable from its one-of-a-kind and out worldly beautiful Nature. Many of the stories are a memoir of the British-Iranian author who has been living in the Seychelles for decades, whose real characters and often comical real-life situations yielded a delicious reading. For those like me who have been blessed to have visited the archipelago and were able to experience first-hand the feeling of being embraced by its people and its Nature, this book brings up memories and simultaneously confirms the same love for this isolated corner of the World, that the author also transpires at every line of text. Beautifully written, this book stands on its own, but definitely a wonderful reading if one is planning to visit the Seychelles.

[Hamid Varzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a masterpiece in so many different ways, from the richness of the stories to the author's exquisite command of the English language. He weaves an enthralling tapestry of people and events, covering a wide gamut of human emotions: Fear, love, euphoria, disappointment, and anticipation. Without giving away any spoilers, the stories involve harrowing shark attacks, vividly described battles between the Royal Navy and pirates, and an intellectually absorbing treasure hunt. The author's strength is his ability to describe each scene in in its own appropriate style, variously reminiscent of Hemingway, C.S. Forester and Robert Louis Stevenson.

This book is a gem, a must-read.

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik heb een beetje gemengde gevoelens bij deze verhalenbundel uit en over de Seychellen, niet waar het schrijfstijl en woordgebruik betreft want die zijn onberispelijk, maar met betrekking tot de inhoud, onderwerpen en lengte van de verhalen... die zijn nogal ongelijkmatig en dat stoort voor mij het leesritme. Vooral de twee lange stukken Sea Dogs Part 1 & 2 over een vermeende piratenschat, vallen erg uit de toon.
Andere verhalen zijn dan wel weer zeer goed en geven een mooi beeld van het leven op deze paradijselijke eilanden.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Global Read 152: Seychelles

This is a mix of fiction and non-fiction which is kind of weird, because it was not always apparent what was what. I thought the fiction was often stilted, although I did love the one about the shark and the one about Angeline. In general I thought that his own personal reminiscing were more interesting. I did think it was too long.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Whatever their individual and collective destinies may be, one thing is certain: the ancient rhythms that have governed these islands for so long, like the great characters who have made their homes upon their shores, are in full retreat before the relentless advance of a modern world in which they have no place."

[Virginie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the world in books: Seychelles.

[Nicole Kroger Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

#readtheworld Seychelles Islands

[Daniel Sanchez Ojalvo · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some really good stories, some I found full and some I did not connect with. My highlight: The Tempest

[ಥ_ಥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only liked maybe 4 of thr stories

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories are not really my thing but I really enjoyed most of these. A mix of local folklore and stories of contemporary island life, this author really manages to convey the beauty and the colours of his tropical paradise like setting. Some lovely, well written stories about fishing for great beasts of the deep and sailing through sudden violent storms.