The Fourth Island

by Sarah Tolmie, Rovina Cai (Illustrator)

Dark, mournful, and beautiful, Sarah Tolmie's The Fourth Island is a moving and unforgettable story of life and death on the hidden Irish island of Inis Caillte.

Huddled in the sea off the coast of Ireland is a fourth Aran Island, a secret island peopled by the lost, findable only in moments of despair. Whether drowned at sea, trampled by the counter-reformation, or exiled for clinging to the dead, no outsiders reach the island without giving in to dark emotion.

Time and again, The Fourth Island weaves a hypnotic pattern with its prose, presaging doom before walking back through the sweet and sour moments of lives not yet lost. It beautifully melds the certainty of loss with the joys of living, drawing readers under like the tide.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Adult, Ireland

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2020

About the author

Sarah Tolmie is the author of the 120-sonnet sequence Trio, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press (release date 1 April 2015) and the chapbook Sonnet in a Blue Dress and Other Poems (Baseline Press, 2014). She has also published a novel, The Stone Boatmen, and a short fiction collection, NoFood, with Aqueduct Press (both 2014).

She is a medievalist trained at the University of Toronto and Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Waterloo.

Reviews

[NAT.orious reads ☾]

What's urging me to read this besides the gorgeous cover, you wonder, knowing I'm a sucker for pretty covers. Ummmmmmm-AH. Hellooo?!


You have read the synopsis, right? [checks own pulse and loses count quickly]

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth island is a novella set in the Aran Islands. The story takes place on Inis Mor and the fictional Inis Caillte (lost island in Gaelic). The island is lost and the people on it are also lost. There’s magic here, people can understand each other even if they speak different languages, the deaf can hear. It reads like a folk tale and I really enjoyed most of the book but the latter section is disappointing and doesn’t have the magic and charm of the earlier parts.

[Missy (myweereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“She was afraid of the ocean’s endlessly reaching silent hands that would seize and drown her.”

The Fourth Island by Sarah Tolmie is the haunting story set in a village in the Aran Islands. When a body washes ashore it sets in motion a mystery the inhabitants try desperately to solve. What surfaces is a fourth Island off the coast of Ireland where only those who dwell in despair can make it there through their own darkest moments.

From the beginning, this novel sets an ominous atmosphere with its dark prose. The fourth Island Inis Caillte reinvents those who make it as their true selves. The story follows those who witness the body which is washed ashore trying to solve the mystery through a sweater which is knitted with a distinct pattern that they can’t track back to its origins.

I really enjoyed the mix of Irish folklore throughout. The key themes of this novel were the joys and sorrow of life and death, those who leave us and those who are left behind. There's a powerful message within the words which is moving and realised as the story reaches its climax.

A beautifully moving story told through vivid imagery.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about being lost, life and death, and redemption. In Irish folklore, there is a fourth Aran island, Inis Caillte, off the coast of Ireland. It is where people who are lost and despairing go when they die. Once there, they are immediately accepted by the other residents because everyone is lost and there are no language barriers.

This is certainly not your typical book as there is no easily discernable plot arc and no main character. What there is, though, is wonderfully nuanced writing and a story of loss and possible redemption

My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.

[Naja · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little knitter heart is happy :)

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lovely short novella, set in the Aran Islands, touching on life, death; love, despair; and the power of a hand-knit sweater.
I really enjoyed this and will keep my eyes open for more from this author.

"Wherever there are sheep, there are women knitting sweaters..."

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where does one go when they're lost?

One ends up on Inis Caillte, of course. Mysteriously hidden off the coast of Ireland, Inis Caillte is the unknown fourth Aran Island. This island, however, isn't accessible through conventional means. Only those who are lost are able to find their way there - lost in moments of hopeless despair. The inhabitants are immune to the obstacles of langue and prejudice, and welcome to their community all those who find their way to the island's shore, giving these lost souls an opportunity for a second chance, an opportunity for redemption.

Through economical yet passionate prose, Sarah Tolmie fabricates a tale steeped in Irish Folklore and dripping with atmosphere. In this novella, she creates a profound and metaphysical version of the Island of Misfit Toys - one that will make you contemplate both anguish and exultation.

I very much enjoyed the ethereal tone of the story and, once finished, I found myself wanting to learn more of Inis Caillte and its mysterious group of inhabitants.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 lost my words stars

It's not every year that the first book I read has my breath both trapped in my lungs and beating against it to rush out. But what a mournfully lyrical this book was, I must say.

I picked this book up to relax after a long week of studying for exams, on a whim to be most truthful, only to realize the night was almost at it's end when the book too had turned finally to it's last page. There isn't much to be said about a book like this, because it is one of those that must be read to be felt, and I honestly cannot recommend it more. I will now leave you with a quote that I think makes this book unforgettable to me --

"It is commonly said that despair drives people towards death. In fact, it renders death worthless."

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do think this is a book where you need to be in the right mood and want to engage with the themes of this work for it to fully capture you. I was not quite in the "right" mood when I picked it up but I still really appreciated this novella and what it explored. There is a secret island that we learn about when a man is found dead on shore with a cable knit sweater that has a pattern nobody recognizes, later on with the help of this sweater a character gets transporter to this island that collects lost things. Thematically this story is about loss, despair and how our emotional energies can affect ourselves and our community. It has those soft magic/magical realism vibes that are there to give the themes and writing a scaffolding and its a lovely if a bit somber exploration of these themes.

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es fing gut an, ich mag diesen irischen Stil sehr. Leider zerfällt es gegen Ende immer mehr, "und dann geschah dies, und dann geschah das". Aber der Weg zu diesem Ende war angenehm kurz, Gesamtlesezeit vielleicht anderthalb Stunden.

[E.H. Alger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping this slim volume would be as good as its magical cover… but it’s not, unfortunately. I enjoyed it - it’s a lovely and strange little tale but it doesn’t really go anywhere or say very much. What held me back from complete involvement in the story was the author’s odd way of stepping outside the tale to discuss what’s going on, almost in the manner of a history textbook.
At its best the storytelling reminded me of the beauty and clarity of Ursula Le Guin’s writing, but she does it so much better.

[milo in the woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really connected with sarah tolmie’s writing style when i read her novella “all the horses of iceland” as i found it to be very touching and personal.

this novella is about the connections between island communities and the traditional practices of fisherfolk in ireland. there are lots of parallels between these communities and the hebridean communities so this story had a lot of familiarities for me.

the story telling style is that of a fable, kind of mystical and flowing between different perspectives and timelines. i loved it and it felt very nostalgic. i can’t wait to read whatever sarah tolmie writes next.

[Andria Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn't clicking with me. I was thoroughly and utterly bored. I managed 20% before dnf'ing. 2 stars

[erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting work of speculative fiction infused with Irish folklore. The eponymous "Fourth Island" refers to Inis Caillte, a hidden island that calls to the lost, saving them from death, isolation, and despair. The island erases all barriers of language, difference, and even time, creating a secret community that transforms its unwitting inhabitants into a softer, truer version of themselves.

[3/5: Atmospheric and almost philosophical. You can almost feel the sea mist on your face through the pages. Fans of speculative fiction will find much to ponder over in this novella. It was not my personal favorite, partly due to the sparser writing style, but I found it transported me nonetheless.]

Thanks to NetGalley & publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Matthew Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of this year's short, dreamy, kind of unresolved tales that I fully enjoyed sinking into. I'm not sure I have much more to say about it. It's like a fragment of a legend or fairy tale, discovered as a side mention in an old book about something totally different. Maybe everyone knew about it at the time, but as much as you'd like to know the full story, the rest has been lost to the ages and you're just lucky you got this glimpse to spark you're curiosity and imagination.

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, quick, slightly haunting read about villagers on an Irish island who vanish.
I think the aspect I appreciated the most was the clear double-entendres. It's easy to appreciate a mysterious vanishing but, what highlights Tolmie's writing abilities is the reasons she gives for the disappearances & how life is altered by the subsequent changes on the island.

[Udy Kumra · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/28/22: 3.5 stars. This is a very strange and odd book. It defies every typical standard I have for character, plot, and setting development in a book. I did like it, but it's so different from everything else that I really cannot tell if others would. I liked it because of the way it tied into history and because I did end up liking a few of the characters. But I could easily see someone hating it. That being said if you are interested I do think it's worth a shot, in case you do like it, but I honestly don't know who I would recommend this to. But I also don't know who I would not recommend this to. It's just strange and interesting.

I suppose if you like somewhat stylized prose it might be up your alley, but I didn't find the prose to be as stylized as the blurb suggests. But of course some people find the prose to be breathtakingly beautiful, so…

[Hanneleele · Rating 5 out of 5]

See meeldis mulle kohe väga. Kurvad inimesed, eks ole? Kusagil Iirimaa külje all asuvad Arani saared, kus kootakse Arani kampsuneid (palmikulised, mitte värvilised mustrid) ja kus võib-olla toimub ka hiljutise filmi "Inisherini hinged" tegevus nii enam-vähem, sest nende inglisepärastest nimedest üks on Inisheer. Igatahes väikesed saared, kus on enam-vähem null haritavat mulda, mõned inimesed, kalapüük ja kurvameelsus. Aga. Mis siis, kui seal oleks ka neljas saar, kuhu satuvad need, kes muutuvad nii tähelepandamatuks, et imbuvad läbi maailma aukude? Inis Móri randa uhutakse surnukeha, kel on seljas kampsun, mida ei ole kudunud ükski maiste saarte naine, aga keegi on selle siiski kudunud. Toimuma hakkab kummalisi asju. Kurvastus on vahest nakkav.

[Abby]

I don't know if this was great or if I am just so charmed by the experience of going to the library and coming home with a bunch of unexpected novellas that it sheds a golden glow over the reading. Regardless, I enjoyed this so much. I love fiction-y fiction, the kind that attempts to explain something nebulous and emotional like lost-ness in concrete but magical terms. I love books about towns with lots of characters. I love slightly creepy atmospheres--not what I would count as straight-up horror but the pervading sense that something's not right. Because something's not right. Check, check, check. Definitely recommend picking up this slim little book. Maybe from the library with a whole stack of other slim little books.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most beautiful prose I’ve read all year. Just wow.

[Jim Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique! Unlike anything I've ever read. Presents a different view on life, after life and death. Shows feelings, fears, belief and disbelief in an unusual way that however hits home in many ways. Not a sequential story - moves around and around. Despite this once I got about a third of the way through it became difficult to put down. If you like a rare mixture of history, fantasy, myth adn truth this is one to read.

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It seems like this short story was reaching for a big poetic concept, but it got really muddled down by overly cryptic symbols that could have been much more simplistic and stronger. Then there was the repetitive nature of certain aspects of the story, no ah-ha moment, and no real conclusion of events either... I had much higher hopes at the start for this one.

[Benny Blanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! Confusing! Eerie! Also makes me wanna learn more about the weird lore in the Celtic region.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting short story. There’s the theme of lost and found, loss and redemption. People are disappearing and then reappearing on the unknown fourth Aran island of Inis Caillte. No one knows why some just disappear and some die and turn into a heap of black soil. Those that live on Caillte can be understood no matter what language they speak. Nellie arrives here and can finally hear and speak to others. There’s a mystery why some are spared. A homespun sweater is a central character because people believe it has powers of survival. An interesting tale

[J.A.]

Library Journal Express reviews recommends it for fans of The Bird King and This Is How You Lose the Time War.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished it in one sitting, a lovely little novella to read in dim light with rain on my window. I'd describe it, strangely enough, with a lot of the same descriptors as Song of Solomon: mystical, dark, rich. The bit about soil being nothing but death and despair hit me hard- I think it's going to be one of those things that just stay with you.

Words that come to mind: gray, maelstrom, decay, detritus. Damp seaweed, formless. The emotion of it is just pure poetry.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fourth Island is not the kind of book where there is a set character focus or story being told. It winds in and out of various lives to tell the tale of the island as a whole, and how it relates to the inhabitants and their connections off the island. Tolmie does an excellent job of creating a lively narrative that gracefully flows from point to point. I love the concept, but I will be the first to admit that I struggle with works that do not feel like they have a beginning, middle, and end. That should not detract others from enjoying this novella. There is a lot here to like.

[büşra · Rating 5 out of 5]

it kept unfolding, adding more layers and meaning as it progressed to events that maybe have seem unrelated or out of place at first, coming back to them without rush, it felt so natural just as you would listen to someone tell a story very dear to them, i wouldn't have expected to get this much out of such a small book

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical little novella about a mysterious, fourth Aran island, a place that only lost people find in extreme moments of despair. Once there, the island nurtures and soothes their suffering. The book contains lovely meditations on living and meaning, vivid character that are drawn economically, and a knitted sweater that serves as a mystery, a talisman and puzzle.

[Brave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dreamy little story. I would've loved it if it had been a bit longer, or a bit more...clear? All in all, I'm planning to pick up more by this author, and I can't wait to experience more of her work.