On Whale Island by Daniel Hays

 

On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave by Daniel Hays
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Around the World: 25 of 52

I had high hopes for this, because of my cold weather island obsession. I'm discovering that people moving to an uninhabited island is not so interesting. I believe Daniel Hays believes himself to be a modern-day Thoreau, particularly since he quotes him at the beginning of almost every chapter, but while he includes supposed journal entries, they are more chronological than thoughtful. We did this, and then the dogs did this. And then there was the time this happened.

Sigh, boring. Halfway through I was already uninterested, but still finished in case something dramatic happened. Maybe if the author didn't seem to simply want to escape his life and had some other compelling motivation, this would have been more engaging. I know a lot about the minutia of their lives, rather like following someone you vaguely know in Facebook.

"Day 243 -
It has been gray and stormy all week and it's only faith that lets me know there is a sun, a moon, and a mainland nearby.  The radio tells me there is a Canada - well, a Nova Scotia anyway - but overall, with the fog outside and inside our windows, the world is quite small and entertainment is scarce."

"Day 355-
...I could never listen this completely before. I have stood in our harbor and heard water being dragged through seaweed, a jellyfish turned over, a ripple being reflected off a rock. Just for these new sounds in my life I want to stay here forever."