Christmas on the Island

A Novel

By: Jenny Colgan

Narrated by: Sarah Barron

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Café by the Sea - whose novels are “an evocative, sweet treat” (Jojo Moyes) - comes this heartwarming holiday novel set on a charming Scottish island.

On the remote Scottish island of Mure, the Christmas season is stark, windy, and icy - yet incredibly festive and beautiful....

It's a time for getting cozy in front of whisky barrel wood fires and enjoying a dram and a treacle pudding with the people you love - unless, of course, you've accidentally gotten pregnant by your ex-boss and don't know how to tell him. In the season for peace and good cheer, will Flora find the nerve to reveal the truth to her nearest and dearest? Will her erstwhile co-parent, Joel, think she’s the bearer of glad tidings - or is this Christmas going to be as bleak as the Highlands in midwinter? 

Meanwhile Saif, a doctor and refugee from war-torn Syria, is trying to enjoy his first Western Christmas with his sons on this remote island where he’s been granted asylum. His wife, however, is still missing, and her absence hangs over what should be a joyful celebration. Can the family possibly find comfort and joy without her?

Travel to the beautiful northern edge of the world and join the welcoming community of Mure for a Highland Christmas you'll never forget!

©2018 Jenny Colgan (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Sweet story but......

I enjoyed the story. It is a sweet story for Christmas time and the narrator is wonderful to listen to. My only issue with the story is the fact that one of characters describes his jerk of a brother by saying he is probably a Trump supporter and watches Fox News. I listen to audio books to escape the everyday issues. I don’t want partisan politics ruining my enjoyment of a good story. I will not be buying anymore books by this author.

Please don’t do this to yourself

[Spoiler alert]. This is the worst “Christmas story” I have ever read. Seriously, please don’t do this to yourself. An agonizing death from cancer, a woman being tortured in Syria, threatened miscarriage, grieving Syrian children, on and on. It is terrible. Even the supposed romantic parts are incredibly painful. A man cheats on the wife he supposedly loves who is presumed imprisoned in war-torn Syria, with a woman whose incredibly unhealthy obsession with him is uncomfortable to witness. An emotionally immature former foster child stonewalls his pregnant girlfriend, returning to her side only when miscarriage appears imminent. Seriously guys, this is miserable stuff. And to make it worse, the writing is not stellar. Multiple errors/contradictions (in an earlier book therapist didn’t adopt Joel because of the needs of Marsha’s young children, in this book it is a huge thing how the therapist and his wife are childless, etc). Tediously repetitive descriptions (seriously if Flora was described as pale one more time I was going to throw the thing across the room). Poorly paced, abrupt ending. The sense of place and community is nice, and there are some redemptive threads running through, but seriously, the few positives are not worth the discomfort. Find something else to read!

Ignore the critics, this is lovely

There is one reviewer who stated that “torture in Syria and an agonizing death” make this book horrible. Baloney. First of all, there is no drawn out description of torture- it is hinted at (and if you can’t handle how deftly the writer puts it here, well then certainly don’t watch the news or read any world news!) Next, yes, you do see someone suffering from a cancer death. But it’s not gory, ghoulish or gratuitous- I watched my mother die over a period of months and it was like this. A retreating from the world, pain—then good meds, some more pain and meds and then goodbye. BUT along side this, you have warm and wonderful LIFE! You have lovely descriptions of the glorious, beautiful world around us. You have the warmth of friends and quirky family. In short, you have life in its entirety. I have fallen in love with this author and I think you should give it a go and try her. I’m now going on to MORE of her books because I love her characters and the way she makes you notice how lovely life is and can be. After reading this I felt a new gratitude and appreciation for the life I have.

Horrible!

Too politically charged and the story doesn't flow well at all. I wouldn't waste your time listening to this.

Nott ur typical Christmas

This story doesn’t go exactly as you expect! It is a sometimes heartbreaking and other time sweet. I the narrator is good!

A very abrupt ending

I usually enjoy Jenny Colgan books. How she weaves through normal thought processes. The emotions people feel and how they change so quickly.

This one was just okay.

This started off great, but felt rushed and needed more time to fully flesh out. The second half of the book was extremely short and then the book was finished without much resolution.

I have been following Flora's story from the beginning and thought this would have that same magic, but it just was missing.

Hopefully there will be another Mure story that has the magic back and brings the story to a lovely conclusion it deserves as well as the author proving in the past she can provide.

Great escape from daily life

Loved this series! I couldn’t wait to get my AirPods back in after work and made do stuff around the house enjoyable. Who knew I would look forward doing dishes and folding laundry!!

Christmas on the island of Mure

I loved catching up with Flora and her family and friends on the (imaginary) island of Mure. This is the third in a series about the lovely inhabitants of Mure. If you haven’t read the first two books you really should before dipping into this book. You’ll want to learn all about the people – get the context of their relationships. I have loved each book and the third just as much. It boils down to connections between people and how we all need them and must continue to try to do better – in every way. I really hope this isn’t the last I’ll read of the people of Mure. There are some ends that weren’t completely tied up – and I need some reassurance!

Everything Jenny writes is a treasure!

This would be the seventh or eighth book by Jenny Colgin, that I have listened to, and they are also heartwarming and intriguing! You can’t go wrong with an author this good.

Narrations

The voices of the children were horrible! 4 yr olds do not speak in baby talk. It was like listening to nails on a blackboard