An intriguing and spellbinding war story

In 1975, the Soviet Union and Communist China lay aside their differences and form an alliance. Their goal: to take over all of Europe and England. By early summer, 1980, “the combined Communist forces are poised for the initial assault.” From there, the action begins, and it is full-scale war, with all the explosiveness, viciousness and suspense that one expects, especially after an active Resistance movement is organized. Some of the scenes are gut-wrenching.

But the war story isn’t the only story. The other story, the underlying story, is that of the author himself, who discovers the manuscript in an old box file he hasn’t opened in thirty years, and comments on his novel and his editing of it between each chapter. As an author myself, as well as a devourer of books, I found this fascinating, almost like reading a second novel, one the “warp“ and the other the “woof” of the whole. 

What makes this so fascinating and so important is that this is the way we experience life, the warp of life and the woof of memory, interwoven into our daily lives.

My hat is off to Brendan Gisby, the author of several wonderful books,of which this is the latest. You have a gem here Mr. Gisby.

A definite 5 star read. 

Revolution in a Rat Colony: A review of Brendan Gisby’s “The Island of Whispers”

Reminiscent of Richard Adams’ Watership Down, Brendan Gisby’s novel is a mesmerizing tale of conquest, enslavement and yearning for a life of freedom from oppression and want.

Set in Scotland in an ancient ruined monastery on the island of Inchgarvie that was abandoned during the Middle Ages, “The Island of Whispers” tells the story of the conquest and subjugation of the island’s indigenous black rat population by much larger (cat-size larger) brown rats that arrived from passing ships. Enslaved, despised and abused by the brown rats, the black rats yearn for freedom and dream of founding a just society somewhere else. The ruling leadership will do anything to snuff it out and exterminate it.

Looking out from his island prison, Twisted Foot sees another land. How could they get there? Could it be a place where he, his mate and his child could have a free life? What about Fat One, Small Face and Long Ears? Would they be interested? And Grey Eyes, Soft-Mover and Bone-Cruncher? They would have to be very, very careful to avoid the sharp eyes and ears of the Protectors and the Inner Circle. Eventually, taking Slayer, the Slave King who escapes during a slave revolt that the authorities brutally put down, they leave the island for their freedom.

What happens then? Does their last? Does it grow? Are Twisted Foot, Fat One and their friends able to establish the just society they were dreaming of? You’ll have to read the book to find that out, which – unless you hate rats – shouldn’t be a problem, as it’s a can’t-put-it-down kind of read.

This rat tale is a wonderfully told story of the yearning to be free that’s in every person’s heart. It’s a story that is as ancient as history, and as current as today’s news. Inchgarvie could be Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, North Korea, apartheid South Africa, Israel, the U.S., Argentina during the military junta, Chile during Pinochet’s rule, Myanmar, the company you work for … wherever people are kept down, marginalized, despised, and ignored. Reading it, I kept thinking about Israel’s treatment of both its Arab citizens and the Arabs in the Occupied Territories and Gaza, which has been under a near lock-down siege since June 2007.

Pick up a copy of The Island of Whispers in either paperback or Kindle. It’s available from amazon.com and amazon.uk. 

Will there be a sequel to this story? I certainly hope so.

I give it *****

Poet Kenneth White's collected poems, "Open World"

                                        "... the surface of things

                                          can give enjoyment or disgust

                                       but the inwardness of things

                                                  gives life."

                                                           

Those four lines from his long poem "Walking the Coast" (Open World, XII, page 138) about says it all, especially when the "inwardness of things" is deeply embedded in the world, its life, its oceans, its ancient history and its deep inner- and interconnections and connectivity. For Kenneth White, founder of what is called "Geopoetics", "geo" meaning "the earth", poetry is a way of telling story about the earth and its people, about everyday life in relation to the earth and to earthiness.

"Le Nouvel Obsrvateur", Paris, says Kenneth White "is bound to appear as the foremost English-language poet of these times.", I agree. Every time I pick up the book and begin reading, I discover something new, or something old that strikes me in a new way and a deeper level.

I first ran across Kenneth White and his poetry in books by J. Philip Newell, looked everywhere for his books (some of them listed at very high prices), then found "Open World" on amazon.com and bought it. To my delight, it contained the very books I had been looking for!

Open World comprises his collected poetry from 1960 to 2000. Each time I pick it up and open it, I find new things that I'd had missed in a previous reading, like finding gold where you had looked before and there, on a second or third or fourth digging, there it is, right before your eye.

Born in Glasgow in 1936 and raised in western Scotland, Kenneth White is also an essayist, travel writer and held the chair of 20th Century Poetics at the Sorbonne from 1983-1996.

If you haven't heard of Kenneth White, buy this book and read it; it's become one of the most important books in my library. He's one of the poets I recommend to everyone.