Faraway

a good read by lucy irving, world traveler ,and feisty writer, that has had a few ups and downs, but never loosing her perspective, on her family and writing

Lucy Irvine is a deeply underestimated author,perhaps because of her exotic and unsettled life. Her examination of the culture of Pigeon Island is extraordinarily sensitive. She is unsparing and intense in her search for the truth that underlies the Hepworth's relationship with the inhabitants of this Pacific corner and, by extension, all cultures with an unknown counterpart. Lens-like,she misses nothing that is humane or fragile or beautiful. This was my favorite book for a very long time. For a while,Irvine was living in a remote corner of Scotland and now appears to be living in the Balkans.Whatever comes from her pen next is sure to be remarkable.

Another gripping real life adventure by Lucy Irvine.She really manages to be empathetic with a wide range of cultures as well as remaining unusually self-aware. The interweaving of her current experience on a remote island with the life histories of the English couple who settled there and the local inhabitants is really fascinating.

Lucy Irvine is enlisted by the strong-willed Diana Hepworth, who has been living on Pigeon Island for the past 40 years, to live for one year on Pigeon Island and write her story. Lucy, not one to be pushed around herself, takes her three sons to the island and records Diane and Tom's story of sailing around the world for ten years and then settling on Pigeon island to raise a family in paradise.The book is a combination of Lucy's year on Pigeon Island with the Hepworth's experiences there. She pulls no punches, presenting the bad with the good. Photos are included of the family, the local islanders and Lucy and her sons. It's a fascinating story and very compelling reading. Her dreamy descriptions of the warm water and sun made me long for the sea. I was under the book's spell until I could finish it.

Having had the experience of 3 weeks on Pigeon Island in 1996, I read the book with fascination. It certainly brought memories back. I wish I could have added my stories for background information. I found the book very real and very sympathetic to the individual personalities. I can also vouch for "Lucy getting it right". Well done.