Islanders

Forget who you’re supposed to be. Remember who you truly are.  

Every woman contains a being who understands the language of tidal flow and that freedom is not a gift, but a right to be reclaimed. Against the backdrop of a world ruled by the logic of a Great Father, where intuition is punished and spirituality silenced, two women may meet. One bears the weight of years and experience; the other is feeling the first stirrings of inner unrest. But both hear the ocean waves in the same rhythm. These waves seem to be growing ever louder. While the Stranger is just arriving on the Island, where she will work at a local hotel, the Old Woman has lived there for several years. Their stories – so different, yet so alike – show what can happen when women in the world of the Great Father follow the call of their wild spirit. Set in the present day and in a tribe for which intuition is key, this story has elements of magical realism. It takes the reader on a journey of adventure across the Island, whose people appear happier than people elsewhere. But are they really? Everyone must answer for themselves, with a large black rook circling overhead.

Islanders is a literary ritual in which Klára Elšíková revives the ancient myth about a female spirit that refuses to be tamed. It is a map for those who have lost their way in the labyrinth of others’ expectations. And it is a remedy for the wounded spirituality of women and men alike.

"Klára Elšíková has written a powerful feminist story. She approaches her subject with subtlety and sensitivity, and without resentment or recrimination. She guides readers inwards for the building and protection of their own boundaries and freedom."

Petra Dvořáková, writer

‘If a woman wants to be a free spirit, all she must do is listen to her inner voice,’ says the author.