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One August Night

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About this listen

'A return to Hislop's thyme-scented, Aegean-lapped fictional Greece' The Sunday Times

Beloved author Victoria Hislop returns to Crete in this long-anticipated sequel to her multi-million-copy Number One bestseller, The Island.

25th August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.

When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.

In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.

Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop returns to the world and characters she created in The Island - the award-winning novel that remains one of the biggest selling reading group novels of the century. It is finally time to be reunited with Anna, Maria, Manolis and Andreas in the weeks leading up to the evacuation of the island... and beyond.

©2020 Victoria Hislop (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd 20th Century Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Tear-jerking Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

"Brings Greek history to compelling life." (Sunday Times)

"When it comes to tales about Greece, Hislop is an undisputed queen." (Heat)

"Brilliantly researched historical fiction." (Observer)

Most relevant
Having read all of Victoria Hislop’s books I was really looking forward to reading this one. I found it a pleasant story but it didn’t come up to the rest. I liked the characters but there was not enough to make me feel it was all that interesting and the end was a bit of a non event. Maybe I was expecting too much.

A little disappointing

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the sequel to the Island which was a far richer book in every way. somewhat predictable but a well written story.

second best

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Very little happened, so much more could have been explored, almost felt forced just to get a book written for the publishers

Disappointing, weak plot

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I really enjoyed it however from what I read about it I expected it to be more about the stigma of leprosy and how Maria and others were reintegrated from Spinalonga. Although when she touched on it it was done perfectly it wasn't a big part of the story. it was more about love & forgiveness. the performance in English was great but the Greek didn't sound authentic and was occasionally hard to understand (I am bilingual greek and English). overall I still love victoria hislop and would definitely still read more of her books. I just truly loved The Island & The Return.

very good story but not what I expected.

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Another good book from Victoria Hislop. Beautiful descriptions.. Colourful characters and a strong storyline.

Excellent read

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A captivating story which kept me thinking back to when I read The Island. It has made the whole story of both books complete

Thoroughly enjoyed

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didn't want it to end a great different view on same story. love your books

fantastic

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I have loved Victoria Hislop’s book in the past. This is disappointing! The plot line is very weak and apart from a couple of dramatic scenes, nothing really happens. The main flaw is that central to the story are the visits by Maria to the killer of her sister which didn’t seem to me to be likely. I recently read ‘Those Who Are Loved’ and thought it possibly the best book Victoria Hislop has written. It made this book all the more disappointing.

A disappointing sequel to ‘The Island’

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This book is a way of putting more detail into the first book and would have worked better if this detail had been part of The Island making it a longer story. I still look forward to reading more of Victoria Hislop’s books.

Not a sequel but enjoyed it nonetheless

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Overall a good, interesting read. As a Greek speaker, some of the pronunciation of the Greek words made me giggle. The story was left open for a third book... hopefully soon.

Could not put it down ☺️

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