Hippolyte's Island: An Illustrated Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
From an acclaimed author and artist, this “cleverly illustrated novel takes reads on a fabulous journey [and] a touching pilgrimage of faith” (Publishers Weekly).
Adventurer and travel writer Hippolyte Web has set his sights on an expedition to the Auroras, a group of tiny islands in the South Atlantic that haven’t been spotted in centuries. Equipped with outdated charts, an inadequate sailboat, and an advance for a book about his quest, the trip soon leads to discoveries beyond anything he could have imagined. But the challenges that he meets are nothing compared to those that await him when he returns.
Marie Simplon, his no-nonsense book editor, is more than a little skeptical of Hippolyte’s strange tale. As he inundates her with centuries-old maps, sketches, and specimens, she is drawn into the mysterious details of his voyage. The two are soon joined in a race—Hippolyte to prove his islands exist, Marie to refute his claims. But Marie’s conflicting emotions about the journey and the man lead her on her own quest to discover for herself the limits of logic and the power of belief.Read more from Barbara Hodgson
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Reviews for Hippolyte's Island
54 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Simply delightful story of Hippolyte, who never having sailed before, takes off from the Falkland Islands in search of the Auroras, and his subsequent battles with his down to earth editor to have the saga of his adventures published as a book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I really enjoyed this book, although I felt like the concept could have been taken a lot further.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hippolyte Webb spends his life traveling, but only to out-of the-way, offbeat, and little-known places. He supports his lifestyle writing articles on his adventures, often in one of the numerous languages he’s picked up along the way. As the book begins, Hippolyte has been home in Vancouver only a short time but is being drawn to tales of lost islands, reported in the literature but no longer appearing on modern maps or even showing up on satellite imagery. Intrigued by the idea of rediscovering something lost, he decides to sail to the location reported to be the Auroras, three (more or less) islands halfway between the Falklands and South Georgia in the southern Atlantic. He spends weeks reading, going to museums, taking sailing lessons, and provisioning himself with all the necessities suggested by his treasured 1906 Royal Geographical Society "Hints to Travellers", and then he flies to the Falklands and sets off alone in a rented sailboat. What Hippolyte finds, and his difficulties making his editor believe him, form the core of the book. Hippolyte is larger than life and bowls over his editor, whom he’s never met, and his unconventional way of telling his story and presenting his evidence convinces her he’s lying. How each of them approaches this dilemma makes for a charming story. Interspersed throughout the book are Hippolyte’s photos, drawing and watercolors, along with maps, logbook entries, and journal notes. This is definitely a keeper for my small permanent library.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For fans of the Griffin and Sabine books who have a longer attention span.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a highly imaginative book and my favourite of Hodgson's so far.