Island by Gretel Ehrlich, 1991
The magic trick:
Discussing the nature of an island like an essay early in the story; then showing its narrative in a way that is true to the nature of an island previously outlined
This is a very short, tightly wound story. Beautiful stuff.
First, our narrator pontificates on the nature of an island – not isolating but in fact connecting; the way it can unspool a “million concentric thoughts.”
Then she demonstrates that description of an island by letting her connected thoughts unspooled.
It lands us in a very sad, affecting place, considering life as a promise you can’t count on.
And that’s quite a trick on Ehrlich’s part.
The selection:
To think of an island as a singular speck or a monument to human isolation is missing the point. Islands beget islands: a terrestrial island is surrounded by an island of water, which is surrounded by an island of air, all of which makes up our island universe. That’s how the mind works too: one idea unspools into a million concentric thoughts. To sit on an island, then, is not a way of disconnecting ourselves but, rather, a way we can understand relatedness.
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