Island Dreams
Mapping an Obsession
Canongate Books · Print & ebook · November 12, 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR In Island Dreams, Gavin Francis combines stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and myth, shedding new light on the importance of islands and isolation in our collective consciousness.
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- Who it’s for
- Island journeys open onto questions of solitude, freedom, and the ties that hold us.
- Themes
- Islands and isolation, Independence and attachment, Rest and motion
- Genres
- Travel Writing, Essay Collections, Adventurers & Explorers
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For younger readers: The Islands at the End of the World, Where Is Easter Island?, The Highest Tide
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SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR In Island Dreams, Gavin Francis combines stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and myth, shedding new light on the importance of islands and isolation in our collective consciousness. Francis draws on thirty years of island adventures from the Faroe Islands to the Aegean, from the Galapagos to the Andaman Islands.
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He contrasts these quests for freedom with the demands for commitment required as a doctor, community member and parent. Island Dreams riffs on the twin poles of rest and motion, independence and attachment, never more relevant than in today’s ever-connected world.
Islands, Inward
Island journeys open onto questions of solitude, freedom, and the ties that hold us.
Come here for
- Travel writing braided with psychology, philosophy, and myth.
- A reflective take on islands and isolation in the collective imagination.
Expect
- A thoughtful tension between rest and motion, independence and attachment.
- Personal travel alongside the demands of life as a doctor, community member, and parent.
Where it sits
| Travel Writing | 72% |
|---|---|
| Essay Collections | 36% |
| Adventurers & Explorers | 23% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Biography & Memoir
- Travel
- Great Britain Travel
- Authors
- Gavin Francis
- Publisher
- Canongate Books
- Published
- November 12, 2024
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Islands and isolation · Independence and attachment · Rest and motion
- Reading lane
- Biography & Memoir