I won the book on Castaway from bol.com. The cover looked enticing, a part naked woman walking into clear blue seas. I knew that I would enjoy this book as it’s an escape from normal life. The author Lucy Irvine actually replied to an advert from a man requesting a ’’Wife’’ to live on a deserted island for a year. She had never met the man before, but to live on the Island of Tuin , the rules were that they had to be married. Tuin is off the coast of Papua New Guinea .
It was an Island soon to be their home for a year. Gerald (G) and Lucy (Lu) as he affectionately called her later on , only had the bare neccessities to take with them to the Island. They consisted of 200 Tea Bags, Porridge Oats, 1 pkt of Semolina, dried beans, 6 pkts of Brown Rice, 1 pkt spaghetti, Vinegar, black pepper, dried fruit and one large bottle of coking oil. They had two plates, two billy cans, some cutlery. They had a make shift tent and few clothes. Lucy loved the freedom of not wearing clothes, so most of the days spent fishing were in the buff. Gerald was quite a lot older than Lucy , she was only about 26. Most of the days were spent fishing and looking for food. Gerald couldn’t cope with island life as well as Lucy and he used to abuse her verbally. Even though she didn’t like his behaviour towards her she accepted it. She wouldn’t have sex with him, she said that sex only went with love and she didn’t love him. Eventually she gave in and had regular sex with him, after that he seemed to treat her differently. Nightime could be a problem for them as the sandflies used to attack. ’’G’’ got the worst attacks where he got so badly biten that he got a massive infection in his legs. For most of the day he used to sit on the beach at camp whilst Lucy went hunting for food. She came back with Coconuts, Peepa’s, all types of fish. She concocted allsorts of different dishes using fish . She made it with Coconut, Rice, Beans. Sometimes they had visitors who heard in the grapevine that there were people living on the Island. Out of curiousity they would turn up on their little boats and give them food. They nearly got down to starvation level, Lucy’s Bosom shrunk to nothing, she went to skin and bones. Geralds health was suffering so bad that they ended up getting treatment for it. They got a course of antibiotics off two nurses who were shipped over to help them.
Day by day was the same, Lucy hunting for food, the book was beginning to be a bit repetitive in parts. I got fed up of hearing about fish until she one day discovered a ’’Yam patch’’. These are a sweet potato, she could make boiled potatoes, potatoes with Coconut. They tried growing their own vegetables but no such luck. The island was just too dry, they struggled getting fresh water, it was all salt water. Just as they were getting down to starvation levels, they had a miracle happen. A Native from a neighbouring Island called Ronald came over to visit them, each time he came he brought either children or his wife. They regularly visited and brought Flour, fresh water, rice and a few goodies. Gerald used to mend their broken engines for their boats. He used to tinker away all day mending these, it had a great affect on him. He actually had something to look forward to, Lucy made him good food with the new provisions .
Even though Lucy was very grateful for these provisions, she felt there wasn’t any challenge left anymore. She thought that , that was why they had come to the Island to fend for themselves. Gerald then again thought it was wonderful to get properly fed and watered. They got invited to stay on the Island of Badu where there were proper houses. It was an unusual experience for them and the natives, as white people were meant to be evil. They got very friendly with these people who took them under their wings. Lucy didn’t really enjoy sleeping in a normal bed. She couldn’t wait to get back to their camp, Gerald was different though, he enjoyed civilisation. Eventually they went their seperate ways after the year was up. Lucy was too young she wanted to experience other things.
The film Castaway starring Oliver Reid and Amanda Donahoe play the parts of these two people. But I’ve seen the film and read the book. The book is more in depth to that portrayed in the film. I felt as though I was living with them, I got totally engrossed in the book and was sad when it ended. I have now bought another book by Lucy Irvine. It is called Faraway, its about her taking her children in 1999 to live on the remote Pigeon Island. I’ve yet to read it...