The Island

A dazzling portrait of displacement, of love, and of longing from one of Australia’s most significant and overlooked women writers.

Melina was born abroad and raised on the island. She asks her Aunt Niki about life before. She notices how people look at her, strain to understand her. She is full of longing for unknown things. The island occupies a liminal space between Melina’s present moment and memories of the place her relatives still call home. 

Originally published in 1984, The Island is considered an overlooked masterpiece of Australian fiction. In prose charged with feeling and sharp with observation, Kefala captures a portrait of exile and otherness.