In an alternate present, England turned to God after the war and the fierce resurgence of Christianity was met by flaming resistance from the Secular Movement. Churches burned and those with the wrong papers were beaten in the streets, until a newly-elected religious government had the confidence to banish the dissenting minority to the Island.

30 years later, the Island depends on English charity to survive. Sarah Wicks slips aboard the second-last boat of the year in search of her mother, who vanished during a second purge 10 years ago and who she has only lately discovered did not, in fact, run off with a man from York. Eliza Michalka is Island-born, working in the brothel to earn her keep after her mother's death left her with nothing, dreams of a better, easier life in England. And Nathaniel Malraux, a shaven-headed youth who fancies himself keeper of the Island's purity, leads his gang of Malades to 'crab' anyone suspected of English or Godly sentiments. When their stories converge, it can't end well.

It's the little details that stand out. The novel is weakest in the heavily-borrowed brush strokes used to paint the context of sectarian division and fascist control in the 50s and 70s. It has its strength in the vignettes of the Islanders such as Mrs Page's secular funeral, the secret words Eliza writes beneath her fringe each morning, and the rather literary love letters Nathaniel's dead father wrote to his wife.

As events inevitably build, Wood walks a fine line, never straying into outright brutality. She is interested in the inner landscapes rather than the outer acts as she paints the early aggressions of a gang who are acquiring a taste for violence. Their fire contrasts with the apathy and loneliness of their parents' generation, many of whom quietly regret the acts that had them banished.

The core of the plot is far from original, but the well-drawn setting and accomplished character work make it better than perhaps it should be. While the loose ending left me somewhat dissatisfied, this remains worth a look. Just make sure you're in a resilient mood when you pick it up. ( )

A fascinating glimpse into a dystopian world where the Church rules England and non-believers have been banished to a small island...I thought this was well written with an engaging style. Disturbing, yet not without hope, the characters are complex and the plot keeps you reading until the end. I wasn't keen on how the book ended though. ( )

This is a story which imagines that English history took an alternative course in the 1950s, being taken over by religious zealots who exiled unbelievers to an island off the north east coast.
I enjoyed the descriptions of what it would be like to live in such a place; these showed real imagination and originality. The island has been established for about 30 years and we are told that at first the islanders enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle free of any religious judgement, but later settled into a small and small-minded community.
The story is underpinned by many separate stories of love and disappointment - unrequited lovers, petty jealousies, mothers and children, husbands lost at sea. These individual stories were interesting but rather less satisfying than the overall concept.
A well-earned four stars. ( )