The Isle in the Silver Sea is a sapphic love story set in an alternate version of London during a nonspecific time period. This London is a place located on an isle that is made entirely from the power of stories and their characters. Recognisable parts of London, UK are referred to in the story, which felt a little incongruous. This is such a fantastical storybook world that I felt it would have been better in a completely fictional setting – unless this is meant as a political comment about the UK’s methods of dealing with refugees arriving on rafts in recent years, which is a possibility. There is certainly a theme of bigotry and intolerance of ‘the other’ running throughout the novel. Simran and her parents are from ‘Elsewhere’, travelling over the Silver Sea when Simran was very young, running from something unexplained to the safety of the Isle. They lose their memories of their home and their Punjabi language – their very identities – as they become embroiled in London and its stories.
In this world, certain people known as ‘incarnates’ are forced by their nature to reenact stories they are tied to. On their deaths, they are reincarnated and the new incarnate finds themself tied to the same story, repeating the actions of their predecessor. The main characters in the novel, Simran and Vina, are incarnates tied to a tale called The Knight and the Witch. They are bound to meet, fall in love and for the Knight to kill the Witch by command of their Eternal Queen. Simran is the incarnate of the Witch, and Vina is the Knight.
For many incarnations, the Witch has been trying to alter her story and free the Isle, since it is failing, and entire parts are disappearing along with the stories associated with those locations. Her ability to wield ‘limni ink’, in which these stories are written, is unusual for a witch, and she hopes to use this skill to change the fate of both herself and her Knight by rewriting their story.
The archivists who look after the stories and ensure the Isle is preserved are suspicious of people from Elsewhere, destroying any stories they discover from Elsewhere. Simran hides her true nature from them since incarnates are usually born and bred on the Isle itself. Simran is considered ‘other’ from the beginning, but she decides that this can work in her favour. Her abilities with ink are unusual, and she keeps them secret, knowing they will draw unwanted attention to her. Vina is also an unusual incarnate of the Knight. Female, her golden skin shows her to be from Elsewhere at some point in her familial line as well. She has had a difficult childhood without warmth, and when she meets the Witch and begins to fall in love with her, the full effects of tenderness and all the emotions she has been missing hit her, overwhelming her for a while.
Their love story is carefully approached by Suri, and the emotions felt by these two mismatched characters are palpable. They are both cautious, unsure of their feelings. Is it the tale they are bound to that is driving them towards each other, or real emotion? They have to figure this out before they can trust their feelings.
Part Two of the novel brings us a second incarnation of these characters. This, unfortunately, made the novel feel disjointed in my opinion. The story of The Knight and the Witch plays out to its expected conclusion in Part One, and then we find ourselves reading about the next incarnates of those two characters, having already become very invested in the lives of the original Simran and Vina. This second version of the Witch did not feel as fully fleshed out to me and was not as engaging a character as Simran. I found myself urging her to get a move on with her story and listen to the voice in her head. I found her stubbornness and delay in continuing Simran’s goals frustrating. The second Vina, however, was more well-rounded, having had a happy childhood in comparison to her predecessor. Vina’s happy childhood contrasted with that of the second Simran, who was locked in a tower for her childhood and not given a name – simply referred to as The Witch.
The theme of found family is strong in this novel, with the first Simran’s chosen best friend Hari, being her closest family member and ally. He gathers an unexpected partner during Simran’s tale, and in their next incarnation, the new Vina becomes closer to the couple than even the first Simran was.
The pace of the novel is fairly steady throughout. There are twists and occasional fights and deaths, but these are not always given a lot of emotional weight, and the stakes do not feel as high as they ought to in certain situations. The overall feeling is of a dreamlike fantasy where death is not such a big deal, since many of the characters are either eternal or will return as new incarnates. The novel’s ending was satisfying enough, but I found myself wishing the previous incarnates had been able to enjoy the fruits of their labour, rather than their reincarnations.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the advanced review copy. My review is honest.
