David*Macinnis*Gill.com

Review of GRAHAM SALISBURY: ISLAND BOY by David Macin­nis Gill

School Library Jour­nal
(Decem­ber 1, 2005; 0–8108-5338–8; 978–0-8108–5338-6)

“Part lit­er­ary analy­sis and part biog­ra­phy, this is a well-balanced look at an unusual tal­ent, a writer who has an eye for the frail­ties of life and the rites of ado­les­cence. Gill dis­cusses how grow­ing up in Hawaii in the ‘50s influ­enced Salisbury’s writ­ing and does a fine job of show­ing the com­plex­ity of his work. He high­lights Salisbury’s reoc­cur­ring use of arche­typal sym­bol­ism, or hero char­ac­ters, pit­ted against the vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties of humankind. Temp­ta­tion, coer­cion, and weak­ness are sys­temic themes in Salisbury’s fic­tion. But, as in real life, redemp­tion is not achieved sim­ply, or con­trived for a tidy end­ing. This is an excep­tion­ally well-researched book. Teach­ers will find good excerpts to use with their stu­dents, help­ing them to gain a more thor­ough com­pre­hen­sion of Salisbury’s talent.”

–Ali­son Fol­los, North Coun­try School, Lake Placid, NY

Copy­right 2005 Reed Busi­ness Information.