Brides of Rollrock Island

They belonged under the waves and they still do.”

The men of Rollrock Island do not meet their wives in the typical way. They get their wives from the sea. Based on the mythological creature known as a selkie, the women of Rollrock are seals who have shed their skin; and their skins are then hidden to prevent them from returning to the sea. Misskaella, a local witch, uses magic to coax the women from their skins. She makes her living bringing these women to Rollrock; and as a result, most of the men are indebted to her. They will promise anything for a seal-wife and Misskaella is happy to abide. No human woman can compare and once a man has one of his own, he is bewitched. However, not all is paradise on this island inhabited by men, seal-wives, and their children.

Each chapter tells the story of the inhabitants of Rollrock Island from a different point of view. With each chapter we are let deeper into the lives of the islanders. Margo Lanagan’s writing is exquisitely poetic. She has a way with words and she shapes a marvelously realized world that ensnares the reader and draws them in. The seaside setting, as much as the earthy characters, creates an amazing and beautiful tale of cruelty, loneliness, desire, freedom and love. It is unlike anything I have ever read.