Nine Island
Nine Island by Jane Alison, published by Black Balloon Publishing on September 13, 2016, is a first edition novel comprising 244 pages. This intimate autobiographical narrative follows J, a woman residing in a glass tower on Miami Beach’s Venetian Islands, as she navigates her complex relationship with love and desire. After a tumultuous history with men and a recent reunion with an old flame, J grapples with the idea of withdrawing from romantic connections altogether while translating Ovid’s tales of Eros.
Readers will find a blend of humor and introspection as J reflects on her past and observes the lives of her condo neighbors, including a compassionate nurse who challenges her views on love and life. The novel explores themes of femininity and personal transformation, offering insights into the intricacies of relationships and the human experience. With its literary and biographical elements, Nine Island presents a nuanced examination of love, longing, and the choices we make in the pursuit of connection.
Official synopsis Publisher
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
“Nine Island is a crackling incantation, brittle and brilliant and hot and sad and full of sideways humor that devastates and illuminates all at once.” —Lauren Groff, author of Fates and Furies
Nine Island is an intimate autobiographical novel, told by J, a woman who lives in a glass tower on one of Miami Beach’s lush Venetian Islands. After decades of disaster with men, she is trying to decide whether to withdraw forever from romantic love. Having just returned to Miami from a monthlong reunion with an old flame, “Sir Gold,” and a visit to her fragile mother, J begins translating Ovid’s magical stories about the transformations caused by Eros. “A woman who wants, a man who wants nothing. These two have stalked the world for thousands of years,” she thinks.
When not ruminating over her sexual past and current fantasies, in the company of only her aging cat, J observes the comic, sometimes steamy goings–on among her faded–glamour condo neighbors. One of them, a caring nurse, befriends her, eventually offering the opinion that “if you retire from love . . . then you retire from life.”
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