“This island feels like some mad doctor’s lab experiment”—so says one of the fictional residents of Nantucket Island, the setting of John Vanderslice’s extraordinary story collection Island Fog. But Vanderslice is by no means a mad doctor, though he is definitely one insanely talented writer. In the eleven literary experiments that comprise his book, he brilliantly parses the soul of America from 1795 to 2005 through the microcosm of Nantucket Island. To borrow the words of yet another of his characters, he conveys “the awful weight of history pressing down upon the island” and conveys it so viscerally that we feel that “time has stopped or has circled around on itself” and we are “back inside that living spiraling body, that awful protean force” that was, and is, not just the island but America. This is a book that anyone interested in the grand, failed experiment that is America should read. It will open your eyes, and your heart.
David Jauss, author of Glossolalia and Black Maps
In this quirky yet captivating collection of ten stories and two novellas, all set on Nantucket, the island is both microcosm and prism, through which the reader catches illuminated glimpses of American life, from the hard, dangerous times of the whaling community to the present-day tony resort of the super-wealthy—and yet the same problems beset the inhabitants through the centuries: racism, class exploitation, sexual identity, envy and fidelity. The essence of all the fictions is “the awful weight of history pressing down upon the island”, and in a twenty-first century America struggling to reconstruct its identity, the reader cannot but hope that the idyllic and mythic island might give us a clue about who we are. And yet in the final novella, “Island Fog”, a chilling tour-de-force worthy of Chesterton or Borges, we find ourselves in a place so far from reality that, like its hapless and trapped protagonist, we wonder if we are doomed to play parts in someone else’s fantasies forever. John Vanderslice is a writer of vision and this is a haunting, essential collection.
Garry Craig Powell, author of Stoning the Devil
John Vanderslice's Island Fog is far more than just a collection of stories. Tied together by a place and its history, the collection tells the story of Nantucket Island through the desperate lives and conflicts, hopes and sorrows of its inhabitants. I began reading the collection assuming it was for folks who have known or loved Nantucket and by the third story I was convinced that Island Fog is for anyone who loves good stories, beautifully told, with a good slice of the twisted history of humanity thrown in.”
Robert Hicks, author of The Widow of the South and A Separate Country
Press Release:
Digital Galley:
Cover Images for promotional purposes:
Small image for email.
My Thoughts
Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, state of Massachusetts and this is where Island Fog takes place. A series of short stories that all take place on this island starting in 1795 to 2005. A chilling range of stories that feature believable characters, interesting plots and above all great writing. A very unique take on an island and it's people. The themes of the stories were about bigotry, jealousy, duplicity, greed, religious oppression, and murder.
This is a book that you will want to read in one sitting if you can. Each stories just gets better overall written by an accomplished author who knows how to tell a story and definitely knows the history of Nantucket. I really enjoyed it!
I was given a copy of the book for review and was not monetarily compensated for said review.
Hailey Holloway has a serious knack with running from her problems. At the first sign of trouble she can be found lacing up her Nikes and hitting the road. Dacea has been patient with her, but a man can only handle so much. He told her before that he would not chase after her again and is he nothing, if not a man of his word. Katherine is more than happy to pick at the wound that festers between them. If she picks enough, she just might make one or both of them bleed.
K.C. Stewart lives in central Pennsylvania with her three cats. She is currently attending college online for Library Science while working full time as a photographer. 
