Wolfe Bay, set in the indeterminate near future, is a bleak book: it foreshadows the annihilation of home due to the rising oceans. However what it also shows is that catastrophe can bring out both the best and worst in people, often to their own surprise.
In a departure from the Australian setting of the award-winning Salt Creek (see my review) the central character of this novel lives in America. Kitty Hawke lives alone on high ground on (fictional*) Wolfe Island in Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where she creates art from the debris of summer houses lost to the sea. She is estranged from her husband and daughter on the mainland, and her son has died in circumstances not revealed until late in the book. She is not self-sufficient because the rising salt affects her attempts to grow vegetables, so she travels occasionally to the mainland to buy supplies and to sell her art to her agent. But other than that she has very little contact with other people and she likes it that way.
Over at the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, Caroline Lodge has been posting all month about older women in literature. It’s hard to know how much traction this initiative has had, but the reasons for it are obvious: the depiction of older women tends to be stereotypical even amongst contemporary authors. But that’s not a trap Lucy Treloar has fallen into…
It’s not quite clear how old Kitty is because both her daughter and granddaughter were/are very young mothers. But Kitty has acquired the patina of the older woman through her lifestyle. She lives independently on an island that everyone else has abandoned, and to the people on the mainland, she seems eccentric. Her husband is baffled by her defection: he does not understand her creative impulse. She lives for her art; she is wholly absorbed by it. She thinks about creating her ‘makings’ as she takes her walks over what’s left of the island, and she ‘disappears’ for days on end when creating.
With weather-beaten skin and hair, Kitty dresses as she pleases, for comfort and practicality, with no thought of fashion or pleasing others. While warmth is crucial to survival in the hostile weather, food and cooking is not important to her, not unless it becomes a source of comfort to others, and she has had to compromise anyway because some foods are no longer available. She has had her share of threats from men who’d thought she was vulnerable and learned otherwise, and she’s experienced their cowardly forms of revenge that take place when she isn’t there. Her armour is her mature acceptance of things she cannot change. The past is there, and there is much to regret and be blamed for, but it cannot be changed.
Because she lives alone, she has become a little set in her ways. But she is strong and capable, and she’s a quick thinker. Crucially, she can adapt to changing circumstances, and as the plot progresses she reveals latent skills (including some that shock) and a capacity for strategy. What surprises her, because she has done without love and family for so long, is her own resurgent love for the people that matter to her.
The catalyst for change is the unexpected arrival of three adolescents and a child. Kitty’s granddaughter Cat has brought her boyfriend Josh, and they need to lie low from some kind of unspecified activism for a while. With them are siblings Luis and Alejandra, who are ‘runners’, part of a phenomenon that is reminiscent of the migration crisis in the US. (Or anywhere else that has shut its borders and is actively expelling ‘illegals’). Their mother has been captured in circumstances not explained till late in the novel, and Luis uses the internet at Kitty’s place to search for answers and solutions, while little Alejandra — suffering some kind of post-traumatic anxiety — gradually learns to make friends with Kitty’s wolfdog Girl and to trust Kitty as a protector.
The presence of these four on the island, however, changes everything. The origins of Luis and Alejandra are never specified, but the spelling of their names suggests that they are illegal immigrants (i.e. without papers) from the south. Their quest to reach the north suggests Canada with its humane response to the migrant crisis, as a refuge. In the remote area of the novel, such refugees are hunted not only by the authorities, but also by hostile males armed with powerful guns. These men have a frontier mentality and they know that the murder of people without papers will have no consequences. When Cat and Josh continue their reckless activism, events escalate, tearing Kitty out of her comfort zone and triggering actions that she had never anticipated.
This harrowing narrative is propelled along by a quest for safety among hostile people and an unpredictable environment. The waters closing in on Kitty’s island are no metaphor. Readers know (from the Pacific Island Forum, if they didn’t before) that rising oceans are encroaching on island communities, and though what’s different about Treloar’s scenario is that Wolfe Island is a summer holiday destination rather than a community’s only home, the hostility to people seeking a new place to live is no fantasy. In a welcoming place called Freedom, Kitty asks herself, ‘what makes these people so different?’ Later, she learns that they are welcoming to people in transit, not to anyone who wants to stay.
I have barely scratched the surface of the opportunities for discussion in this powerful new title. There are not many reviews around at the moment because the book has only just been released, but Marie Matteson at Readings loved it too.
*There are two Wolfe Islands in Canada, one in Ontario and the other in Nova Scotia, but Chesapeake Bay is in is an estuary in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia. Its waters exit to the Atlantic Ocean. As far as I can tell from an internet search, there is no Wolfe Bay in Chesapeake Bay.
Author: Lucy Treloar
Title: Wolfe Island
Publisher: Picador (Pan Macmillan), 2019, 389 pages
ISBN: 9781760553159
Review copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia
Available from Fishpond: Wolfe Island. You can also buy it as an eBook from the Macmillan website.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
I loved ‘Salt Creek’. I’ll add this to my list. Thank you for sharing.
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By: Jennifer on August 30, 2019
at 3:13 pm
Yes, I loved it too. The Coorong is such a special place:)
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By: Lisa Hill on August 30, 2019
at 4:55 pm
I still haven’t read Salt Creek, so I haven’t read this review past para 2, but it’s good to see her with another book out.
BTW Kitty Hawke, immediately brought to mind Kitty Hawk in North Carolina where the Wright Brothers did their first plane flight. I guess there’s no sense that her name was chosen with that in mind?
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By: whisperinggums on August 30, 2019
at 5:14 pm
The naming is explained right at the very beginning of the book: “My father always said with a name like Kitty Hawke I’d surely fly away.”
But, to be honest, I think this rather forced choice of name is the one false note in an otherwise pitch-perfect narrative.
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By: Lisa Hill on August 30, 2019
at 5:26 pm
Interesting. She clearly thought about it.
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By: whisperinggums on August 30, 2019
at 5:44 pm
Wow, this sounds like a must read for me. I love books with a good narrative but with plenty of meaty issues
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By: BookerTalk on August 30, 2019
at 6:30 pm
Yes, I think you’ll like this one.
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By: Lisa Hill on August 30, 2019
at 7:41 pm
unfortunately not . having much luck tracking it down in the UK. Might have to contact the publishers direct
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By: BookerTalk on August 31, 2019
at 9:51 pm
I know it sounds b8izarre, but try Gallic Books – they published her previous one in the UK.
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By: Lisa Hill on September 1, 2019
at 9:25 am
Ok, thanks for the idea
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By: BookerTalk on September 2, 2019
at 7:02 am
Fantastic review. I have this but just haven’t gotten to it yet. Very soon!
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By: Theresa Smith Writes on August 30, 2019
at 8:53 pm
You’re going to love it!
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By: Lisa Hill on August 30, 2019
at 9:55 pm
I like that contemporary Lit.Fic has so wholeheartedly embraced dystopian, hard not to I suppose without being willfully blind. A shame that an Australian author has chosen not to depict Australia/Australians (the refugees could have been making their way to NZ – I know I would). Salt Creek is still unread on the shelves behind me, so much catching up to do. (I’m currently re-reading Tasma, so I guess it’s no-one’s fault but my own).
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By: wadholloway on September 1, 2019
at 9:48 am
According to Jane Rawson in The Handbook, the wilfully rich have already bought up anything congenial in Tasmania and NZ.
I wonder if there’s a writer out there working on a novel about Pacific nations refugees ‘invading’ Australia because their islands are under water.
I do find myself wondering what form their anger might take…
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By: Lisa Hill on September 1, 2019
at 10:47 am
Thank you so much for another fabulous review, Lisa! Salt Creek was a stunner and thanks to you, her new novel is definitely on the list of books to read!
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By: Annette Marfording on September 1, 2019
at 4:07 pm
[…] women and five set in America by women (two of which were by Australian women, Toni Jordan and Lucy Treloar) but to get a pass on this I would have to mess around a lot with the geography and I cannot be […]
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By: 2019 Reading Women Challenge (Goodreads) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on September 21, 2019
at 11:51 am
Just finished this and was enthralled from beginning to end. So much to think about. Her writing is sublime. If I read this instead of listening to it I think I would have broken my golden rule of not defacing books by highlighting sections of texts, in a way I’m disappointed as I now can’t go back to reread those parts that really stood out for me.
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By: sharkell on October 20, 2019
at 7:21 pm
It’s great, isn’t it?!
Who’s the narrator on the audio book?
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By: Lisa Hill on October 20, 2019
at 8:57 pm
Abbe Holmes – she did Kitty’s island accent beautifully
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By: sharkell on October 20, 2019
at 9:08 pm
I’m a bit tempted to scout out a copy. Now that I don’t have a lengthy commute I tend not to have opportunities for listening to audio books but perhaps I could try it as an accompaniment to some long overdue weeding…
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By: Lisa Hill on October 20, 2019
at 9:31 pm
Ha ha – I listen to so many audios while working, driving, and doing household chores. I’ve listened to 13 so far this year
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By: sharkell on October 20, 2019
at 9:34 pm
I used to go through one a week, but now? A tank of petrol lasts me 4-6 weeks!
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By: Lisa Hill on October 20, 2019
at 10:23 pm
[…] Lucy Treloar, Wolfe Island: novel, Lisa’s review […]
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By: Monday musings on Australian literature: ABC Bookshelf’s top Aussie reads 2019 | Whispering Gums on December 16, 2019
at 11:00 pm
[…] Wolfe Island, by Lucy Treloar […]
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By: 2019 ANZLitLovers Australian and New Zealand Best Books of the Year | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 24, 2019
at 5:10 pm
[…] Wolfe Island, by Lucy Treloar […]
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By: 2019 ANZLitLovers Australian and New Zealand Best Books of the Year | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 24, 2019
at 5:10 pm
[…] month’s book is Lucy Treloar’s beaut new novel Wolfe Island. And yes, I’ve read […]
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By: Six Degrees of Separation: from Fleishman is in Trouble, to … | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on February 1, 2020
at 4:52 pm
[…] Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 ABIA Longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 2, 2020
at 8:59 pm
[…] Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar, Pan Macmillan, 2019, see my review […]
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By: Book Industry for Climate Action Group (BICAG) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 3, 2020
at 1:07 pm
[…] month’s #6Degrees starts with Wolfe Island. It’s Lucy Treloar’s stunning follow-up to her debut novel Salt Creek. Follow the […]
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By: Six Degrees of Separation: from Wolfe Island, to … | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 7, 2020
at 12:51 pm
[…] Wolfe Island (Lucy Treloar, Picador), see my review […]
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By: NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2020 shortlists | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 20, 2020
at 9:11 pm
[…] Wolfe Island (Lucy Treloar, Picador), see my review […]
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By: 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards winners | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on April 26, 2020
at 10:34 pm
[…] Literary Fiction Book of the Year Damascus, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin) The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin), see my review The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton), see my review There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia), see my review Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 ABIA Book of the Year shortlists | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on April 29, 2020
at 11:47 am
[…] Literary Fiction Book of the Year Damascus, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin) The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin), see my review The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton), see my review There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia), see my review Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 ABIA Book of the Year shortlists | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on April 29, 2020
at 11:47 am
[…] Literary Fiction Book of the Year Damascus, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin) The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin), see my review The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton), see my review There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia), see my review Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 ABIA Book of the Year winners | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on May 13, 2020
at 9:17 pm
[…] Lucy Treloar, Wolfe Island (Pan Macmillan Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 Voss Literary Prize longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on September 15, 2020
at 11:36 am
[…] Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award shortlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on October 1, 2020
at 9:48 pm
[…] Helen Garner to tell us that it’s certainly not the case in Western culture. If you read the introduction to my review of Wolfe Island, you will see that this issue of representation has been explored in some depth at the Global […]
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By: Six Degrees of Separation: from The Turn of the Screw, to…. | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on October 3, 2020
at 2:43 pm
[…] Fiction Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany, Text Publishing, see my review The Death of Jesus, J. M. Coetzee, Text Publishing The Weekend, Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin, see my review The Yield, Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton: Penguin Random House, see my review Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar, Picador: Pan Macmillan, see my review […]
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By: 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 13, 2020
at 8:03 pm
[…] Lucy Treloar’s Wolfe Island (Lisa’s review) […]
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By: Barbara Jefferis Award 2020 Winner Announced | Whispering Gums on November 18, 2020
at 4:34 pm
[…] Read my review here. […]
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By: 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award winner: Lucy Treloar | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 18, 2020
at 5:51 pm