I would like to thank Fairlight Books for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Fairlight Books

Published – Out Now

Price – £14.99 Hardback £3.99 Kindle eBook

In an island community facing extinction, can hope rise stronger than grief?

Sisi de Mathilde lives on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. With the seas rising, the birth rate plummeting and her community under threat, she works as a scientist, reporting on local climate conditions to help protect her island home. But her life is thrown into turmoil when she finds herself newly widowed and unexpectedly pregnant.

When a group of outsiders arrive and try to persuade her community to abandon the island, Sisi is caught between the sacred ‘old ways’ of her ancestors and the possibilities offered by the outside world. As tensions rise and the islanders turn on one another, Sisi must fight to save her home, her people and her unborn child.

At the core all stories are about decisions to or sometimes to not act. We want the anticipation of what will the characters decide and what will be the consequences of their decision. That can cover the fate of the galaxy or a much smaller intimate tale affecting a single person’s life. In Lorraine Wilson’s fascinating Mother Sea, we have a tale mixing questions of science and progress with belief and the power of communities where the key question is what is the right course of action?

The small island community is facing a dangerous future. The island is increasingly prone to rising sea levels caused by climate change and more immediately the population is facing a dangerous deadly version of tetanus that is killing its children just after birth. Acting as bridge is the local Sisi de Mathilde who works on scientific studies and yet now Sisi is widowed and her best friend is due to have a baby very soon. She starts to wonder what is the best course of action to take? Should she take risks to save her friend’s child?  On the Island arrives Kit is a relative of the local governor who is hiding a troubled recent path and seeks to hide and run from the world for a final time. These two characters will find a way to bond but the right course of action may not make anyone truly happy.

 I enjoyed this story which is very much not allowing any easy answers for the characters or situation. Its not a case of good and evil – more choices that don’t mean a complete victory or a truly happy ending. With the setting of Awais Khan we have a community facing ultimate destruction but very much have tried to do their best regardless – allowing scientists to study the island; changing crops and flood damage work. But we know the future predictions all say this cannot last long. For the inhabitants this is a difficult area to face. They believe strongly in the power of Brother Island and Mother Sea being the home they found many centuries ago. Their home is woven into their beliefs and traditions. Who would dare to say that can end? Kit finds himself seeing the more geopolitical economics other forces wish to use on the Island and finds himself despite his reservations getting involved but will his decisions do more harm than good? Wilson weaves themes of environmental decay and capitalist greed with a more human focused tale of survival and maintaining a community to great effect.

For Sisi who has very much wanted to explore science and eventually leave the Island she has instead been trapped. Pushed into marriage into a man she didn’t really love and now widowed and pregnant on an island where babies are catching a terrifying disease. Her natural desire to support science pushes her into trying to persuade her community that they should trust scientists with their infants, but Sisi finds not every scientist knows the answer. This starts to separate her from community, and she finds herself crossing Kit. It’s a tale of navigating a difficult world and deciding on a decision that forces us as readers to decide well what would we do? Its not easy. I really valued that there is no magic wand on display here and as the tale ends more challenges await everyone.

Wilson paints a fascinating picture of a picturesque island filled with natural wonders but also prey to natural disaster. Even finding a cure for disease may not save their world. Another conflict arises when one of the Island’s Mothers (a respected set of leaders) start to ponder if letting the outside world in has led to more harm than good. What I enjoyed is none of these are poorly thought put decisions there is an internal logic the characters must now navigate but Wilson makes people talk to one another trying to get to the best outcome which is always refreshing!

Overall, a tale that mixes science with religion with ethics makes this a fascinating tale that is unusual, refreshing and thought-provoking. What a good story always needs to deliver and yet another sign that Lorraine Wilson is a writer to watch out for.