The Island of Books
A fifteenth-century portrait painter, grieving the untimely death of his unrequited love, takes refuge at the monastery at Mont Saint-Michel, an island off the coast of France. He haunts the halls until the monks assign him the task of copying manuscripts – though he is illiterate. His work heals him and grows the monastery's library into a beautiful city of books, all under the shadow of the invention of the printing press. Dominique Fortier is an editor and translator living in Montreal. She is the author of five books, including On the Proper Use of Stars and Wonder. Rhonda Mullins is an award-winning translator and writer living in Montreal, Quebec.
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Like others have mentioned, this was a disappointing read. Based on the premise outlined in the blurb on the back I expected there to be some sort of more obvious connection between both narrators. Instead, it felt very disjointed and a lot of the time was difficult to follow who was actually speaking. In the end, the author's narration ended up adding very little to it.
One positive thing I'll say is that the book itself as a physical object is quite a nice thing to hold in your hands. A page at the back describes the paper used and the printing process and it paid off in my opinion.