Perhaps the enduring attraction to island life isn’t just to get away from the rest of it, or to enjoy a dreamed of climate and lush fruit, but also a sense – real or imagined – of whittling down to essentials, as desert islanders whittle driftwood.

‘Islands feed an appetite for the absolute.’

See also the quote rich mosaic review of this magnificent, entrancing book: a love letter to islands and a paean to the sea. 

Source: Adam Nicolson, Sea Room: An Island Life (London: Harper Collins, 2013 (2002)), p. 155

Photo credit: Annie Spratt at unsplash.com