The Notted Island

Katherine Child’s debut novel is gentle, witty and strikingly original, enhanced by her own characterful and delicate line drawings, some of which, we are promised, will be in colour in the published edition. Last Island’s night sky is the responsibility of the Nott, who should make sure that it arrives at the right time every night. However, the Nott has not been doing her job properly and the island’s inhabitants have become impatient. Their mood is not improved by the failure of colour to arrive on the island, even though the islanders have been on their best behaviour to encourage it. A plausible salesman aims to provide an answer to both these problems by installing an automated night sky. Umbertiska Lupp, who would like to be a Nott one day, (the clue is in her first name), thinks the present Nott should be given another chance and sets off north to find her and to find the river or wood sprites, who, with other important persons, have the right to say no to the salesman and his sky. This is the story of her journey, on which she is accompanied by Jink, the shadow of a sundial, and dogged by the salesman, who suspects her purpose. It ends with meeting the Nott and with a spectacular attempt by the salesman to drown Nott’s sky and install his own. I found this a difficult book to review. There was a lot I liked about it. It is full of delightfully quirky invention: the Nott and the fabric sky waiting to be drawn over like a starry curtain; the detachable shadow; and the listenberries that can also talk that Tisk meets along the way. The illustrations are a perfect match. Yet, it doesn’t feel fully realised and it is certainly cramped by the cut down 130-page proof copy format that I read. The published edition might give it more scope.