The Invisible Husband of Frick Island

I loved this book! The characters are so well drawn: from the main characters, Piper and Anders, to the secondary characters: Pearl, Harold, Bobdan, Lady Judy! And even the island itself. I could actually sense being there in my mind! I’m really not great at writing reviews but sometimes a book just speaks to me and I want to share that. This book is one of those.

MJ’s Monday’s MusingsI’ve talked about how books are doorways. Today I’m going to share something else you may not know…Books have voices. This weekend I read a book, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by one of my favorite writers, Colleen Oakley. As I read The Invisible Husband, I was expecting to hear the voices of Maryland Islanders but instead I heard the voice of the author. I kept imagining Ms Oakley at A Capella Books in Atlanta, GA with a group of people including some people who inspired the characters in the book. Every now and then the characters would interject a story and I could then hear the Maryland Islander accents. This introduction of the book and voices is important to the review.I have been looking forward to The Invisible Husband since last year when I heard Ms Oakley had a new book coming out. I previously enjoyed, ‘Before I Go’ (adored) and ‘Close Enough to Touch’ (such a unique premise). And this one really intrigued me – a woman, Piper; whose husband, Tom; had a boating accident and is assumed to have died, acts like he is still alive – and so does the entire island they live on. I thought this would be about grief but as I read about Piper and the Islanders, I felt the story was really talking about mental health. Anders is a reporter who wants to break-in to the big time, hoping to find the next big story so he can become a national podcaster. Currently his following includes about a dozen followers – including his dad. He is assigned a cake walk on Frick Island, learns of Piper & the Islanders acting as if Tom is alive and decides this is the big story he has been dreaming off. He starts a “What the Frick” podcasts. And his followers grow. The Islanders believe he is reporting about the Island and climate change so allow him to come in. As Ander’s follows the story, he becomes closer to Piper and the Islanders. He begins to feel guilty about his podcast because he knows it could hurt everyone, but especially Piper. He finally decides to shutdown the podcast…and then his father shares it with a famous actor and suddenly he has a small following to millions. What’s a guy to do who gets his dream?Throughout the story there are issues of people acting in ways others think is crazy or mental unstable: Piper talking to her dead husband; Tom who stays on an doing the job his ancestors had even though he would rather have been a writer or adventurer; his mother making it through the day with valium; the islanders who know their island, and their way of life, is dying but refusing to change because the “Come Here’s” (those not from the Island) are telling them what to do. This engaging and entertaining story made me think not only about what makes a person mentally unstable but also who is to say what is unhealthy. Is it unhealthy to ignore the advice of others who do not know who you are? Is it unhealthy to ignore something you don’t want to face? Have you ever avoided something you didn’t or imagined reality a little bit different (or a lot) different than what it actually is? And this leads me to the beginning of my musings – is it crazy to “hear” voices while reading a book? I would suggest that if you haven’t ever heard a voice when you have read a book you haven’t read the right book yet. I’m just lucky that I have had many books “speak” to me.

I pre-ordered this book, anticipated liking it, as I’ve enjoyed Oakley’s other novels. She writes well, and the premise sounded unique and intriguing. Piper, a young widow talks to her deceased husband in public. The people of her small coastal town want desperately to assuage her grief, so they go along with her assertion that he’s still alive. Then, there is Anders. He’s a cub reporter assigned to cover an annual cake walk on Frick Island, where Piper lives. Anders is new to the job, eager for the “big story” that will launch his career.Predictably, he stumbles into the “story” of Piper, wondering why the whole town is conspiring to pretend that Piper’s husband is not dead. He thinks he has a “scoop” that will bring in the accolades and recognition that he covets.This is a light, sweet story with humor, tears and a few surprises, but it was a slow, meandering read that took forever to gain momentum and traction. This would have been less noticeable if I had liked the characters more, but they just never lit up the page.

I got to the first 100 pages in no time, but then the whole theme surrounded by climate change lol. A whole island is going to disappear because of climate change and its up the reporter to find out what the residents think! Anyways I haven't picked it back up, ill probably finish it this weekend just so I can go on to the next propaganda read

Very slow. The reveals were anti-climactic, and the characters were boring. Very disappointed in this book because I normally like this author’s work

Frick Island is a small tourist island. The town has one General store, one church, and one bar. However, the island does have one notable event per year—the annual cake walk with a famed multi-layer cake—the more layers of cake the better!Anders’ dream has always been to be Clark Kent—not the Superman, but the slightly geeky reporter. He’s been given the newspaper assignment to cover the town’s annual cakewalk—an event that couldn’t possibly be his Segway into becoming a New York Times bestselling author. But then he sees something unusual on the island. A woman whose husband is lost, and an entire island that goes about the day pretending that he is still around. Could there be a story here?I absolutely loved this book of small island living and the mystery of the missing husband. The characters were quirky and love able, and it’s hard not to fall in love with this island (and this book). I plan to go back and read “You Were There Too” next!

I Get frustrated with books that would move a bit faster is people would just talk to each other. And the main character, Anders, seem to stumble over himself a bit too often, considering he was supposed to be a decent journalist. Still, an enjoyable, lighter read.

A lovely and enjoyable story. An easy read with a few little twists and turns thrown in. Great characters and setting.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a charming and light hearted romance with a twist of mystery that keeps the pages turning! I read it on the recommendation of the Emily Giffin book club and can definitely see myself reading more of Colleen’s work in the future.