THE VISITORS
In the tradition of Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks,
Simon Sylvester brings an ancient myth to life
with this lush, atmospheric coming-of-age tale.
Nobody comes to the remote Scottish island of
Bancree, and seventeen-year-old Flora can’t wait
to move to the mainland when she finishes school.
So when a mysterious man and his daughter, Ailsa,
move into isolated Dog Cottage, Flora is curious.
What could have brought these strangers to the island?
Meanwhile, several of the men on Bancree have disappeared,
In the tradition of Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks,
Simon Sylvester brings an ancient myth to life
with this lush, atmospheric coming-of-age tale.
Nobody comes to the remote Scottish island of
Bancree, and seventeen-year-old Flora can’t wait
to move to the mainland when she finishes school.
So when a mysterious man and his daughter, Ailsa,
move into isolated Dog Cottage, Flora is curious.
What could have brought these strangers to the island?
Meanwhile, several of the men on Bancree have disappeared, unnerving the
community. When a body washes ashore, suspicion turns to the newcomers.
But Flo suspects something else, even though it seems impossible. She asks
local residents for anything they know about “selkies,” the mythical women
who can turn from seal to human and back again.
Convinced of her new neighbors’ innocence, Flo is fiercely determined to
protect her friend Ailsa. Can the answer to the disappearances, and to the
pull of her own heart, lie out there, beyond the waves?
- Melville House Books
- Paperback
- December 2015
- 368 Pages
- 9781612194639
Buy the Book
$18.95
About Simon Sylvester
Simon Sylvester is a writer, teacher, and occasional
filmmaker. After working as a camera assistant and journalist, he began
writing fiction, and his short stories are published regularly in literary
journals. He lives in Cumbria with his partner and their daughter.
Praise
“Fantastic descriptions of island life, of the diesel-spluttering ferry that
forms Brancree’s tenuous connection with the rest of the world and of the
moods of the sea around it. Lovely . . . Sylvester has a gift for storytelling.”—Sam Jordison, The Guardian
“A contemporary twist on an old fisherman’s myth complete with an
immensely atmospheric setting, a strong yet sympathetic central character
and a missing persons mystery that’ll keep you guessing till all is said and
done—and then some—The Visitors has everything including the girl going
for it . . . An astonishingly assured debut.”—Tor.com
Discussion Questions
How does starting the novel with Richard’s departure
set the tone for introducing us to Flora’s life in Bancree?
How does abandonment and loss play into the lives of
Flora and Ailsa as well as the novel’s larger plot?
In what way does the setting play a role in the story?
Early critics highlighted the novel’s evocative portrait of Bancree—
how do characters seem to relate to the island, and how are the events
that take place in the novel shaped by it?
The novel is also about changing, growing up, and leaving. Besides
the narrator, Flo, which character seems to change the most over the
course of the story? How does changing tie into the selkie stories Flo
hears—and what distinction does the novel make between changing
and revealing existing character traits?
What about selkie mythology do you think captivates Flora? Were
there parts that hooked you, too?
Why do you think some of the selkie tales are narrated differently than
the rest of the novel? Does any coherent picture of selkies emerge, or
are Izzy and John’s stories ultimately irreconcilable?
How do the string of disappearances both act as a cause and work as
a figurative metaphor for Bancree’s economic decline? Even after the
case is solved, why do you think the overall decline isn’t abetted?
Flora becomes disenchanted with selkie folklore after she realizes that
“The selkie myth was a suppression of female sexuality” (pg. 270).
How does the ending work to change this? Does it succeed?
What seems to be the role of the epilogue, and what sort of information
is disclosed there? Why might there be an epilogue instead of, say,
another chapter?
The Visitors places an emphasis on storytelling, recounting myths and
reinterpreting them. Ultimately the book introduces two conflicting
points of view regarding storytelling: Izzy, who believes that myths
should be recounted orally, and Flo, who writes down Izzy’s and other
storytellers’ tales. Given this divergence of viewpoints, how does The
Visitors seem to juggle what we do with stories? What shapes Izzy’s
and Flo’s views about stories?