By: Meghan Mazzaferro
Fire on the Island by Timothy Jay Smith takes place on the Greek island of Vourvoulos, and follows Greek-American FBI agent Nick Damigos as he investigates a series of fires drawing ever nearer to the village, while developing an unexpected relationship with a younger man. Set against the backdrop of Greece’s growing refugee crisis, and exploring tensions of religion, sexual orientation, nationality, and more, this novel seeks to explore all the elements of a conservative village that can drive someone to explode, while also proving to the reader that the village’s occupants do not deserve their fate.
This book does an excellent job of establishing the village of Vourvoulos and its occupants. Each character has a distinct voice and story, with clear motivations and conscious actions that all come together in surprising and compelling ways. Each character’s story fits into the plot, but more importantly, every one feels as though they exist beyond the story Smith is trying to tell. Many of the storylines are compelling, and Smith excelled at making me invested in each character, even if I didn’t necessarily like all of them.
There is a deft handling of the complex politics at play within the book’s story. Smith explores the realities of the refugee crisis, presenting the racism and xenophobic fears that plague the people of Vourvoulos without validating them. Likewise, he explores the mindsets of both immigrants and refugees with an unbiased but considerate eye, highlighting most of all the importance of understanding and kindness for other human beings regardless of their circumstances.
Where Smith thrives is in character building and exploring the romances at play throughout the story. Nick and Takis’s relationship is well developed, engaging with the stigmas of same-sex relationships within a conservative village through a tender but realistic lens, while the turbulence of Athina and Ridi’s romance reflects the changing nature of relationships for late teens—from casual flings to real emotional connections. Likewise, Smith handles most of the novel’s subplots well, particularly those regarding Father Alexis and the church, which were some of the most engaging chapters to read.
Where the novel falls short, however, is the mystery. While I enjoyed following Nick on his investigation, the novel lacked the sense of urgency that I needed to get invested in the growing threat to the village. Had the novel simply been a contemporary exploration of the realities of life in a Greek village for those outside the conservative norm, I think it would have excelled, but with one of the main plots concerning the rising threat of arson and the motivations behind it, I was missing a sense of franticness and suspense from either the narrative or Nick.
The climax, in which the arsonist’s identity is revealed while the village is at the brink of destruction, also falls flat. Smith’s voice, which so perfectly captures the slow rhythm of daily life on the island, does not translate well to a startling discovery and desperate attempt to prevent disaster, and the reveal falls flat.
That being said, Fire on the Island is an excellent novel in its character building and exploration of the complicated experience of life on a small Greek island. I would advise prospective readers to approach it as a contemporary life study exploring the politics and experience of life in Vourvoulos, and to consider the mystery a subplot rather than a major element of the story. That way you will be able to enjoy the excellence that is the rest of the book without feeling underwhelmed by the resolution of the arson plot, which is the only weak element of the book. As the main plot, this lessens the entire story, but as a subplot, it is simply one weak thread of an otherwise captivating work.