Vet Charlotte Walker takes up the offer to study tortoises
on the remote island of Tuga. Reptiles are her passion, but she has another
motive. Charlotte believes the father she’s never met is from Tuga.
Francesca Segal has created a charming fictional
island, filled with eccentric characters, in Welcome To Glorious Tuga.
Tuga is a tiny British overseas territory, miles from anywhere, that is cut off
from visitors for half the year. When you set foot on Tuga it is like being
transported back in time – some say to the 50s but they are unsure if that’s
the 1950s or the 1850s.
Despite the location and other drawbacks of Tuga, Charlotte
Walker jumps at the chance of a year-long study of the tortoises native to the
island. Charlotte is an introvert, better with animals than people, and focused
on her study. She does, however, have an ulterior motive for visiting the
island. Her mother has never disclosed to her the identity of her father. Just
one small clue has convinced Charlotte that her father is Tugan.
During the long sea voyage to Tuga, Charlotte continually
suffers from sea sickness. Luckily, one of the other passengers, Dan Zekri, is
a doctor. Dan is from Tuga and is returning home after living in England. Over
the course of the journey, a friendship is formed, and Charlotte has dreams
that it could blossom into something more.
The island is populated by a host of engaging characters,
some of whom are used to great effect to further the storyline. One of those
characters is the island “bad boy” Levi. Charlotte is initially cold and
unfriendly towards Levi, she sees him as rough and uncultured. Levi doesn’t
have a high opinion of Charlotte either, seeing her as aloof and unfriendly.
You can see immediately where this storyline is heading – will Charlotte end up
with Dan or Levi?
While I found it easy to fall in love with Tuga and its
inhabitants, I just didn’t warm to Charlotte; I didn’t really care about what
happened to her. I also felt that the pacing was a bit erratic. Huge time jumps
seemed to come out of nowhere, with little explanation. Characters such as Levi
and Taki brought the story alive; for others, such as Grand Mary, I couldn’t
see the point in why they had such a prominent role in the story.
Welcome To Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal
will be published on 6th June 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio
format. My thanks to NetGalley and Chatto & Windus for a review copy.
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