The Potter's House

By Rosie Thomas

This novel is set on the small Greek island of Halemni where Olivia, an Englishwoman, lives an almost idyllic existence with her husband Xan and their two young children. An earthquake ravages the Turkish coast, sending a tsunami across the island.

Kitty, another Englishwoman, on holiday in Turkey suddenly finds herself on Halemni. After her marriage crumbles Kitty's world collapses. She therefore decides to flee London for Turkey, for a break. Without any possessions Kitty accepts Olivia's offer of refuge in the potter's house.

With Olivia's help Kitty soon settles well on the island and becomes well liked by the local inhabitants. There are a number of misunderstandings between Kitty and Olivia. Their initial friendship dissolves due to these misunderstandings and Olivia's feelings of insecurity towards Kitty.

The story starts out well enough but there really is no proper ending. You end up feeling like something is missing, which I always find is very frustrating after having read the entire story ending up expecting more than I got.