Review by Ian Keogh
Because the comedy antics of daft characters so dominate weekly comic The Phoenix and subsequent collections, it’s easy to forget it also serialises other, more touching material and there’s regularly a quiet heart. Tosh’s Island is an example, with Linda Sargent fictionalising her own experiences in collaboration with Joe Brady.
Sargent begins by reflecting on her pastoral youth on an English farm during the 1960s, using Tosh as her avatar. Tosh is extremely active, but all of a sudden running and cycling hurts and she always feels tired. Alarm bells will start ringing when her visit to the doctor about her concerns results in her being dismissed as having an overactive imagination. Some readers may recognise the onset of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but a different condition is eventually diagnosed.
Tosh does have a prodigious imagination, seen as she constructs fantasies while playing with friends. Leo Marcell’s art switches charmingly between 1960s school life that’s exotic enough in the 21st century, and the episodes of mermaid fantasy Tosh conceives to ease her constant pain.
Events are leisurely told, reflecting to a small degree the sheer amount of time Sargent felt pain and was ignored by all around her. As if continual physical discomfort isn’t enough, Tosh’s anguish increases when she can no longer rely on a friend. It’s a heart-wrenchingly written scene showing the type of thing children do without thinking, yet a devastating betrayal for the victim.
Although Tosh’s Island never becomes a misery memoir, it’s a tearjerker as there’s no sugar coating Tosh’s suffering. Neither is it something that can be treated at home. A prolonged stay in hospital is necessary, and because Sargent actually experienced most of what happened, the dramatisation really transmits the anguish and upset. Her condition hurts, and it’s not easily overcome. Additionally, it’s counterpointed by misunderstandings and a relationship needing time to heal, if indeed it will.
There are no certainties in real life, and Tosh’s Island is based on a true story, so will everything turn out okay in the end? Read it to discover. You’ll not be disappointed in this fine emotional drama.
