Ailand (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798223357742)

What would a young woman be like if she grew up without the influence of society?

Seventeen-year-old Jim Matel learns the answer when he and a small group of castaways wash ashore on an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle. At first the island appears to be an untouched paradise like the Garden of Eden--until they meet Aileen, its only resident, who saves them from the island's hidden dangers. Fluent in English yet unfamiliar with even the simplest social norms, she claims she was raised by fairies. Her childish behavior in a grown body unsettles some and fascinates others, but nothing unsettles them more than the way she challenges their deepest beliefs about God, gender, and humanity itself.

As food dwindles and tensions rise, the castaways must rely on the "savage" they don't trust or respect. They insist on teaching Aileen how to function in the civilized world, confident they will return to it and that Aileen will come with them when they do. However, she stubbornly resists obeying the senseless rules of people who seem less capable than she is. The castaways are forced to question whether they are as advanced as they believe--and whether their idea of "civilization" is worth rebuilding.

Can even the smallest group of people manage to survive without destroying each other and their environment?