SOLVED. Man wakes up on strange island after running away from a murder (Mystery, crime, afterlife). Possibly short story. [s]

[Eli]

The story starts with a man murdering a women, and then driving until he gets into a car crash. He wakes up on a magical island, where social norms are basically non-existent. (view spoiler)[He learns the language very quickly, because there are hardly any words. At one point a plane flies overhead, and they make the island disappear. Eventually, he is voted by a counsel to return home, where he is tried and executed for his crimes (hide spoiler)]

I read this book seven to ten years ago and have been trying to remember the name since. I remember it being a short story, but I could be wrong.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Literary fiction or mass market fiction?

Do you think it was in an anthology with other stories, or was it bound by itself? Paper, ebook, other format?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Before the man wakes up on the island, is he in a real location? Country/region/city?
What nationality was the author?

[Cupcakedoll]

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I don't know if everyone can see the title in the cover-hover-over above:

The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You

[Kris]

Here's another request that appears to be for the same book - The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Some Goodreads reviewers say, "At the beginning of the book, he kills his girlfriend, gets in a car wreck and then wakes to find himself on the island of Ata." | "The main character in The Kin of Ata had led a seamy, notorious life. A set of circumstances occurred: He had a car accident, veered off a cliff and crashed. He should have been dead. Instead, he was found and taken to a place where dreams of the night held value, and ideals common to true spiritual traditions were actually lived." | "Dreams are important to the kin of Ata. The protagonist learns that the people of Ata live and breathe based on the dreams they have. Very Jungian in that sense, these people dream, wake up, tell their friends about said dreams, and, if possible, bring them to reality."

Here is the Google Books preview - https://books.google.com/books?id=1EH...

[Eli]

Yes, that's it, "The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You"! Thank you Lobstergirl, I've been searching for this for years!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

It was actually Cupcakedoll's suggestion, but since the book she (or he) posted had no cover it was nearly invisible.