A love lost in time, a world lost in plain sight
The Lost Lights of St Kilda is a wonderfully told story of friendships, family and lost love.
Elisabeth Gifford paints a beautiful picture of life on St Kilda, and the traditional and hands-on lifestyle of the close-knit community that inhabits it. Although set in the 1940's with Chrissie opening up to her daughter about her unknown father, and Fred trying to escape war through Europe, we spend most of our time reliving the lives of Chrissie, Fred and Archie one summer in the 1920's; when friendships grew and love blossomed.
As Fred and Archie arrive to work on completing their university papers on St Kilda, their exploration of island life is shared with the reader in great detail. With stories about men hunting local wildlife to sustain the community in winter, women weaving fabric for clothing and milking the sheep, alongside the anticipation of news and deliveries from the mainland; a strange and complicated other world to the St Kildans. A world that slowly draws away islanders following daily struggles during harsh winters, leaving a very small community which is becoming unsustainable, lost and increasingly cut-off.
Regular back and forth story telling from all of the main characters builds a complete picture of life's adventures, experiences, struggles and relationships over a lifetime.
I think there was a perfect balance of the present day especially Fred's desperation to find his lost love, and the 'once upon a time' flashbacks that leave you feeling fully immersed in St Kilda. Overall a deeply passionate, moving, romantic but harrowing tale of a beautiful lifestyle slowly consumed by a modern world, and a lost love waiting for resolution.
Elisabeth Gifford paints a beautiful picture of life on St Kilda, and the traditional and hands-on lifestyle of the close-knit community that inhabits it. Although set in the 1940's with Chrissie opening up to her daughter about her unknown father, and Fred trying to escape war through Europe, we spend most of our time reliving the lives of Chrissie, Fred and Archie one summer in the 1920's; when friendships grew and love blossomed.
As Fred and Archie arrive to work on completing their university papers on St Kilda, their exploration of island life is shared with the reader in great detail. With stories about men hunting local wildlife to sustain the community in winter, women weaving fabric for clothing and milking the sheep, alongside the anticipation of news and deliveries from the mainland; a strange and complicated other world to the St Kildans. A world that slowly draws away islanders following daily struggles during harsh winters, leaving a very small community which is becoming unsustainable, lost and increasingly cut-off.
Regular back and forth story telling from all of the main characters builds a complete picture of life's adventures, experiences, struggles and relationships over a lifetime.
I think there was a perfect balance of the present day especially Fred's desperation to find his lost love, and the 'once upon a time' flashbacks that leave you feeling fully immersed in St Kilda. Overall a deeply passionate, moving, romantic but harrowing tale of a beautiful lifestyle slowly consumed by a modern world, and a lost love waiting for resolution.