Have you ever been to the Hebrides? This novel takes the reader back to St Kilda, the most remote island which was evacuated many years ago when they neared starvation. The characters Chrissie and Fred have an emotional attachment to the islands and their lost love guides the reader through the intricacies of island life.
Set in the 1940s this book introduces Fred the Oxbridge graduate who completed his final year project on Kilda, where he met Chrissie the self assured islander. They both communicate in Gaelic, alas none of the language is used, which would have been a nice touch. The cultural differences between these two are stark, add in Freds Island owning posh friend, who Chrissie found attractive and you have a classic love triangle. The characters are good and the story excellent, but St Kilda trumped all, as the protagonist.
The description of island life, the capturing of the puffins to have salted with their porridge was brilliant. The way that illness could deplete an islands residents, the dangers of child birth. The turbulent sea, the men risking rowing to the other islands to gather sheep. Its all captured so beautifully, I could smell the burning peat and boiling pots of weak tea. The stories that the St kildean's told, their simple yet fulfilling lives were captured, it reminded me of my travels to the Hebrides, alas I never got to St Kilda, but I have a sense of the raw beauty of these Gaelic islands and found this book really immersed the reader within this life.
The plot involves Fred having been captured after the Dunkirk Evacuation, this part was written well with an authentic look at how prisoners were treated and the trials of those who tried to escape. There was also Chrissie who had been evacuated to the mainland, the illnesses which brought mortality to the St Kildean's, her complex relationship with her daughter who wanted to know where she came from and about her father, the silent trauma of their culture seeping away.
There is so much in this book, read it for the love story, definitely for St Kilda. This book brought to life a part of history which I found enlightening and I thank the author greatly. When winter comes, read this book, it will keep a fire burning in you.
Set in the 1940s this book introduces Fred the Oxbridge graduate who completed his final year project on Kilda, where he met Chrissie the self assured islander. They both communicate in Gaelic, alas none of the language is used, which would have been a nice touch. The cultural differences between these two are stark, add in Freds Island owning posh friend, who Chrissie found attractive and you have a classic love triangle. The characters are good and the story excellent, but St Kilda trumped all, as the protagonist.
The description of island life, the capturing of the puffins to have salted with their porridge was brilliant. The way that illness could deplete an islands residents, the dangers of child birth. The turbulent sea, the men risking rowing to the other islands to gather sheep. Its all captured so beautifully, I could smell the burning peat and boiling pots of weak tea. The stories that the St kildean's told, their simple yet fulfilling lives were captured, it reminded me of my travels to the Hebrides, alas I never got to St Kilda, but I have a sense of the raw beauty of these Gaelic islands and found this book really immersed the reader within this life.
The plot involves Fred having been captured after the Dunkirk Evacuation, this part was written well with an authentic look at how prisoners were treated and the trials of those who tried to escape. There was also Chrissie who had been evacuated to the mainland, the illnesses which brought mortality to the St Kildean's, her complex relationship with her daughter who wanted to know where she came from and about her father, the silent trauma of their culture seeping away.
There is so much in this book, read it for the love story, definitely for St Kilda. This book brought to life a part of history which I found enlightening and I thank the author greatly. When winter comes, read this book, it will keep a fire burning in you.