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The Guga Hunters
 
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The Guga Hunters (Hardcover)

by Donald Murray (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Birlinn Ltd; First Edition edition (18 Sep 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1841586846
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841586847
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 13 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 181,293 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review

'If anyone deserves to be considered a classic writer, Donald S. Murray does' - Chapman'He writes with an inherent understanding of Highland culture, language and way of life' --The Herald


Product Description

From the puffin to the fulmar, the gannet to the cormorant, the sea-bird was once a commonplace meal, served on dinner plates across the length and breadth of Scotland. Now, however, it only remains on the menu in one of the farthest edges of the country. Every year, ten men from Ness, at the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, sail north-west for some forty miles to a remote rock called Sulasgeir. Their mission is to catch and harvest the guga; the almost fully grown gannet chicks nesting on the two hundred foot high cliffs that circle the tiny island, which is barely half a mile long.After spending a fortnight in the arduous conditions that often prevail there, they return home with around two thousand of the birds, pickled and salted and ready for the tables of Nessmen and women both at home and abroad. "The Guga Hunters" tells story of the men who voyage to Sulasgeir each year and the district they hail from, bringing out the full colour of their lives, humour and the drama of their exploits. They speak of the laughter that seasons their time together on Sulasgeir, of the risks and dangers they have faced. It also provides a fascinating insight into the social history of Ness, the culture and way-of-life that lies behind the world of the Guga Hunters, the timeless nature of the hunt, and reveals the hunt's connections to the traditions of other North Atlantic countries. Told in his district poetry and prose, English and - occasionally - Gaelic, Donald S. Murray shows how the spirit of a community is preserved in this most unique of exploits.

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4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A delicious morsel, 18 Nov 2008
A few centuries ago, the flesh of young seabirds was a staple food of the people of many coastal communities of Europe. Today, Ness in the north of the Isle of Lewis is the only community in the British Isles permitted to hunt the `guga', the young of the gannet, a bird protected by EU law. This book is an easy-to-read, thoroughly researched book written in a lyrical style by the poet historian Donald S Murray. Though not a native of this fascinating Hebridean island, I have been delighted to receive a copy - my first Christmas present of 2008.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read!, 23 Sep 2009
By Rockstar (Scotland) - See all my reviews
I once visited the rock with the boat taking the Hunters out; didn't land though, nowadays for the expat Niseach it is increasingly hard to get a taste of the Guga. One has just savour the memories of a plateful of Guga and floury potatoes............sin agad e.

The experiences of those embarking on this expedition in the open boats of olden days invoke feelings of the utmost admiration; for that is not something lightly undertaken!
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