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Review
'Sensitive and detailed' --Scots magazine
Product Description
In August 1956, a young shepherd, his wife, two-year-old daughter and ten-day-old son sat huddled in a small boat on Loch Monar in Ross-shire as a storm raged around them. They were bound for a tiny, remote cottage at the western end of the loch which was to be their home for the next four years. 'Isolation Shepherd' is the moving story of those years. More than simply a sensitive and richly detailed account of the shepherd's life through the season, Iain Thomson's book also vividly captures the splendour of one of Scotland's most awesome landscapes, and depicts the numerous incidents that shaped the family's life there before the area was flooded as part of a huge hydro-electric project.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and had to buy another copy as I've lost track of who I lent my original to! An excellent story about a harsh existence in the north west highlands in an area now under the raised water of Loch Monar. Quite a short read but nevertheless heartwarming and inspiring.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A story of a life of struggle in a remote highland glen. A battle against the elements where man and beast scratch out an existance between them. This isn't a story of hundreds of years ago but it was only 50 short years ago but the story reads like another world. Real weather and real people working in a real community where each day is taken on with a new vigour and energy. If you love dogs and wildlife this will take you away for a few days. A wonderful story.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a remarkable book chronicling the five year stay of shepherd in an isolated region of Western Scotland.
In many ways this seems like a book outside of time - and for long passages of the book it would be difficult to actually know from what period of history it was drawn. Occasional references to "outboard motors", `jeeps" and both of the World Wars are just about the only way you could place this account in to back half of the 20th century.
This is a book that grows out of a highly detailed knowledge of the land upon which the shepherd walks and the animals in his care. With (for me at least) tongue twister place names and wonderful eye for detail the author builds a picture of his landscape season by season, year by year.
Although the landscape in which this book is set is clearly remarkable, this book does not shy away from detailing the issues faced by such an isolated existence. The descriptions of the winters made me glad that I read most of the book in a bed, in the warm. Equally the author does not shy away from description of the way deer, sheep and cattle are treated. The deer come off best in this equation, and some people may find a few short descriptions of the animal husbandry a little difficult to read. However, to have glossed over this aspect of a shepherds life would have been to omitted an important part of the story. For all the occasional references to treatments that may raise a few eyebrows these days, it is also clear that the author exposes himself to considerable risk to ensure the health of his animals.
The book ends as the valley - which is really as much of a character in the book as the people and dogs - is flooded as part of an Hydro Electricity scheme. As we move into an age where it will no longer be possible to burn fossil fuels with abandon, reading the epilogue to this book on the impact of a "green" power source on one of the last truly remote areas of Scotland is both interesting and current.
I recommend this book very, very highly.
In many ways this seems like a book outside of time - and for long passages of the book it would be difficult to actually know from what period of history it was drawn. Occasional references to "outboard motors", `jeeps" and both of the World Wars are just about the only way you could place this account in to back half of the 20th century.
This is a book that grows out of a highly detailed knowledge of the land upon which the shepherd walks and the animals in his care. With (for me at least) tongue twister place names and wonderful eye for detail the author builds a picture of his landscape season by season, year by year.
Although the landscape in which this book is set is clearly remarkable, this book does not shy away from detailing the issues faced by such an isolated existence. The descriptions of the winters made me glad that I read most of the book in a bed, in the warm. Equally the author does not shy away from description of the way deer, sheep and cattle are treated. The deer come off best in this equation, and some people may find a few short descriptions of the animal husbandry a little difficult to read. However, to have glossed over this aspect of a shepherds life would have been to omitted an important part of the story. For all the occasional references to treatments that may raise a few eyebrows these days, it is also clear that the author exposes himself to considerable risk to ensure the health of his animals.
The book ends as the valley - which is really as much of a character in the book as the people and dogs - is flooded as part of an Hydro Electricity scheme. As we move into an age where it will no longer be possible to burn fossil fuels with abandon, reading the epilogue to this book on the impact of a "green" power source on one of the last truly remote areas of Scotland is both interesting and current.
I recommend this book very, very highly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A woderful book
A woderful, well written account of life in the remote highlands. Iain's writing is very descriptive, bringing to life the landscape, wildlife and people that lived and worked in... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Fin
Isolation Shepherd
This is a book which you will want to go back to and read again. It is of a time past but also present. Read more
Published on 4 April 2008 by John C. Graham
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