Silver Darlings
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Product Description
About the Author
Neil Miller Gunn (1891-1973) was a novelist, critic and dramatist, one of the most influential Scottish writers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born in the village of Dunbeath in the county of Caithness, the northernmost county of mainland Scotland. His father was the captain of a herring boat, and Gunn's preoccupation with the sea and fishermen can be traced directly back to his childhood memories of his father's work. He began his working life as a Customs and Excise Officer, and turned to full time writing after he was awarded the 1937 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Highland River. He continued to write prolifically both as novelist and essayist throughout his life.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gunn,like Hardy, Dostoevsky, and Faulkner, writes with novels with universal meaning but a strong sense of place. The Silver Darlings seems to put you directly into Caithness after the Clearances, with clearly drawn characters and a touch of the mystical. An extraordinary book.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
" The Silver Darlings" is one of my favorite of Neil Gunn's books...and I have read them all. This saga handles the period in the Highlands of Scotland after the "Clearances" of the crofters off the land by the landlords in the mid 18th Century. It tells of the time when the people were forced to live near the seashores and had to become fisherman to survive. The sea adventure part of the book is riveting and full of heart-stopping suspense. I had to read it through in one sitting..I could not put it down. I think anyone who loves the sea will love this book.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cover notes are not always an accurate guide, but in this case they are. This novel, probably Gunn's best-known, is indeed 'packed with telling incident and thrilling adventure'.
The story focuses on Finn, a living symbol of Scotland's heroic past, as he grows through boyhood to maturity and fulfilment, bringing hope to his widowed mother and to the coastal communities of Caithness and Sutherland.
Finn is not "whiter than white": he delights in the challenges of life and on occasions is dangerously impetuous; but he displays the kind of male strength that leaves room for tenderness and sacrificial love. As a boy, he undertakes a walk of marathon proportions in order to seek help when cholera strikes his village, and later risks his life in the face of sea and storm in attempting to rescue his fellow fishermen.
Look out for the thrilling voyage to Stornoway, and if you have an atlas, find a large-scale map of northern Scotland - a pity the book does not contain one!
If you can wait, read "Butcher's Broom" first, however, because it serves as an invaluable guide to the historical background. If, like me, you go on to read Gunn's other novels, you will not be disappointed.
The story focuses on Finn, a living symbol of Scotland's heroic past, as he grows through boyhood to maturity and fulfilment, bringing hope to his widowed mother and to the coastal communities of Caithness and Sutherland.
Finn is not "whiter than white": he delights in the challenges of life and on occasions is dangerously impetuous; but he displays the kind of male strength that leaves room for tenderness and sacrificial love. As a boy, he undertakes a walk of marathon proportions in order to seek help when cholera strikes his village, and later risks his life in the face of sea and storm in attempting to rescue his fellow fishermen.
Look out for the thrilling voyage to Stornoway, and if you have an atlas, find a large-scale map of northern Scotland - a pity the book does not contain one!
If you can wait, read "Butcher's Broom" first, however, because it serves as an invaluable guide to the historical background. If, like me, you go on to read Gunn's other novels, you will not be disappointed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Alchemy in fish
Although this is a fictional account, Neil Gunn's writing brings the life of the fisher folk of north east Scotland so vividly to life one can be forgiven by thinking he was... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ian Mathie
enthralling
Hitchcock (in 'Psycho') wasn't the first to remove the apparently main character in a shocking fashion near the start of the story. Read more
Published 7 months ago by brianthegent
What a gem
Bought on impulse during a trip up the east coast of Scotland, I was utterly absorbed by this book and it's tale of Finn's coming of age, set against the backdrop of tough lives... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dear Reader
Siver Darlings
A fantastic novel dealing with the rise of the herring fishing industry in the far noth of Scotland
Published 19 months ago by Mr. A. D. Dick
An epic novel with universal appeal
The Silver Darlings is one of the best books ever written in English. It begs comparison with the work of the Russian greats - the psychological insight has a deftness and... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Sophie Cooke
fishing drama
a wonderful book and recreates the herring fleet fishings of yesteryear - a must to read
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Ms. Elizabeth Mackenzie
A wonderfully evocative story of Highland life after the Clearances
I loved this book. Neil Gunn's view of boyhood and the interaction between Fin and those around him was so well written. Read more
Published on 25 April 2008 by P. M. Vallot
Magical...
If you think you'd like to feel the Highland wind in your hair and sea spray stinging your cheeks, then you'll probably love this book because it's all about herring fishing on the... Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2007 by R. L. Barker
This book is a dark pool of a book ; fabulously rich.
The complex weave of christian and celtic mythology with characters that walk about in your head for the rest of your life make this a book to mark as a must. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2000
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