The Tin-Kin
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Review
'A powerful first novel... it conjours landscape by strength of voice, and its take on history is as bracing and cleansing as the local weather' -- Ali Smith. 'Elegantly observed, painstaking, tender and truthful. Luring the reader deeper with its gentle, unflinching sense of voice, this is a book that s beautifully realised, hugely rewarding' -- Janice Galloway. 'An elegant novel about love and loss, written in spare, lucid prose' --Alan Bissett
'Grit and candour... an expressive Scots voice that never slips into mere pastiche' -- Independent. 'Mixing pathos with lyrical joy in the small things, [Thom] employs an acutely sensitive reading of time and place... a living, loving reinterpretation of history shared with us' --Scottish Review of Books.
'Thoughtful, intelligent and well-structured book... offers a powerful insight into the way that tragic events from the past can reverberate into the future' -- Clare Morrall. 'Powerful and moving' --Sunday Herald. 'Her style is at once natural and impeccably honed so that the overall effect is of that kind of realism which tugs at the heart' --Candida Clark
'Grit and candour... an expressive Scots voice that never slips into mere pastiche' -- Independent. 'Mixing pathos with lyrical joy in the small things, [Thom] employs an acutely sensitive reading of time and place... a living, loving reinterpretation of history shared with us' --Scottish Review of Books.
'Thoughtful, intelligent and well-structured book... offers a powerful insight into the way that tragic events from the past can reverberate into the future' -- Clare Morrall. 'Powerful and moving' --Sunday Herald. 'Her style is at once natural and impeccably honed so that the overall effect is of that kind of realism which tugs at the heart' --Candida Clark
Product Description
When her aunt Shirley dies, Dawn finds herself back in her claustrophobic home town in Northern Scotland for the first time in years. She spends her days caring for her small daughter, listening to tapes of old country songs and cleaning Shirley's flat, until one day she comes across the key to a cupboard that she was forbidden to open as a child. Inside she finds an album of photographs, curling with age, shows a traveller community in the 1950s. A young couple pose on a beach, arms wrapped around each other; little girls in hand-me-down kilts reveal toothless smiles; and, an old woman rests her hands on her hips, her head thrown back in blurry laughter. But why has her aunt treasured these pictures secretly for so long? Dawn's need for answers leads her to a group of Travellers on the outskirts of Elgin. There she learns of a young man left to die on the floor of a cell, and realises that the story of her family is about to be rewritten...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
From the intriguing picture on the front, where a man's face is shrouded in sunlight, this novel draws you into a hidden world. Using several, distinctive narrative voices and convincing, rhythmic dialect, Thom weaves a multi-generational tale of resilience and love, as well as opening a door to an often misunderstood and maligned culture, showing the travelling way of life to be one that is rich in history and the bonds of family ties. An impressive debut.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Eleanor Thom's debut novel is based partly on her own family history, the detail contained within this story is so convincing alongside the clever use of the Scottish dialect.
The story has three narrators, each coming from a different era and each having a magical use of language and eye for detail.
The modern-day narrator Dawn has recently returned to the Highland town of her youth. She has a small daughter and has escaped a violent relationship. Her Aunt Shirley who brought her up, has recently died and Dawn has inherited Shirley's flat. Dawn's parents and sister live near-by, Dawn has felt estranged from her family ever since her sister was born and her parents sent her to live with Aunt Shirley.
Running alongside Dawn's story is the story of Jock, told in 1954 by his mother and also told by his niece Wee Betsy - the same story but from a different angle. Jock's story begins as he is beaten to death in a police cell and it is Dawn who uncovers the mystery around this death, along with hidden secrets from her own immediate family whilst going through her late Aunt's possessions.
Initially I struggled with the Scottish dialect but soon became overtaken by the intriguing and compelling story line. The author ties together the three strands of this Scottish Gypsy family story together so well and the secrets soon come tumbling out of the woodwork.
A very well accomplished debut novel.
The story has three narrators, each coming from a different era and each having a magical use of language and eye for detail.
The modern-day narrator Dawn has recently returned to the Highland town of her youth. She has a small daughter and has escaped a violent relationship. Her Aunt Shirley who brought her up, has recently died and Dawn has inherited Shirley's flat. Dawn's parents and sister live near-by, Dawn has felt estranged from her family ever since her sister was born and her parents sent her to live with Aunt Shirley.
Running alongside Dawn's story is the story of Jock, told in 1954 by his mother and also told by his niece Wee Betsy - the same story but from a different angle. Jock's story begins as he is beaten to death in a police cell and it is Dawn who uncovers the mystery around this death, along with hidden secrets from her own immediate family whilst going through her late Aunt's possessions.
Initially I struggled with the Scottish dialect but soon became overtaken by the intriguing and compelling story line. The author ties together the three strands of this Scottish Gypsy family story together so well and the secrets soon come tumbling out of the woodwork.
A very well accomplished debut novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Three stories told over three time spans all link together to uncover the tragic death of a young traveller lad. He takes to his grave a secret that is known only to a few of his family members. As the story unravels modern day blends with the past and family connections are re-forged.
Thom has written a moving tale, filled with love, pride, dignity and respect, about a community whose lifestyle is often misunderstood. She brings to life the old traditions and ways of travellers, shows the depth of love they have for each and manages to dispel some of the stereotypical myths that surround the traveller way of life.
Told in the vernacular, I loved hearing Scottish and traveller Kant mixed in with modern day English. There is no glossary as the author keeps everything in context, making it fairly simple to glean the meaning of words that may have been previously unknown to the reader.
I highly recommend this book and when you have read and enjoyed it can I also suggest you try to get hold of The Yellow On The Broom by Betsy Whyte.
Thom has written a moving tale, filled with love, pride, dignity and respect, about a community whose lifestyle is often misunderstood. She brings to life the old traditions and ways of travellers, shows the depth of love they have for each and manages to dispel some of the stereotypical myths that surround the traveller way of life.
Told in the vernacular, I loved hearing Scottish and traveller Kant mixed in with modern day English. There is no glossary as the author keeps everything in context, making it fairly simple to glean the meaning of words that may have been previously unknown to the reader.
I highly recommend this book and when you have read and enjoyed it can I also suggest you try to get hold of The Yellow On The Broom by Betsy Whyte.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Okay
Not the best book I've ever read,however has some interesting twists. Not sure if I'm a fan of the alternating chapters that flip from past to future. Read more
Published 3 months ago by BeeniemadMoray
Great start...
Loved this innovative first novel. Found it challenging to read the dialect styled writing however I was disappointed with the ending. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Karengking
An accomplished debut
A familiar structure: a story in the present, a story in the past, a revelation that explains the link between the two and leads to a resolution. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Fleur Fisher
Promising, but don't let the hype spoil it for you
Eleanor Thom does indeed show promise, and I hope her first novel won't be her last. But the extraordinary hype around this book set me up for disappointment. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Leabhar
poetry in prose
The author brings us into the lives of folks who not only keep their humanity in very brutal circumstances, but are more admirable than those who have much (materially) to be... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2009 by Matthew Lyberg
Fammels Fat as Sausages! No wonder Janice Galloway loved it.
This a fantastic bit of historical fiction about a much-ignored culture - Scottish Travellers. Not New-Age Travellers, nor Romanies or Gypsy tales, but indigenous Scottish... Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2009 by Chris M. Dooks
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