Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Once upon a Time, in the Top-Left Corner of the Weather Map, 24 Nov 2001
By A Customer
Don't worry, it's not a folksy nostalgia trip through the Celtic twilight, long ago and far away as the setting may appear to many readers.
Calum Smith's memoirs begin before the First World War (he was born in 1912) and end, as far as this book goes, with the start of the Second on 3rd September 1939. He spent this time, except when attending Glasgow University in the 1930s, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the second surviving son of what became a large family, living in conditions of considerable hardship. Living, however, not merely existing, and it is the way of life of that distant, distinctive community, its characters and traditions, which he vividly conveys. In a personal, but not uncomfortably confessional or introspective overview he shows how people, places and events impinged on him as he survived hazards both psychological (superstition, and a fiercely repressive Presbyterianism) and physical (life-threatening childhood illness) and grew up. The style is a bit like someone 'yarning' fluently and articulately by the fireside, reminiscing and telling anecdotes, with an admixture of social commentary. Supplied with a wealth of practical, often surprising detail on all kinds of topics from folk medicine to a storm at sea , the reader gets a sense of what that life was like, and how it worked, notably the way the supportive network of mutual aid compensated for harsh conditions and economic deprivation.
Though remote, the islanders were far from isolated as regards world events; war and economic depression took their toll, and the third chapter deals with the profound impact on the island of the loss of the Iolaire on New Year's Day 1919, when over 200 men were drowned. Lewismen participated in the British Empire's army and navy, and many did a fair bit of globe-trotting on their own account, some of the stories recounted here ranging as far afield as Canada and India. As elsewhere, the twentieth century was bringing transition: linguistically and culturally, from a Gaelic-speaking home to proficiency in English, necessitated first by the education system; and in the immediate environment, as the family moved from the west coast to the outskirts of Stornoway, and then to the town itself. The author ends this phase of his life as an employee of the local Labour Exchange, the 'Burroo'.
Authenticity is enhanced by several examples of Gaelic sayings, which are translated, but people from 'away' (i.e. non-Leódhasachs, not from Lewis) may feel that a glossary and/or a footnote or two might have been helpful, to elucidate a few unfamiliar terms and references. On second thoughts, though, such academic trimmings might be out of place in the context of the general flow - better, as when listening to a speaker, to let the gist become clear as he goes along. A pleasant group of eight photographs is included, putting faces to some of the names in the text.
Whether read by a glowing peat-fire, maybe with a glass of whisky at the elbow, or, who knows, on a packed tube train in a city rush-hour, these tales and observations should bring pleasure and relaxation, and out-of-the way knowledge to anyone interested in social history, regional studies, or indeed in people and places generally.
|
|
|
|
