Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A step back in time., 16 April 2001
Being familiar with South Uist and having an interest in historical/factual books I bought and read this book not really knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a gentle and relaxing journey into life in the Outer Isles 100 years ago. The story benefits by being told by an 'outsider' - the day-to-day happenings are recounted with an innocence and simplicity which a historian/professional observer would be hard-pressed to present. I'm not sure whether the pleasure I received from reading the book was enhanced by being able to picture in my mind's eye the landscape being described by the author, but I suspect it was. Having said that, I am sure that anyone with an interest in history/Uist would enjoy this book. It is certainly very easy to read - ideal for reading in the sun, on the passenger deck of the Cal-Mac Ferry en route to Uist and Barra (or by your bedside as you dream of the long silver beaches and machair). Lovely.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly entertaining!, 4 Sep 2008
Rea came to South Uist as head teacher at Garrynamonie School at a time when the roads were little more than feint tracks across the barren moorland. There was no public transportation, so pupils were frequently absent, and the remote area was among the poorest in the Outer Hebrides. This book, which distils Rea's prolonged residence on the island, is vivid and unexpectedly compelling. The intimate writing is intensely personal, infused with his fascination and deep love of the place. The island, with its curious inhabitants, its spooky myths, its folk-tales, seems to cast a magic spell on Rea. As a newcomer, he lives in a state of constant wonder at its endearing oddities--the unusual customs, superstitions, unfamiliar rituals; the dismal, ferocious, often deadly weather; the thick, killing fogs; the sudden, face-searing, paralyzing snowstorms. The book is filled with novel events and curious encounters: the Will O' the Wisp, the shrieking, 'child-lifting' wind, his darting, bare-footed servant, who appears and vanishes as if by magic; the wonderful description of 'lifting the peats' for winter fuel, and the book's characters are as quirky, unique, and peculiarly textured as Harris Tweed. The writing is restrained, clear, plain, often lucid, full of anecdote, conversational, and seamlessly flowing. Many episodes are memorable, and have the odd power to burrow into our minds and remain there as permanent fixtures. When Rea returns to England, some part of him remains among the people, the land, the places he has grown to love. Accounts of the Western Isles run to many hundreds of pages, but here is the most intimate, most sincere and most readable which I have found.
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