Thu, 20 October 2011
Waves, wind, puffins, sheep, tumbled stones, wet grass and rats underfoot in the house when they think they can get away with it. Welcome to the Shiant Isles, which have been sitting between Lewis and mainland Scotland for millennia. The history of these lumps of rock has been put together by Adam Nicolson in Sea-Room, in a tumble of personal story and archaeological finds. Thousands of sea-birds live on the rocks in the summer, no-one lives on the islands in winter except sheep. Fishermen come and go, and the rats keep coming back. The islands mean a great many things to the people who go there, and even more to those who died there. For those who like to read about wild weather and the remoter parts of Britain with their feet dry and the door shut.
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I loved it! Thank you so much. Scrupulously accurate in everything you said. And understanding, in a way some don't, of the method the book tries to employ. What a treat for me, currently in Boston, Mass, and rather longing, as you say you are, for OVER THERE. With many thanks and much appreciation, and with all best wishes, Adam (I think you must go there, even for the day...)