A Scots Quair: The Mearns Trilogy

Brilliant, evocative, emotional -transported back to pre-WW1 N-E Scotland in an instant. The use of words vaguely understood in definition; but with clearly imparted meaning, is absorbing, as is the storyline. The characters are complete, the events iĺllustrated by a masterly use of language, and the relaying of the character of the land, the geography, and the era is stunning.

A Scots Quair is a classic story of life in rural Scotland. I fear that not too many readers today will have the stamina to stay with the tale through to the end. It is a complex story and the introduction of local dialect can further complicate things. This is by no means a quick read, but it makes a significant contribution by taking an in depth look at the life and times of local people facing world changing events. If you have ever visited the coast south of Aberdeen, you will recognize the settings immediately. This is not a book to read straight through, but it is well worth working on over time.

Very good read for glimpses of the changing life in Scotland circa WW1. Interesting characters and situations.

I like the glossary for the unfamiliar words, but it makes for slow going. However, I think it is going to be a book I keep...too soon to tell!

This is a story of a woman growing up in Scotland on a farm in the early 20th century. The story is well written by an author I hadn't heard of before. I highly recommend this book.

Read this several years ago after seeing an adaptation on PBS, courtesy of the BBC. Scotland without hints of Outlander, other than geography.

This is a beautiful book and also a must for writers. Each chapter succeeds as a stand-alone story, yet those stories are woven skillfully into an even more meaningful whole. It's not a book I pick up often, but I do come back to it again and again over time.

This is an excellent read and depicts "The Mearns" district in Aberdeenshire, Scotland accurately as it was in days gone by. This book arrived on time and in excellent condition. No issues with the service.

Be prepared to read it in one go, over a week or so

Sunset Song is elegaic, describing a way of farming life soon to disappear with the outbreak of the first world war. The characters are vivid and real, no whimsy here - life is hard, but hopeful and sometimes happy and the people are tough and worthy of respect. Chris is the main character and she and Long Rob were my favourites, but its an ensemble piece. Thomas Hardy's "In Time of the Breaking of Nations" kept coming to mind because of the contrast between great events and perpetual cycles, although the continuity that Hardy predicts turns out not to be true. Cloud Howe and Grey Granite continue to follow Chris' life and that of her son Ewan and I found them equally as good. I don't want to give further details of what happens for fear of spoiling the story, but I felt compelled to find out what happened to the characters and read straight on from Sunset Song. Gibbons is a wonderful writer, both in his characterisation and descriptions. I felt as a 1960s Southerner that the author had conveyed to me a real feeling of what it was like to live in the (fictional) Mearns in the early 20th century. This trilogy is not an "easy" read, but amply repays any initial effort of becoming familiar with the dialect words (there aren't that many and it impressed my Scottish friends that I knew them:-) I love these books and highly recommend them.

trilogie de famille écossaise thru generations ..bon saga

I want to read more of this writer's work!

I've just re-ordered this to replace my current copy, which has fallen to bits. I hadn't read this trilogy for years and had forgotten how very good it is - and also how good the writing is. The story begins before WW1 and ends in the '30s depression, and takes place in Aberdeenshire, an area LGG knew well. Hard times and lives and brutal too; but the story is balanced by humour (especially a sly appreciation of the dirty-minded gossip and hypocrisy that goes on beneath a veneer of respectability) and kindness and wit. It's hard to write dialogue in dialect, but LGG's treatment of this isn't intrusive; it captures the cadence without being laboured, although you may find it handy to have the DSL (online Dictionary of Scottish Language) permanently open so as to look up dialect words. The power of LGG's writing is never better than when describing the beauty of the landscape, without detracting from how harsh it could be to live there. If I've got any criticism it's that the motivation and actions of two of the key characters towards the end seem sacrificed to plot and structure; they don't seem to have been thought through and I can't find them convincing (but this is just a personal observation.) Also physical and personal descriptions can be a little repetitive. But again that's a quibble; this is a superb read and a bonny eident piece of work (look that up.)