Bir­linn, 2000

231 d.

[Klap­pen­text]

Nor­man Mal­colm Macdonald´s last work is a powerful yet poe­tic novel that repres­ents the sum­ma­ti­on of his life´s work. The his­to­ri­cal boun­da­ries of Portro­na are set by two events lin­ked with the island of Lewis — the Muti­ny on the Boun­ty in 1789 and the sin­king of HMY Iolai­re in 1919. Whilst few know that the bo´sun of the Boun­ty was a Lewis man, the fate of the Iolai­re and the 205 men drow­ned on her is an ing­rai­ned chap­ter of the island´s histo­ry. Using the­se two events as inspi­ra­ti­on, Macdonald´s ima­gi­na­ti­ve nar­ra­ti­ve explo­res the sto­ry of Lewis bet­ween the­se dates, its con­nec­tions with the sea and the her­ring indus­try which was its life-blood. The result is an epic novel which sums up the soul of the Hebri­des and of the Gael. From land­lords and Madame Vol­ko­va the Rus­si­an her­ring buy­er, to poets, fisher­folk, self-made men and fac­tors, the aut­hor moves with the sweep and con­fi­dence of a man spea­king not just for hims­elf, but for a who­le community.

Stand­ort: AA