Reviews
The tragic story of a World War I Scots soldier
Two siblings made a fascinating discovery when they opened a chest in their mother’s loft, which they found to be full of an Edinburgh soldier’s writings from World War One. The chest, which had lain unopened for 100 years, contained diaries, letters and poetry from the late Hamish Mann’s time in the trenches. Robert and…
Read MoreOriginal 1970s novel given a tweak by its author
There are many things I never thought I’d do, and giving a Peter May book a review riddled with caveats is one of them. Ever since my first encounter with the sublime Lewis Trilogy, the arrival of May’s latest novel has been an eagerly awaited highlight of my year, and the great man rarely disappoints.…
Read MoreWriters setting forth on a voyage of Discovery
The Voyage Out is an international anthology of writing, art and science. It compares the act of creating something on a blank page to the voyage of RRS Discovery into the white spaces of the Antarctic. The authors of these diverse journeys include actor Brian Cox writing on performance, Sue Black talking about forensic anthropology…
Read MoreScotland’s museum gems highlighted in book form
From Pictish Stones to Dolly the Sheep, this selection of over 100 items from the National Museum of Scotland is but a fraction of the veritable treasure trove it stores for the nation. Published to mark the 150th anniversary of the museum, the book roams through different departments such as Scottish history, archaeology, world cultures…
Read MoreA pacy thriller that will keep you gripped
In this first book of a new series, Alan Murray combines the seemingly disparate events of a devastating Luftwaffe strike on 1940s Clydebank with a killing linked to the IRA. The two Military Intelligence officers charged with tracking down German informants race against time to unravel a shocking international conspiracy. Heavy on authentic military history…
Read MoreA thriller that will grab you from the word go
Scots writer Catherine Deveney grabs you from the first sentence of The Chrysalis. This gripping novel, as the title suggests, tackles issues of transformation. The protagonist is Marianne, an elderly woman living in a care home. With her failing health she feels let down by her ageing body and mind. This decline has led Marianne…
Read MorePicture perfect book that’s all write
Over thirty years on, photographer Angela Catlin has updated her first collection of striking black and white portraits of Scotland’s finest writers, each accompanied by examples of their work. Among the 49 snapped for posterity are writers Alasdair Gray, A L Kennedy, Ian Rankin, James Robertson and Ali Smith, poets Ron Butlin, Jen Hadfield and…
Read MoreThe island with a whisky for every palate
Whisky has been distilled on the windswept Hebridean island of Islay since the 18th century. The Queen of the Hebrides currently has eight distilleries producing some of the best quality whisky on the market. Rintoul documents in fascinating detail how each whisky is produced in this glossy, informative book. There’s also one of her poems…
Read MoreA real treasure trove of holy hideaways
Dixe Wills’ latest quirky travel guide chronicles 60 of Britain’s smallest churches. One chapel halfway down a remote Pembrokeshire cliff is so tiny that the congregation has to sit outside for the annual service. Scottish gems include the frescoed apse in Hoselaw Chapel, Croick Church in Ardgay with its moving messages scratched on the windows…
Read MoreDebut novel captures contrast in lifestyles
Debutant novellist Angus MacDonald doesn’t waste any time jumping into the story of young Donald Peter (‘DP’) Gillies, a Lovat Scout soldier who lies in a makeshift hospital in Gallipoli in 1916. While suffering a gunshot wound to his shoulder and blinded fi ghting on the front line against the Turks in the disastrous Dardanelles…
Read More