In the mid-1990s or so, on a tiny island in Scotland there is a dwindling number of families – young people are few and the older residents are staunch church-going folk who follow a very strict – the Free Presbyterian Church. Strict moral standards are prescribed and adhered to – with the few remaining residents watching each other to make sure nobody is breaking the rules or sinning against God.
So how many of the men on this island would you expect to be homosexual?
Turns out quite a lot. It was hard for me to believe the situation itself, so it made it hard to buy in to the themes that are being struggled with here.
Most of the characters were not very likable. They often did some pretty aggravating things, and it made me think that the author was trying to make us hate them. The female characters did not get much to do, and we are left with quite a lot of pages of men struggling with their own sexuality.
Luckily there were some good points – the setting sounded stark and beautiful, the industry of weaving and fishing, and the general lifestyle of the residents were all pretty fascinating. The author writes very well, but I think mostly the characters were just getting hung up on an issue that didn’t really resonate with me.
I understand the book has been shortlisted for the Booker prize, so it definitely resonated with someone.
Next I am getting back to Stephen King’s The Stand, which has been patiently waiting while I finished off these library books.
