Bibliopath #8: In which we get our Hebrides on
Dear reader,
I wonder if you'd like The Hills is Lonely by Lillian Beckwith? Actually, no, I'm pretty sure you will.
I stole this recommendation from a Kathleen comment thread because I am like a literate golden retriever when a writer suggests a book to a writer. And I'm glad I did: it's a semi-fictional account of a writer's life in the Hebrides (those little islands off the coast of Scotland), of adjusting to a rural life, but also have discerning the intricacies of a culture with its own rituals and intense practicalities.
It's laugh-out-loud funny. Actually, can we find another way to say that that actually means something? Well, in that case it's eminently quotable—read it along side a friend and you'll find yourself quoting setpieces by name, like episodes of a sitcom: the Cattle Sale! the Beauty Contest! and of course the Wedding!
I must admit that it took me a little while to warm to the writing style—at first it feels overwritten, or too ornate. But I did warm, and realised it's a deliberate choice: the match of the exacting descriptions and the narrator's reactions to the Hebridean magnificent lack of subtlety ends up providing a perfect space for the comedic turns.
We also have an example here of how good it is when wry comedy is coloured by affection for the subject (and the narrator makes herself the object of the joke as much as anyone), as well as being punctuated by small blink-and-you'll-miss-them phrases of comic timing:
"Hey Sandy!" I addressed the bridegroom, "You're going to be terribly late for your wedding."
"Good God!" burst out one of the figures as it squirmed from beneath the boat. "It's surely not today, is it?"
Sandy, a slim, brown-haired fellow, sporting a moustache that made him look as though he had just taken a bite out of a hedgehog, stared incredulously first at me and then at the other dungareed figure who had emerged from under the boat's stern. It was obvious from their expressions that both had completely forgotten the wedding.
"I did want to bottom her today," mourned Sandy, staring sadly at the half-scraped hull of his boat.
It's perfect holiday reading, I know that from experience, for people who enjoy Bill Bryson, and want to read those who laid the foundations for him, for those who want to, or need to, laugh.
Towards generosity and possibility,
Guan
PS: I love feedback of any kind! If you're reading this, imagine this is not just an email to be filed away, but a moment where I'm telling you about a book I loved and you have the chance to share it with someone you think would like it, tell me what you've been reading, or even engage me for some bibliotherapy.