I’ve been wanting to read something by Linda Gillard for quite a wee while now but her most recent book is only being published as an e-book and I’m not sure about reading a whole book from a screen – I know, I’m a Luddite. Anyway, a big thank-you to Jo at The Book Jotter for pointing me in Linda Gillard’s direction. I really enjoyed Emotional Geology which was published in 2005, I borrowed it from the library.
It’s set in the Western Isles of Scotland, mainly on North Uist where Rose has moved after experiencing a very traumatic event which has sent her over the edge. Rose suffers from manic depression and the relationship which she had with Gavin, a mountain climbing fanatic, didn’t help with her fragile state of nerves.
What does help is her beautiful quilting which she has shown at exhibitions. She pours the feelings which she can’t express any other way into her work. Calum, a local teacher asks her to show some of her wall-hangings to his pupils and so begins a tentative relationship which Rose is not at all sure she wants.
Well that’s a brief outline, you might know that I don’t like to go into much detail in reviews. Suffice to say that it’s a really good read about a subject which isn’t often written about and Linda Gillard has managed to portray a real feel of the atmosphere of a Scottish island and the inhabitants.
Linda comes from England but she lived on Skye for a number of years which stood her in good stead because she is able to write exactly as the people there speak, and the folks in Glasgow for that matter too. It’s something which isn’t all that easy to do. There’s only one thing which annoyed me and I know this is nit-picking but it always drives me mad. It’s that ‘aren’t I ‘ thing. Nobody in Scotland says aren’t I – we always say ‘amn’t I’ and I maintain that that is the correct way of speaking as of course I and am go together but I are certainly do not! Calum says aren’t I three times in the book!!! I think that an editor has probably ‘corrected’ the original. It sometimes happens that actors say aren’t I, even when they are Scottish and I always wonder why they don’t tell the director that it’s wrong if they are supposed to be Scottish.
Anyway, that’s my only moan in what was a bit of a treat for me really because I loved the setting and as a child I was always falling over crampons, ice picks and rope belonging to my very much older brother and of course I’ve always had an interest in geology. The manic depression I don’t have, thankfully, but we probably all have a bit of experience of that, even if only at second-hand. But as a keen crafter and one who has tried my hand at the odd wall hanging and bit of quilting/applique I have to say that I really loved all the descriptions of the fabric, beads and sequins and the like, and even the bin liners and shoelaces!
One wee word of warning – if you have a very strait-laced mother-in-law then this isn’t a book which you should recommend to her as there is quite a lot of use of the F word and a bit of sex – unless you want some very hard stares from her of course!
I’m really looking forward to reading Linda’s 2006 book A Lifetime Burning which I’ve requested from my library.
I’ve just hopped over to The Book Jotter and seen that this is going to seem a bit like a Linda Gillard Fest as Jo has just reviewed a book by her today but it’s a total coincidence!
Thanks very much for your great review of EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY. I was so pleased to hear you’d enjoyed it. 🙂
I was very interested to read about “amn’t I”/”aren’t I”. I hate to think the novel contains any kind of error, so thank you for pointing this out. But I have to say, I lived in the Highlands & Islands for 7 years and never heard anyone say “amn’t I”. I’ve since lived in southern Scotland for another 4 years (I’m now on Arran) and I still haven’t heard it. But I shall now listen out for this usuage.
A word of warning about A LIFETIME BURNING: that’s definitely not one for the overly-sensitive! The content is pretty challenging (but there’s hardly any swearing as I recall.) STAR GAZING is a more comfortable read and can be given to anyone. 😉
Linda Gillard,
I meant to e-mail you when I was half-way through the book to let you know how much I was enjoying it but didn’t get around to it. I think you must just have been assuming that people are saying aren’t I – as I’ve never heard a Scottish person saying it. I was born in Glasgow and lived there until I was 5, the folks above us were MacAskills from Skye! We moved to Dumbarton not far from Glasgow and lived there until I was 20 but most of my adult life I’ve lived in Fife and Perth and Kinross, ‘amn’t’ is used all over Scotland I think, it’s just a Scots grammar thing. When Scots do say aren’t I – as actors sometimes do then you can really hear that ‘r’ sound which you tend not to hear much when it’s said by an English person.
I used to work in libraries and there were always people who objected to books with swearing or anything ‘not quite nice’ so you had to be careful what you recommended to them which is why I mentioned the content, even although it’s mild by most standards. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of your books.
Katrina Stephen
I forgot to say – EMO GEO is now out of print, but it’s available on Kindle, currently priced at 86p.
Linda,
86p – that’s what I call a bargain!
I am so thrilled you enjoyed it. I know you will like her latest novel and it is a shame that no publisher wants to print these books!
This book will appeal to so many people for so many different reasons.
I have Star Gazing to read and then will look out for A Lifetime Burning so I can complete the set. Then just wait for a new one to be published (no pressure Linda!)
Thanks for mentioning my blog and I welcome anyone who pops across from here to stop by and have a look.
Jo,
Yes, the publishing industry leaves a lot to be desired. My husband has some experience of it – not good.
So many people seem to enjoy books with a Scottish setting and for that reason alone lots of folks would enjoy it. I’ve got some catching up to do and no doubt I’ll be downloading too!
I must get a hold of this one! Like you,I’m a bit of a Luddite when it comes to the Kindle but there surely must be a copy to be had somewhere and I will weasel one out!
I’m with you on the Amn’t I? v. Aren’t I? It must be Scots as opposed to English! Going on a course on the Scots language/tongue stating tomorrow night so will try and remember to ask the tutor. I’ve never heard a Scot using Aren’t I – just as I haven’t eard a Scot use the word floor for anything other than INside a building. To fall on the floor would infer an inside location whereas outside, it would be the ground. The English seem to use ‘floor’ inside and out! (My current gripe!)
Evee,
You’ll probably be able to get it from your local library.
I’m so glad you nebtioned the amn’t I thing. I’ll be interested to hear what your Scots language class says about it.
I’ve noticed a lot of people recently saying floor when they’re outside, and surely mean the ground. I think this is quite a modern thing but I agree it’s v. annoying.
I know of an instance on a Scottish Uni website where they changed the word ‘outwith’ to outside. Shame.
I got a copy of Emotional Geology on Amazon – big print hardback. It should have arrived today but no sign of the postie yet.
I asked Dr Fred about the Amn’t I , aren’t I thing and to say the least he was a bit vague! Said something about Scots and English being interchangeable, e.g. Burns wrote in Scots and English. So I really didn’t get an answer to that one! Is it an English thing to say Aren’t I?
Evee,
I’m wondering if Dr Fred knows much about what he’s teaching! We lived in England for a couple of years and ‘aren’t I’ is definitely English – north, south, east and west!
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