Su Bristow

It came up cheap on a Kindle deal some time ago and i thought i may as well throw it in 'The Pile' and give it a read when i had a mermaid binge.

And i think i'm very glad i did.

The story is set in some far out Scottish fishing village way back somewhere in time.   Su really does give the reader a feel of what life must have been like for these rural fishing folk and their families in these isolated far flung villages before newspapers, radios, telephones, television and even local doctors.   Where you'd have to rely on the local herbalist, or hedge witch, for your healthcare needs.

Sometimes it's pretty grim.   As i say, it's set way back in time when simple folk live rather simple lives in simple villages, and the story begins with a fairly simple fisherman hiding a Selkie's seal skin while she's out of it and then raping her when she can't go back to the water.   Don't worry if you're not up on what a Selkie is, the story covers all you need to know.   I would even say it's probably better if you don't know about Selkies because this is an expansion of an old folk story about Selkies and if you've read that story then you just might guess the ending of this one.

So having raped her he takes her back to his cottage and later returns to collect her seal skin...

...and so the story begins and plays out amongst these old world fisher folk of the village.   And it's really good, even in all it's old world grimness.

It's incredibly well written in a nice, easy flowing prose, and one can really fall completely into the story without disruption or distraction.

I would also give writers like Su a big pile of kudos for bringing old folk tales like this into the modern, wider literary world and doing such a great job of it.… (más)

The life of a crofter is tough and relentless. One night he sees something that he thought was only a rumour. He makes a snap decision, commits a terrible act and begins of a chain of events that will change him and the close-knit community where he lives.

His mother, Bridie, is quite shocked when he comes home with a girl. When she understands just what he has done and the implications behind it, she conceives a story to tell their friends and neighbours, and Donald becomes betrothed to Mairhi. But this stranger in the village is an unknown quantity, she cannot speak and she looks scared half to death most of the time. Bridie discovers when she takes her out to meet others in the village that she has a power that can bring calm and healing; but as some learn, threatening her can bring dread and fear like they have never known. Some call her a witch, but only Donald and Bridie know what she really is. Gradually tensions in the village disperse and people come to accept Mairhi and her two children.

This is a good reworking of an ancient legend, written with sensitivity and aplomb. Bristow has kept the key elements whilst adding depth and plausible characters. It is full of love and anger, joy and sadness with a strong moral thread woven through the narrative. The writing is eloquent with evocative descriptions of the land and seascape. The main character, Donald has some depth, and even Mairhi develops well, neatly done as she does not utter a word. The remainder of the characters are there as a foil to these main ones. I know it ties it closer to the legend; however, there are a couple of unsavoury moments in the book. 3.5 stars.… (más)

Although I do have a lot of books to read, I have a soft spot for Orenda Books so I bought this on a Saturday afternoon when it was on special offer for 99p. Wow! Is this the best £1 I have ever spent, or what? I almost didn't make it out for my friend's birthday evening but I made sure that I had a clear head so I could finish off the wonderful story on Sunday.

Donald is a lucky man - one night he sees something that people have only dreamed about, but his thoughtless actions break the magic and he finds himself, and his family, living with the consequences. Donald's mother, Bridie, is well respected in the village and people come to her for potions and help with delivering babies. When Donald brings Mairhie home, Bridie takes her under her wing and teaches her everything that she knows, plus Mairhie has a little magic of her own. The villagers are naturally suspicious of Mairhie, but gradually they warm to her as she endears herself to them, however, the sea starts to call... Will Mairhie listen or will she accept the life she has been given on land? She doesn't have a choice while her sealskin remains lost...but does somebody hold the key to its whereabouts?

Sealskin is perhaps the most beautiful book I have read in a long time. I was captured in its net from chapter 1 and only released when I had turned the final breathtaking page. Su Bristow has such lyrical writing that I felt as if I was in the book myself, standing at the door of the cottage or watching the fishing boats coming back to shore. I had serious difficulty in putting the book down and, had I not been going out, would have read Sealskin in one sitting.

Make sure you have a few hours spare before reading Sealskin, as you will not want to put it down and it deserves, and cries out, to be read in one sitting. Gather your bucket and spade and head to the seaside as Sealskin is a bucketful of adjectives: beautiful, breathtaking, magnificent, exceptional, outstanding and magical...to name but a few. I will definitely be reading it again, and that surely must be a cast-iron recommendation!… (más)