Elisabeth GiffordBesprekingen

A young couple, Ruth and Michael, has bought an old manse. While renovating, they discover a baby buried in the house. Unusually, the baby's legs are fused together. The story goes back and forth among the couple, a vicar, Alexander Ferguson, who had ministered to the people there, and his housemaid, Moira. The couple wishes to discover the wife's background; she had been raised in an orphanage, not knowing who her father was and her mother allegedly committing suicide. The vicar wishes to find out the truth about the legends of selkies, mermaids, and Finnmen. Darwin's theory has just exploded on the world and the reverend wants to find out how these legends might be real people and fit into the evolutionary chain. Moira carries a torch for him. The novel kept my interest all through and the different viewpoints added to it. A satisfactory ending was very logical.

Dual timeline mystery set in Scotland. A voice of a long-buried body opens the novel. It moves to the 1940s to introduce main characters Caro and Alasdair. After the war, they marry and move to a small house on the grounds of Kelly Castle (instead of London as they had planned), near Alasdair’s mother. Caro is unhappy with this situation. In going through the family records, she discovers a mystery, which takes her mind off her troubles. The other timeline pertains to the mystery and takes place in the 19th century and involves Alasdair’s great grandfather, Oliver.

The author weaves the two timelines together to gradually reveal the answer to the mystery. There are several similarities between the timelines, with common themes such as the changing role of women, the relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, friendship, prejudice, and class differences. It includes a story of an arctic whaling expedition and the crew’s interactions with the indigenous people.

This book brings together a number of my areas of interest – maritime travels, adventures in the extreme cold, gothic elements, and two historic periods that are portrayed in an atmospheric manner. I enjoyed this story as both a satisfying mystery and a pleasing blend of interesting topics.

I have for a long time been fascinated by this tiny group of islands far off the coast of Scotland, the furthest flung inhabited part of the British Isles until the final small population of 36 souls were evacuated in 1930. Their survival had become increasingly precarious due to their economy of bird products and tweed being unable to keep up with the changing world in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the population having diminished as young people and whole families left the island to seek a future elsewhere.

This story concerns the visit of two eager young Cambridge archaeology students - Archie Macleod, son of the island's owner, and his friend Fred Lawson - to the island in summer 1927 and how they interact with the locals, particularly with young Chrissie Gillies. We are also presented with Fred Lawson being a prisoner of war in France in 1941 and through jumps between time zones, the novel traces the course of events between 1927 and 1941, and the happy ending that results for our leading characters. For once in a novel set partly in the Second World War, the War is not the main focus, the islands of St Kilda are the real hero of the story - a beautiful and terrifying set of rocks essentially in the open Atlantic and subject to that ocean's raw power and fury.

Birds were the very essence of the islanders' lives, the source of protein and one of the main economic strengths of the islanders: "the sky is alive with bird wings.. The black-tipped bent spikes of the great gannets’ wings, the flutter of scissorbeaked kittiwakes, fulmars, skewars, puffins, petrels – the same birds that supply most of the islander’s primitive diet." Even now, when St Kilda is a World Heritage site, it is "home to a tenth of the British Isles’ seabird population". Its inhabitants understandably saw it as the centre of their universe and its way of life against the encroachment of the outside world. As Chrissie says, "I believed in my heart that there was no better place or family that a child might have than this island, this jewel that had fallen from the pocket of God and where all men feel Him near and find the blessed solace of being welcome at every hearth along the strand of lighted bothies, be it even in the greatest and the darkest of storms."

It is very hard to read about people in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 hoping to survive until the end of the war. You so want a happy ending, but you know that even if a few survive, the ending cannot be both happy and believable.

This is very well written, and makes you want to keep reading, even during the hardest bits.½

I felt a special connection to this book, as my wife's family originally came from St Kilda, and were evacuated in the 1930s. I have also been to St Kilda, but not to land, just sailing around the group of islands and sea stacs. The whole environment and way of life is captured very clearly and in a very evocative way, including the follow-up of the families settling in very unfamiliar surroundings on the mainland. The story of the characters works well, but for me the real star is the island itself.

Gave up on the audiobook because the accent used by the narrator was just too strong - a shame. I love the title.½

The Lost Lights Of St Kilda is a dual timeline novel of lost love and quite beauty. The locations are 1940’s France and 1927 St Kilda, a grouping of islands off the west coast of Scotland.
The female protagonist is Chrissie Gillies a young woman born and raised on St. Kilda. Life there is slow and filled with love but the harsh weather and conditions on the island make living there very difficult. Chrissie wishes to never leave.
Fred Lawson is a young man who spends the summer of 1927 on St Kida’s to complete his geology thesis for Cambridge University. Both figure prominently in the 1927 St.Kilda timeline as they meet, and no spoiler here, fall in love. The 1940’s time line centers mainly on Fred. He is a soldier caught by the Germans at the battle for St. Valery where many Scotsmen were killed or captured, as the army retreated. It is his attempt to escape the Germans, flee France and remember his lost love of St Kilda that comprises his 1940’s story. Chrissie in the1940’s is living in Scotland with her teenage daughter. At her daughter Rachel Anne’s insistence she begins too recall life on St Kildas and eventually her lost love.Fred.
This novel is very well written. St Kilda is a small cluster of volcanic islands that are heavily windswept and desolate. Through Ms. Gifford’s lyrical prose I was able to envision the stark, natural, and unspoiled beauty of st. Kilda’s so well that looking at pictures online I found that my visions were accurate. That takes talent on the part of an author! She also demonstrates her talents as she describes the people of St. Kildas. They are a hardy group of strong people who take joy in the simple things and love their island fiercely. Ms. Gifford shows us their quiet courage and dignity. They become another character in the novel. We as readers care about them. We worry about their future as it becomes clear that their numbers are dwindling and there may be too few of them to survive winter.
I loved that the characters become real people. We learn not just their descriptions and actions, but their beliefs, hopes and dreams. We learn the motivations behind their actions. They are allowed to change, grow and mature as the story unfolds. That this is such a rarity in fiction is a shame since it added a very satisfying dimension to the story.
This is an emotional read. Through the authors prose we not only see the calm beauty of first love but also the horror of war. It is this juxtaposition of the two that forms the core of the novel. It is Fred’s frantic attempt at fleeing from France that set’s the pace and tension that leads to the stories climax. Will Fred escape France? Will he and Chrissie ever see each other again? These are questions that you’ll have to read the book to answer!
4 stars! Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and romance.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

Caro, husband Alisdair and baby move to his family home, Kelly castle in Scotland. A storm uncovers a secret in the garden. Caro wants to investigate to see find out what happened in the past. The discovery leads to family secrets. In another timeline the story follows Oliver and his two friends Louisa and Charlotte.

I really enjoyed this story. I like a dual timeline story that goes back and forth from the present to the past. The present follows mainly Caro as she investigates the family history. It has a side story of her relationship with her mother in law Martha.

The main story is the past and it follows Oliver, Louisa and Charlotte. This for me was my favourite part of the story. A third part of the story follows Oliver on a whaling ship in the Antarctic. This was my least favourite part of the story but is crucial to the whole plot.

I really enjoyed this book. There was enough to keep my interest and I wanted to know the why and who. I especially enjoyed the book towards the end as everything was explained but did feel that some of the story was wrapped up with a neat little bow.

I haven't read anything by this author before but read more in the future.

Thank you to the publisher via Readers First for the book to review.

The italicized opening chapter very effectively sets the scene for the mystery which lies at the heart of this dual-timeline novel. Although dated ‘Fife, 1949’, it’s immediately clear from the haunting narrative that the voice belongs to a long-buried body, about to be exposed by the heavy rain which has been falling for days. ‘Find me, I whisper. Give me my name … It is time’. The second chapter is set in 1944, introducing Caro and Alasdair and revealing their plans to live and work in London when they marry after the war. However, by chapter three, it’s clear that those plans have changed because it’s 1949, they have a baby daughter and are living in a cottage in the grounds of Kelly Castle … only three hundred yards from Alasdair’s mother, Martha, not the five-hundred-mile distance Caro had envisaged would separate her from her mother-in-law. Her sense of isolation, despair and disappointment is palpable as she reflects that she barely recognises her post-natal self … ‘She missed capable and confident Caro, dashing around the country, lecturing to upturned faces in village halls, able to clean a carburettor or expound on Shakespeare’s plays equally well. She had admired that Caro.’ Can Martha’s suggestion that she should use her academic skills to archive the family records, do some research and maybe solve a family mystery, help put her back in touch with her old self?
There are so many aspects of Elisabeth Gifford’s latest historical novel which contributed to making it such a thought-provoking, satisfying and enjoyable story to read that it’s difficult to know which to start with! However, I think that what linked them all together for me was the skilled way in which she managed, through the dual timeline of the story, to not only gradually reveal the mystery which lay at the heart of the Gillan family and the identity of the body discovered in the grounds of the castle, but to illustrate the many parallels which existed between the historic and contemporary stories which were being told. Just a few examples of this include having a character in the 19th century who mirrored some of the struggles faced by women wanting to challenge society’s norms and expectations; the complex dynamics of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships (including how good intentions can all too easily be mis-interpreted!); the importance of sibling and friendship relationships; prejudice, racism and bigotry and reflections on the changing (and sometimes unchanging!) nature of issues surrounding social class and social inequality.
The frequent switches between timelines (the earlier one follows the story of Oliver, Alasdair’s great-grandfather) never felt confusing, instead I always felt that the author was using them in a controlled and assured way to weave together the different strands of the novel, simultaneously maintaining a sense of tension whilst gradually adding layers of depth to the developing storyline. She created characters in each of the timelines who, because they were all so well portrayed, enabled me to feel either emotionally invested in those I came to care about, or enraged by those whose behaviour, prejudices and bigotry caused such immediate, and lasting, damage to others.
Throughout the story I appreciated the powerful sense of time and place the author evoked, whether that was post-World War II austerity, living in a cold draughty castle or in a tenement, or working conditions in a 19th century factory. However, what made this a story which will remain in my memory was what I learnt about the manufacture of jute in Dundee and, because whale oil was essential to the process, the building of the Dundee Whaling Fleet and the consequent annual expeditions to the Arctic Circle, to forge relationships with the local Inuit communities and to use their native knowledge to hunt and kill whales. I admired the way in which she so effectively distilled her considerable research into this strand of the story to portray the various hardships endured by the crews of these ships, the ever-present threats they faced from the extreme cold (eg frostbite or the ship becoming ice-bound), of the crew’s reliance on the knowledge and help of local Innuit communities to track down the whales and yet their lack of respect for their culture. I also enjoyed the insights into the richness of Inuit culture, traditions and mythology which she included, as well as her vivid word-pictures describing the stunning beauty of the Arctic region. What was far less enjoyable to read, but essential to the authenticity of the story, were her at times graphic descriptions of the horrific barbarity involved in harpooning whales, and her portrayals of the openly expressed racism and bigotry of the time.
Although I don’t expect it from every novel I read, I always find a huge amount of extra satisfaction when I come across one which not only teaches me something new, but also inspires me to do extra research on a subject. This captivating, frequently moving story did both so I wholeheartedly recommend it, not just as an engaging personal read but also as one which, because of its wide range of thought-provoking themes, would make an interesting choice for reading groups.
With thanks to the publisher and Readers First for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful dual timeline story set in Scotland in 1949 and the Arctic during the 19thC. Caro and Alastair Gillan have moved to Kelly Castle, a dilapidated family estate. Alasdair has been offered a post at St Andrews whilst Caro is asked by his mother to sift through the household genealogy archives, to finish writing up the family history. She unearths a long lost mystery concerning a missing wife and finds herself on a voyage of discovery where there may have been a murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was gripped from page one. It’s vividly and evocatively written. The segments set in the Arctic seem very well researched - the descriptions of the landscape are amazing. It’s such an engrossing and engaging read with some fascinating characters and an intriguing plot line. I didn’t know much about the Inuits and their way of life so I found this part of the tale very interesting and quite the eye opener. It touches on racial and class discrimination as well as there being a moving love story which is sure to bring a tear to your eye. Highly recommended.

When you look at the tragedies and inhumanities of WWII there are some true beacons of light and love that stand out for the help that they provided. This novel is based on the life of one of Poland's greatest heroes Dr. Janusz who worked to protect the children in his orphanage. He did his best to provide them with food, when there was no food, safety in the danger and love which he offered unconditionally to the children.

Misha and Sophia met at college and immediately connected with each other. They were both compassionate and loving people who worked to take care of others. Misha worked at the orphanage when he wasn't in classes and Misha soon became interested in helping. After the Nazis invaded Warsaw, their lives changed. They could no longer attend university and had to follow the strict rules of the new regime. Soon the Jewish families were moved into a ghetto with terrible conditions. Misha and Sophia still worked with the children and tried to help Dr Janusz take care of them. As things got worse, they walked away to try to find a safer place to live. They are torn from each other and can only hope that they will find each other again after the war. Back in Warsaw, the doctor kept trying to protect the children and keep them from the concentration camp. He was a real glimmer of light in the darkness that was covering Poland at the time.

This well researched novel is another chapter about that horrific war and some of the forgotten people who worked to help others. It's a look at the war through the eyes of people who were there and about people who put their lives in danger to help others. Even if you've read lots of WWII books, you need to read The Good Doctor to learn more about a real life hero.

Told in two timelines, 1927 and 1940, this a story of love – between two people, and for an island and an endangered way of life. In ‘The Lost Lights of St Kilda’ by Elisabeth Gifford, the beautiful yet harsh landscape of the island is made vividly alive. This is a delight to read, a novel about love, trust, betrayal and forgiveness.
In 1940 Fred Lawson, a Scottish soldier from the 51st Highland Division, is imprisoned at Tournai, captured at St Valery in retreat as other soldiers were being evacuated at Dunkirk. Through the darkest moments of fighting, his memories of St Kilda sustain him. ‘It was your face that had stayed with me as we fought in France. It was you who’d sustained me when we were hungry and without sleep for nights as we fought the retreating action back towards the Normandy coast.’ Fred escapes and heads for Spain, forced to trust strangers, not knowing who is a friend and who is an informer, but drawn on by his memories of St Kilda.
At the same moment in Scotland, a teenage daughter longs to know more of her birth. Says Rachel Anne, ‘My mother says I am her whole, world, and she is mine, but all the same I would still like to know at least the name of my father.’
In 1927, geology student Fred travels to the remote Scottish island of St Kilda with his university friend Archie Macleod whose father owns the island. No one knows that three years later the island will be abandoned, the population on the edge of starvation. Archie, the laird’s son, has a privileged position on the island. As a teenage boy he played with the island children, play acting at the work their fathers do, learning their future trades – farming, catching puffins and fulmars – on the dangerous cliffs. And he flirts with Chrissie Gillies. But by the time Archie returns to the island in 1927 with Fred, he has developed an arrogance and a liking for whisky. Over the long summer months, Fred falls in love with the island and with Chrissie. Everything changes when tragedy strikes.
This is a beautiful read, contrasting the softness and closeness of romance with the harsh facts of life as the difficulties of island survival are laid bare. Life in the summer months seems an idyll of isolation and peace, a return to the basics of life that matter. But inevitably winter approaches and, as the real world is complicated, a misunderstanding occurs. But hope is never abandoned. Despite being separated by the years and by lies, Fred and Chrissie never forget each other.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

I have very fond memories of Elisabeth Gifford's first book, Secrets of the Sea House. That was a dual timeframe story with a similar setting to The Lost Lights of St Kilda, that being the islands of Scotland.

In The Lost Lights… the two aspects of the story take place quite close together, in 1927 and 1940. The earlier story is set on St Kilda, a very isolated island where the villagers are far from thriving. They are largely forgotten, even the mail ship doesn't stop there. Fred Lawson and Archie Macleod visit one summer and Fred is captivated by Chrissie, a young islander. But the path of love does not run smoothly for them. We see events from Fred's point of view and from Chrissie's.

Then in 1940 Fred is in France during WWII, one of the Cameron Highlanders. We witness his daring attempts at escape but what it also gives him is a reason to live and to try and return to Chrissie.

This is a beautifully written, lyrical and lilting novel. I'm always so drawn to island stories, especially Scottish islands. I think there's a romantic feel to the windswept, stark nature of them, although in reality it's far from perfect and is often such a difficult life. Elisabeth Gifford puts across perfectly the difficulties that the St Kildans faced and she's obviously done a lot of research into the island and the people who called it their home. Their plight in having to leave is plain to see.

This is not a quick or fast paced read and I didn't always find it the easiest of reads as it's quite intense, but it's full of atmosphere and is such a moving story. It's a book to savour as the setting draws the reader in and the sparse but poetic writing put me right there, whether it be on St Kilda or in France. It's ultimately the unfolding of a love story over a number of years but it's just as much a love letter to St Kilda too.½

This book perfectly evokes the final few years of island life on St Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides. It really captures the bleak and haunting beauty of this landscape and captures the disappearing way of life. Set from the 1920s to 1940s, it’s the love story of local girl Chrissie and Cambridge undergraduate Fred; they fall in love but fate keeps intervening to keep them apart. Can even prisoner of war camps and mass evacuations, though, get in the way of true love forever? The poetic book alternates between different perspectives, allowing them all to develop. There are no major twists or turns to the plot, but fans of historical fiction definitely won’t be disappointed. It’s a lovely story and one that I would recommend.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. It was easy to follow and get sucked in to the plot that I read way more than I thought I did in each sitting.
There are two main perspectives, of Chrissie and Fred, and they alternate through times of when the first met and their lives later.

My favourite part of the story was the time spent on the island. I loved the descriptions of where and how they lived. It felt so real and I think that’s what made this story so powerful. The vivid and haunting moments, the difficult lifestyle and daily routines, made the story feel so alive and you can picture how they felt.

Overall, I thorougly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it, but I would have liked the characters to have more interactions and communicate more. It was a bit frustrating how much they were just keeping to themselves.

In 1927 two young undergraduates from Cambridge spend the summer working on St Kilda, one is Fred Lawson and the other is his friend, and the laird’s son, Archie Macleod. During his time there Fred falls in love not only with the island, but with Chrissie, a young islander. Little does Fred know that only three years later this wild, isolated and beautiful island would need to be evacuated because, following yet another harsh winter when supply boats were unable to reach the island, all the islanders would be close to death from starvation. Although a misunderstanding meant that he lost contact with Chrissie after that summer, he never forgot either her or the summer he spent on the island and in 1940, when he is a prisoner of war behind enemy lines in France, his memories of that time, and of the woman he had loved and lost, become ever more vivid. Following a daring escape he faces a dangerous journey across occupied territory to reach a neutral country and freedom. The one thought which sustains him throughout all the hardships he faces is that he must find his way back to Chrissie, to find out if, after all these years apart, there is any possibility of a future together.
With the timeline switching between 1910-1930 on St Kilda, 1930-1940 on Morvern Peninsular on the west coast of Scotland, and 1940 in occupied France, and the narrative switching between the voices of Chrissie, her daughter Rachel Anne, and Fred, this is a compelling and beautifully written novel. The gradually unfolding love story which underpins Chrissie and Fred’s relationship feels both convincing and very poignant, but it is matched by a parallel love story, the one symbolising how the islanders felt about St Kilda and for a way of life which was so precious to them. In many ways this felt like paean not just to a wildly beautiful place, but also to the loss of a unique community.
The constantly changing timelines never felt confusing, instead they were used in an assured way to effectively weave the different strands of the story together, gradually adding depth to the developing storyline. I felt drawn into the unique way of life of the islanders of this remote community, with all the pride they took in the skills they had developed to endure the privations and challenges they faced, and with the powerful sense of community which had evolved in order to ensure mutual support. The landscapes of the islands and of war-torn France, were each very vividly and convincingly described. However, for me it was the author’s evocative descriptions of the savage beauty and wildness of the storm-battered islands, the powerful ocean, the pounding waves against the steep sea cliffs and the vast colonies of noisy sea-birds nesting on them which felt the more powerful, making me feel that I was experiencing something of that wild beauty for myself.
Before I read this story I had always thought that St Kilda was the name of the inhabited island but, as I discovered, that’s the collective name for this archipelago and the name of the main island is Hirta. Although I was aware of the fact that the island had been evacuated in 1930, one of the things I enjoyed most about this story was how much I learnt about what led up to that momentous event, putting it into an historical and social context. I hadn’t realised how significant a part WWI had played in the gradual decline of the island’s population when, not only had the young men gone off to war but, with the archipelago being the most westerly islands of the UK, they had a vitally important military significance. As a result, the Royal Navy established a manned signal station on Hirta in the early years of the war and with this came not only more regular and reliable contact with the outside world for the islanders, but also more reliable access to essential supplies and the gradual establishment of a money-based economy. This slightly easier way of life during the war-time period probably undermined self-reliance to some degree, something compounded by the fact that many young men didn’t return to the island after the war; some had been killed but for those who did survive, returning to a life of hardship held little appeal. This growing realisation that they didn’t have to put up with living such a precarious existence then led to a steady exodus of young people from the island, with the population falling from seventy-three in 1920 to just thirty-six when, following successive crop failures and a particularly harsh winter, in August 1930 everyone on the island agreed to be evacuated to Morvern.
The author’s gradual revelations of the events which led up to this momentous event very effectively captured the islanders’ sense of despair about the loss of their unique way of life, which however unsustainable it had by then become, had nurtured them for generations and was all they knew. She also demonstrated how tourism, whilst providing a source of income for the islanders – from the sale of their homemade tweed and birds’ eggs – also did much to undermine their self-confidence, as the visitors, seeing their simple, unsophisticated way of life and the identical nature of their dress, portraying them as objects of derision and curiosity, almost as though they were exotic exhibits rather than fellow human beings. As a result of all these insights, she enabled me to empathise with the profound sadness of their loss, as well as their fears and anxieties about what the future held for them.
Days after finishing this deeply moving story, written with such a simple yet lyrical prose, I still feel haunted by it and cannot imagine anyone being able to read it without being similarly affected. This is the first of Elisabeth Gifford’s books I’ve read but, with writing of this quality, and her ability to create such unforgettable characters, I now want to read some of her earlier novels.

After reading a book recently which I found thoroughly distasteful, I was in the mood for something a bit more uplifting. I browsed my shelves and found The Good Doctor of Warsaw, which was the perfect choice because it’s based on the true story of Janusz Korczak, a hero of the Warsaw Ghetto.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/07/01/the-good-doctor-of-warsaw-by-elisabeth-giffo...

I received this book as a goodreads giveaway. A fascinating atmospheric tales filled with secrets long forgotten and layered with themes.

For a detailed review click or paste the link:

http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/return-to-fourwinds-elisabeth-gifford...

Misha and Sofia are young and in love, they are ready to commit to each other. However outside their charmed life in Warsaw world events are are more complex. Misha and Sofia are Jews and as the Nazis invade Poland they find that they are confined to the Warsaw ghetto. Both have worked with Dr Korczak, the director of an orphanage, and they are concerned about the future of their mentor and the children. As the noose tightened around Warsaw's Jews Misha and Sofia have to make important decisions and Dr Korczak has to help his children as best he can.

Based on a true story this is an uplifting tale of heroism and love despite all the travails around. Dr Korczak was a true hero and whilst Misha and Sofia were incidental characters in the true tale, their story is the glue that binds this book together. Moving as times and a reminder of how bad prejudice can be.

This was a book of mystery and legend, and set in in modern times and in the 1800s.

First there is Ruth who came the Hebrideans cos her mother said she had come from there. But she does not know anything more than that or who her father was. She also had a really crappy home after her mother died and she has some issues from that. This book is then also her discovery of her own past. And she also wants to find out about the house they live in as they find a "mermaid" baby under the floor. The selkie myth also behinds the two stories together as Ruth's mother said they came from selkies.

Back in time reverend Alexander Ferguson comes to the far away Hebrideans and his new parish. He is trying to find out about the truth about mermaids/selkies. Back in his time we also see through the eyes of Moira, his maid. She did not have an easy lot in life. The laird of the isle is evil and evicts his people and sends them to Canada cos he wants the land. And living there was hard to begin with. And while I read about these two I wondered how the baby got there, but there is much to go through before that.

I also loved the explanation she used for the selkie myth. it is one that has been known, but yes like Alexander I would have loved the idea of real selkies. I will not tell you anything more cos if you do not know the explanation then you can be surprised here.

Some books I read fast, some I read slower. This one was one of the slower ones as I had to take it all in, the prose was different too and it's one of those books you read and reflect on.

As for big secrets, yeah, I would not say they were big. People were just stupid. Everything had to be perfect, to look perfect, and if something was the slightest off, not good. They came from that era so it was understandable.

The book starts with Nicky and Sarah about to get married. She runs away and we go back in time.

Alice who grew up privileged, but not privileged enough for some so she strive for perfection.

Ralph her husband grew up in Spain. His story is the one of his mother and her new husband and the secrets there.

Then we have Patricia and Peter. Patricia does not really have a secret, and neither does Peter. But Peter grew up in the slums and wanted to make something for himself. He also knows Alice from the war. Ok so that secret was not really something she should feel bad about.

Their life before the war, and during the war, and after it. Lives were shaped. But I must say, Sarah's choice had nothing to do with those secrets. I'd rather have it as an aftermath of all of that. She still had a secret and I will say nothing more than I totally understood why she ran.

I liked what we later learned about Spain, now there was a book. I also liked the social clashes. Rich and poor. Newly rich. They all looked down on someone else.

An interesting book.

See full review @ The Indigo Quill

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press and Litfuse Publicity for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elisabeth Gifford has emerged on the scene as a gifted new author who is on her way to master the art of storytelling. Not only does The Sea House possess a captivating cover, but Gifford writes with a flow so smooth and intrinsic that you'll have no choice but to resolve to wanting more. Being a first novel, I was very impressed, and I hope to see more from Miss Gifford in the near future.

The Sea House is a haunting tale that intertwines lore and verity to where the two are no longer decipherable. Readers will enjoy the mystery and chilling nature of the premise, and become enchanted with this story. It pulled me in quickly. I love the style of writing and the smooth transitions. Not to mention, it's always exciting to read a book from a different country because the linguistics are so different and fresh compared to what I'm used to. I find myself looking up meanings to words and learning something new. Then I can go and look cool in front of my friends. Just kidding...kind of. :)

The book is a dual-time narrative that takes place on the Hebrides Islands of Scotland where the young married couple, Ruth and Michael, are renovating an old sea house. Ruth is struggling to break free free the chains of emotional damage from the past as the two try to build a home together. In the process, they discover old bones of a baby who seemed to have been born with its legs fused together...like a mermaid. Thus begins the story of Alexander Ferguson, who was a newly appointed vicar in the 1800's with a scientific background.

There were many things I liked about this book. The tone of it was enchanting and interesting. I honestly wasn't expecting so much mystery to be weaved into the plot, but I loved every bit of it. If I had one thing to pick out that was weak, it would be the present-day characters. I liked them, but I felt more attached to Alexander and Moira than I did Ruth and Michael. However, this being the author's first novel and being a dual-narrative at that is still impressive and I applaud Gifford for a successful start.

This is definitely a great read!

When LitFuse offered The Sea House for review, I jumped at the chance. Although I didn’t know anything about the author, Elisabeth Gifford, I love reading fiction by authors outside of the United States. They generally have a unique perspective that makes the reading experience even more meaningful. Then I got an email allowing for an opt-out of the review tour due to objectionable language and difficult subject matter. Now I really was intrigued! Instead of opting out I decided to give it a go and give you an honest review of her debut novel, The Sea House. So here it is –

Ruth and Michael are a young couple determined to bring an old manse on the wild coast of a Hebridean island back to life. Its transformation into a B&B is the focus of their life until the body of a deformed child is found buried beneath the floor boards of their home. The find affects Ruth deeply and she endeavors to discover the history and identity behind the mystery. With nothing more than a journal from a curate who occupied the house over 100 years before, Ruth embarks on a journey that will help her confront her own demons.

Gifford’s writing style is beautiful. Life in the Hebrides, both past and present, is vividly depicted. Her characters are complex and wrestle with real life trauma, guilt and questions of faith. The Sea House is not always an easy read. There are lots of difficult subjects explored — physical and sexual abuse, suicide, and depression among them. But I never felt overwhelmed by the emotions produced. Gifford always held out a glimmer of hope. Three points of view are presented, all told in first person. Ruth is a modern woman struggling with anger and guilt from childhood trauma, Moira is a 19th century maid with plans of revenge following the loss of her family and home, and Alexander is a 19th century curate who never feels good enough for the grace offered by his savior. The stories seem disparate at the beginning, but end up becoming a beautiful whole in the end. The setting of the Hebrides and the Sea House in particular serves as a character of its own, impacting the characters and speaking to the reader through its heartache and beauty.

I would not characterize The Sea House as Christian fiction. It is published by a secular publishing house and it contains language that can be deemed offensive to many. One character has an outburst that hit me like a slap in the face. But the language suited both the character and the scene. Also, while most of the characters have problems, only one really turns to God for answers. Alexander’s struggle with being good enough, doing enough, was wonderfully depicted. I also really enjoyed the examination of the evolution debate from the point of view of scientists and clerics contemporary with Charles Darwin. And while you may think the book is going one way, you may be surprised with the outcome of that examination. The legends of the Selkies and mermaids indigenous to the western islands of Scotland are fascinating and create a great framework for the story.

All in all, I liked The Sea House and would recommend it with the qualifications of profanity and adult subject matter.

Recommended: please note there is profanity and adult subject matter that may be offensive . This is not Christian fiction.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to LitFuse and St. Martin’s Press for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

A tale within a tale, of mermaids, selkies, and the things that haunt us. The tall proud Sea House is home to them all. When Ruth and Michael buy the house to restore it they have no idea what they will uncover. Underneath the living room lies the body of what appears to be a baby mermaid. Their discovery leads Ruth on a quest to find out more about the original inhabitants were and in the process she finds out more about her past. Raised in a children's home after her mother's apparent suicide, the only real family Ruth has ever had was with Michael and their soon to be born child. Ruth's feelings of abandonment rise as she is trying to find out the mermaid baby's family. Depression sets in as she uncovers the history of the house with the aid of the island folk. Together they piece together the house's past, the mermaid baby's past, and Ruth's past.

A toughing tale told through three unique viewpoints and full of folklore, mythology, and culture. For fans of historical fiction and folklore.

I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

This seems a simple story well told on the surface. In fact the book is dealing with the ghosts of the past, myths and legends, fairy tales and the nuggets of truth we need to find in the past, our stories and our own lives.

Ruth is young, newly married and trying to renovate the Old Manse on one of the islands of the Hebrides. Her mother came from there, but Ruth has no happy memories of her past. The discovery of a trunk under the floor with a baby's skeleton starts Ruth's journey into the past, the past of the house and her own.

The book works as a delightful look at the present day Island life. Ruth, her husband, brother-in-law and girlfriend are welcomed in. Then there is the 1860s diary extracts of island life with the clearances going on and the poor minister haunted by mermaids and silkies and doing the right and Godly thing. The maid and the minister are 3D characters we come to care for.

The conclusion of the story, the finding and weaving all the truths to satisfactory endings was well done. I particularly enjoyed the theory about mermaids and silkies which makes so much sense to us today.

A good read for anyone who enjoys a story about a character who has to face the truths she fears. Ruth did it well and readers are left feeling satisfied and hopeful. That's a good way to end reading a book.