What do you think?
Rate this book
The Guga Stone: Lies, Legends and Lunacies from St Kilda
In 1930, the last inhabitants of the isle of St Kilda were evacuated to the mainland. Shortly afterwards, following several acts of vandalism by local fishermen, Calum MacKinnon was sent back to the island to guard against further damage. Alone on the deserted island, he begins to re-imagine conversations and stories.
253 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Donald S. Murray
31 books23 followersDonald S. Murray was born in Ness in the Isle of Lewis and taught on Benbecula. An author and journalist, his poetry, prose and verse has been shortlisted for both the Saltire Award and Callum Macdonald Memorial Award. Published widely, his work has also appeared in a number of national anthologies and on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Scotland. He lives and works in Shetland.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2022
I read this book for The St Kilda Book Group and it was not one I would have chosen myself, but then that's the beauty of a book group!
The introduction struck a sour note with me. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this read - it seemed the author wanted to mock people for being gullible in believing myths and legends and falling for "tall tales" spun by conniving locals. Nevertheless I persisted and I think the introduction sells this book short.
It is a mixture of poems, stories and vignettes inspired by the tales from and of St Kilda, and by the people and their ultimate fate. It evokes the landscape, birdlife and isolation of the island, as well as the bond the inhabitants have with their inhospitable home.
The desolation of leaving and the strangeness of mainland life and civilisation are beautifully captured through various poems and tales.
There are also moments of humour and absurdity throughout.
Despite my reservations going in, I really enjoyed the atmospheric, poignant and sometimes sensual nature of this book. It gives a nod to what was lost when St Kilda was evacuated, an unusual and moving read.
The introduction struck a sour note with me. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this read - it seemed the author wanted to mock people for being gullible in believing myths and legends and falling for "tall tales" spun by conniving locals. Nevertheless I persisted and I think the introduction sells this book short.
It is a mixture of poems, stories and vignettes inspired by the tales from and of St Kilda, and by the people and their ultimate fate. It evokes the landscape, birdlife and isolation of the island, as well as the bond the inhabitants have with their inhospitable home.
The desolation of leaving and the strangeness of mainland life and civilisation are beautifully captured through various poems and tales.
There are also moments of humour and absurdity throughout.
Despite my reservations going in, I really enjoyed the atmospheric, poignant and sometimes sensual nature of this book. It gives a nod to what was lost when St Kilda was evacuated, an unusual and moving read.
August 26, 2014
St Kilda, the most remote island in the British Isles is uninhabited now, but is full of mythology surrounding the people who used to live there, before they were removed from their homes and resettled in other places across Scotland and beyond.
The Guga Stone is Donald S Murray's attempt to question the mythology, by rewriting some of the accepted truths about the island and inventing some mythologies all of his own. The result is a collection of stories and poems, which are by turn entertaining, exasperating and moving. The beautiful line illustrations by Douglas Robertson are a delight throughout the book.
It is entertaining trying to work out which stories are based in fact (I'm pretty sure the slippers made from gannets are real) and which are false (I know for a fact there was never a goth culture on St Kilda, though the description of the island's goths is striking and apt:
Some thought they resembled cormorants
with hair permanently tufted by the wind.
from Youthful Fashions on Hiort)
Some stories are much more hard to pin down and it in a sense doesn't matter. After all, isn't everything most of us know about St Kilda based on myths and misunderstandings? Yes, but sometimes I felt some of these pieces were perhaps too flippant. After all, it was a great tragedy that happened to the St Kilda community, and one that Murray captures beautifully in Storm Petrel:
After the islanders were gone
storm petrels were no longer
guided ashore by psalms.
Ultimately this is a book that is more about how we see the world through myths, tnan it is about St Kilda.
The Guga Stone is Donald S Murray's attempt to question the mythology, by rewriting some of the accepted truths about the island and inventing some mythologies all of his own. The result is a collection of stories and poems, which are by turn entertaining, exasperating and moving. The beautiful line illustrations by Douglas Robertson are a delight throughout the book.
It is entertaining trying to work out which stories are based in fact (I'm pretty sure the slippers made from gannets are real) and which are false (I know for a fact there was never a goth culture on St Kilda, though the description of the island's goths is striking and apt:
Some thought they resembled cormorants
with hair permanently tufted by the wind.
from Youthful Fashions on Hiort)
Some stories are much more hard to pin down and it in a sense doesn't matter. After all, isn't everything most of us know about St Kilda based on myths and misunderstandings? Yes, but sometimes I felt some of these pieces were perhaps too flippant. After all, it was a great tragedy that happened to the St Kilda community, and one that Murray captures beautifully in Storm Petrel:
After the islanders were gone
storm petrels were no longer
guided ashore by psalms.
Ultimately this is a book that is more about how we see the world through myths, tnan it is about St Kilda.
April 28, 2016
Highly captivating prose and poetry. The illustrations are evocative of the islands. This book has been on my shelf for almost 3 years, and yet I have the sense that I read it at the perfect time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews