Shetland Folk Tales

Folk Tales

by Lawrence Tulloch

Being separate from the Scottish mainland, the Shetland Isles have a rich and unique tradition of folklore, from selkies to invading giants and Vikings. This book brings together for the first time many tales of the Isles, including The Boy Who Came from the Ground, and Norway’s First Troll, among many others. This collection is sure to enthrall and entertain those from the region and anyone who picks up a copy.

Genres: Fiction, Mythology, Short Stories, Folklore, Folk Tales, Fantasy, Scotland

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting stories told badly.

[Maeva ( maevareadsbooks_ ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

It’s the first time I was reading this kind of book, I found it after I started watching the TV series Shetland a few years ago, but finally read it this year. I really liked it, of course I liked some tales more than others. They are short and easy to read. The drawings made by Alexa, a French woman who lives in Shetland, are also really nice and cute when it comes to animals.

[Rease Stoneheart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little while ago I was on an adventure with a very good friend of mine up in the Shetland Isles. I wanted to know more about the rich history of folktales they had, and so my friend picked up this book for me to read, and I practically devoured it the weekend before our trip to Lerwick and a week in Fetlar and Yell.

All in all, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories very much! Were they expertly written? No. In fact a lot of them were often a very dry read. In fact, there were at least half a dozen stories that were similar to one another when it came to the moral of the story. What this lacked in refinement, though, made up for the fact that this book feels like I'm being told the stories by Master Storyteller Tulloch and that I'm taking part in the Oral Traditions of passing on the stories.

At its heart, that's what makes this book interesting to me. It's more than just the folklore of the Isles, but a glimpse into its history and culture. About the people who survive out there in a land bereft of trees and any real agriculture. A culture of hardy people who are descended from both the Vikings and Scots and were raised on hunting and fishing just to survive the harsh winters and weather there and who are superstitious and worried about witches and other evil forces.

Reading this, and then visiting the Isles and participating in the Up Helly Aa festival honestly made it all feel more real and immersive for me. I'd have made it a 5/5, but I knocked off a star mostly because of the similar stories. I feel like there were some other tales that I've heard on the Isles that could have been replaced in this book that would have made it so much better.

All in all, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in oral storytelling traditions, the Shetland Islands, or folktales in general.

[Sara]

I bought this on MV Hjaltland on my way to Up Helly Aa and read it in Shetland after being stranded there (first due to COVID and then due to bad weather).

Lawrence Tulloch has a great collection of stories at his disposal and the illustrations by French-born artist Alexa Fitzgibbon complement them well. My favourite tale was how the midges were created from the ashes of a bloodthirsty giant.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after watching all six seasons of Shetland and after reading two of the books in the series. I probably never will have the chance to visit these remote islands, so it was great learning the folklore and maybe a little historythat was thrown in.

[Moth Hay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excited to read folk tales of my own heritage only to find poorly written Wikipedia articles. A lot of the ‘tales’ are just repetitions of each other or make repetitive claims that Shetland had no trees.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super entertaining read

Short stories and many fairytales in this little book. Great fun to read! Memorize a few to tell if you're ever with good folk around a peat fire.

[Liette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice folk’s tales but many that seemed too similar, it became tedious.

[Think-On-It]

If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.

All the best,

- TB

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I have been enjoying the Shetland mystery series / tv show.

[Debra Grodin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this after watching the series Shetland. I found the book to be a fun, easy read and quite entertaining. Since the stories are short the scary ones should not give you nightmares.

[Michael Holbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection. Not exactly Steinbeck or Hemingway, but wonderful tales of mermaids and other legends and folktales from Shetland. If you are a fan of the Shetlands or Scotland or even just folk tales, you'll enjoy this. An easy read.