Moladh (praise in Scottish Gaelic) for Annalena McAfee's
HAME "Annalena's novel
Hame is madly, wildly, almost extravagantly inventive, as if each passing page is seeking to outdo the previous one. This is story-telling of the highest ingenuity, brimming with whimsy, wit, erudition, and beautiful sentences. Brilliant and irresistible."
--Christopher Buckley, author of
The Relic Master "I enjoyed it immensely. I laughed a lot. The character of Fascaray, its people and history, its weather and sea, and of Grigor and his glorious translations, all are imagined with such great verve and humor and originality, I couldn't put it down, or not for very long. I talk it up wherever I go. Wonderful novel."
--Patrick McGrath, author of
Constance "I was knocked out by this novel. It is rich and layered, passionate and sly. I loved the intensity with which Annalena McAfee describes Fascaray, a remote Scottish island, and the mysteries surrounding the poet who spent a lifetime celebrating it. A century of Scottish history, the intrigues of literary biography, a young American abroad with her young daughter, and a lot of wild weather: it's all here. At one moment, it reminded me of the intensely evoked landscapes of Thomas Hardy. In the next, I was reminded of A.S. Byatt. I am filled with admiration for this novel. This Fascaray, I wanted to go there."
--James Magnuson, author of
Famous Writers I Have Known "With its complex, multi-layered structure,
Hame is an impressive achievement . . . It shines a light on an artistic scene which produced some of Scotland's greatest poets of the last century."
--Will Gore,
Evening Standard "A remarkable performance, and one that should sit nicely on the same shelf as Robin Jenkins'
Fergus Lamont and James Robertson's
And the Land Lay Still, all three reflections on the past and present state of Scottish literary and political culture. And what fun Annalena McAfee must have had concocting McWatt's verses."
--Allan Massie,
i: The Paper for Today "Clever and provocative."
--Stuart Kelly,
The Guardian