Sally Magnusson

“…there are different kinds of love and different ways of loving. The deepest ones bring pain, always, and it cannot be otherwise.”

An historical fiction based around the abduction and enslavement of 400 Icelandic people in the 1600s. The premise sounded very interesting and just my thing but, I did not gel with the storyline or any character. The apparent love affair (or perhaps elements of Stockholm syndrome) between Asta and her captor was unbelievable, especially when considering the fate of her children. In my opinion, this also diminished the true reality of what enslaved people have likely suffered through.… (mais)

Trigger warnings: Miscarriage

6/10, at first I enjoyed this when I first read it in the early days of 2023 but looking at it now I wouldn't pick this back up again since I found some issues retroactively within this and even though the concept is actually quite interesting the execution is a bit lacking to say the least, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Isabel Aird living in a Scottish historical urban fantasy world which is quite a mouthful by the way and she can't be a mother because of her body at least that's what the book thinks but that is soon proven wrong which I'll get to later. There were a couple of subplots involving minor characters but the author couldn't find a way to make these characters actually relatable and thus I couldn't care nor could I connect to them. By the way the fantasy aspects of this novel were just barely there and this felt more like a historical book, nothing much happens in the middle of the book but it's probably to build up some suspense leading up to the end of the story, in the end I think the villain revealed himself just before a big battle could happen. The epilogue was interesting since I could see Queen Victoria visiting the Glasgow Waterworks Project or whatever it's called, I don't remember and Isabel has her ninth child, hence the title ending this on a high note.… (mais)

Jamesina Ross grows up happy but poor in the Highland village where her forebears have farmed for generations and where she is educated by the local minister. Music is Jamesina's escape and she composed many wonderful songs of life in the glen. Then the landlords demand that the people move from the land, the Clearances, and Jamesina's life is turned upside down. A violent altercation and Jamesina loses more than just her family home, she is injured and never the same again. Years later she takes in a lodger who offers a solace and maybe some closure.
The Highland Clearances are a dark period in history, when thousands of people were displaced and forced to emigrate or move to the cities. Here, by focusing on two characters, Magnusson explores both the diaspora and the city dwellers. The writing is very lyrical and the story moving. At its heart it is a love story and deeply satisfying.… (mais)

This was a great read, which although may need some perseverance at the beginning as it does kind of flip around a bit but it is worth sticking to. It entwines real life events in the 1850’s set in Scotland with some elements of magical realism too. The detail was fantastic and it shows the author did a lot of research about the aqueduct being built, why it was being built and the scenery too.
I thought it was an enlightening book with all the details of the disease, medicine and the building of the aqueduct as well as heart wrenching, losing one baby is hard but eight must be so destroying.… (mais)