Book Review: The Summer Isles

I had the pleasure of wandering around a bookshop on holiday last week.

This book caught my eye – the beautiful cover quite literally fired my imagination.

And I loved it.

This is a book about sailing, which is a passion of mine I’ve not been able to indulge in so much this year, but it is so much more than that. This is a book of history, of myth, of legend, of poetry, of geography. Threaded through the narrative is also a deeply profound religious narrative. This is what made this book so fascinating – how this is not a religious book, but by engaging in the real world of history, geography and human relationships, the author was forced to confront the history, heritage and echoes of Christianity and other religions on The Summer Isles.

This book was a pleasure to read and one I’ll return to. It inspired me to sail in some of the places he describes, and find out more about some of the stories, people and places he mentions. With it’s beautiful cover drawing me in, this is also a book that was well enough written to hold my attention and spend the time reading it.

This review is not like my normal reviews – suffice to say, if the things I’ve alluded to appeal, you’ll enjoy this book. If not, fair enough.