Reader's Link

Helen B. September 10, 2010 at 11:35 a.m.:

Oh how I've loved this book since I 1st found it shortly after it came out in paperback! It is an absolutely unique story, highly visual, with such finely drawn characters they stay alive in your mind for the rest of your life. Even Ms. Ostrow's superb descriptions of how the Saluki (dog) acts & thinks are utterly singular & spot-on. Hence for all who have not read it: grab yourselves a copy from your library -- or from online sources such as Ebay, Amazon, or other used book sellers -- & settle down by the fire for 1 of the most unusual reads of your life. Before you're done you'll even be reading conversations in Scots Gaelic [the formal name of the Scots' own very distinct version; & pronounced "Gallic" as opposed to Irish "Gey-lic"] -- & it's a language which was already considered "almost dead" when Joanna wrote this book some decades ago! An acerbic & yet lush, fey & yet very grounded book which appeals even to those who rarely enjoy 'modern' fiction (i.e., as opposed to nonfiction & literature: yes, such as I]. But then, history's verdict will certainly reclassify this marvel of a book into the category of 'Literature' if it hasn't already. "In The Highlands Since Time Immemorial" is as off the beaten track as a book can get, & anyone who reads it is much, much richer for it. New readers: dive in!