Undiscovered Scotland

 

We'd not normally begin a review with a quote from the rear cover blurb, but in this case it sees fitting: "Orkney's islands are wild, remote, surrounded by an endless ocean and dominated by an infinite sky which brings either brilliant light or days of wind that make everything taste of salt. This remarkable landscape has the power to bewitch, and Robin Noble has been in its thrall for a lifetime. In 'Sagas of Salt and Stone' he takes us on a personal voyage of an adventure and discovery of the archipelago, its history, nature and people.... {This} is nothing less than his love letter for Orkney and its people."

Blurbs come in many shapes and sizes, but we think that this one sums up the book beautifully. It also gives a sense of the lovely style of the author's writing, which brings his subjects to life with a lightness of touch and thoughtfulness that succeeds in being both accessible and thought-provoking. Which is as well: this is a book to read, not to look at. There is a short section of (mainly) colour photographs, but the book is really a collection of twenty-seven short articles - perhaps it sounds better to call them word pictures - of between around five and ten pages each. What links them together is that they are all about Orkney. They are ordered roughly by reference to the chronology of the subject matter. But essentially this is a collection of glimpses that could be dipped into at random as readily as it could be read from end to end. All are very personal, relating the author's own experiences and memories to the stories he is telling.

In terms of subject matter, most of the elements that go to make Orkney what it is are covered. Geology, geography and topography are included, and then we look at the Iron Age in Orkney; the Picts and Vikings, the Stewart Earls (strong candidates for the title of the least pleasant men in Scottish history, from a crowded short-list), through to the Victorians and the role of Scapa Flow as a naval base.

In his conclusion, the author comments: "Sometimes I sense that visitors want the Orcadians to be more romantic in appearance, more 'different'... But living here is 'different' in some ways." He goes on to talk of the Scandinavian intonation and accent, of the unique Ba' games, and of remarkable wedding traditions. I think that what we find so magical about this book is the way it resonates so strongly with our own feelings about Orkney, based on relatively short visits over the years. It's an old cliche that a picture is worth a thousand words, and one we'd agree with ninety-nine times out of a hundred. But just occasionally a book comes along in which the words are so well chosen that more pictures would simply get in the way. This is one of those books.