The Crofter and the Laird

This book was lent to me after my recent visit to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, which left me fascinated by the history and lifestyle traditions of that area. John McPhee's writing style is concise and absorbing, his attention to details weaves a snapshot image of a very different social and physical environment. I bought 4 more copies of the book, one for me to keep, the others for selected friends that I knew would respond to this little gem. It also inspired me to read more John McPhee books: The Pine Barrens, and Annals of the Former World.

Great account of McPhee's time living, with his wife and kids, in a croft (a stone, 2 room house) on an island where is ancestor's lived before they came to the U.S. years ago. McPhee gives you lots of information about how the community on the island lives in the late 20th century and how that's only a little different from the way things were done in the 1800's. A warm and informative account.

This book was in sad shape when I received it. However I enjoyed reading it

What a wonderful combination of history and fond reminiscence - there is no one who writes like McPhee. I was drawn to reading about these islands by the "Shetland" series on PBS. This is a short book that bears rereading from time to time just for the pleasure of his "company."

Not being personally familiar with the geography of Colonsay, I found the lack of a map an impediment tounderstanding anything of the action.

For some reason my entire family seemed to really enjoy this one.

A great read! John MCPhee is a well-known author, and this “book report” of his time living in Scotland was very interesting!

I'm a John McPhee fan going back many years but until recently had missed one of his earlier works. This book is about the isle of Colonsay, one of the Hebrides islands off the coast of Scotland. As always, McPhee (whose ancestors came from the island) mixes geography, geology, history and humanity to tell the tell of life on a tiny island owned by the laird (lord) and populated by the small farmers of rented plots, or crofters. He and his family visited Colonsay over 40 years ago, when the population had been dwindling for some time; odds are, there are only a handful of people on the island now. As with virtually everything McPhee writes, the language is complex, beautiful and, at times, moving.So why four stars instead of five? There's a bit too much Gaelic (though he always translates it), but mostly it's too short! I would have loved to know more about the families and the individuals, especially the laird and his family, and the relationships between the families of islanders. It felt as if it was just getting going...and then it was over.

In a genre on his own, McPhee, has written a book on his homecoming with his family to his forefathers' isle of Colonsay, the Hebrides.It is not like ordinary travel writing, but a mixture of history, legends, some information about Gaelic, gossip and daily life, mainly related to the interactions of people all around the isle. McPhee is an excellent narrator. Neither sentimental nor judgemental, so that you believe in him. It was a pleasure to read this book, even if it went much too fast. The book also contains some nice drawings here and there.

coming from McPhee's supreme and doorstopping Annals of a Former World (*****, qv.), this slim account of a year on his ancestral and inaccessibly remote Inner Hebridean island of Colonsay is a mere 9/10... we had a late-80's young-family October holiday week there, with friends, bikes only - staying at Kiloran indeed - and this account of a generation earlier is thus doubly fascinating. the feudal forelock was still being well and truly tugged. McPhee's all-purpose New Yorker mode of easy authority and intelligent, large writing can grate when confronted with harsh island realities - hints of ambulance chasing, and of tales told against tellers - but this is an invaluable vignette. and it has aged very well - timeless stuff. to dedicate a year of your metropolitan writing career to this outlandish sabbatical, young daughters an' a', was quite a commitment. respect. ps. respect for the crofter relations is unsurprising, but for the young laird also... - a sequel wd b gd.

... McFee at his best ...

This was a present, but the receiver thought it was good.

not as interesting as I'd hoped, but a good read nevertheless.