Letters from Skye

Written almost entirely in the form of letters, 'Letters from Skye' traces the developing relationship between David Graham, a young American student from Illinois reluctantly studying science but secretly longing to be a children's writer, and Elspeth Dunn, a Scots poet living on Skye, and unable to leave the island due to her paranoid fear of drowning. David first writes to Elspeth in 1912, after a friend has sent him a collection of her poetry. Elspeth is thrilled to have a literary admirer from overseas, and their correspondence soon flourishes, as they exchange thoughts on poetry and fiction, university studies and life. And because the friendship takes place entirely in the form of letters, and they don't imagine they'll ever meet, they can be very open with each other. It's only as World War I begins, and David impetuously volunteers to be an ambulance driver on the Western front, that the possibility of a meeting looms - and the pair realize that they have fallen in love. But (aside from Elspeth's fear of crossing water) the relationship is fraught with problems. For Elspeth is married, and for a rural Scots girl, separation and divorce in the 1910s was all but unheard of... what will Elspeth and David do? The story of the choices that they make in the wake of their realization of love runs alongside that of Elspeth's daughter Margaret, who, early in World War II, discovers a stack of letters in her mother's Edinburgh house, addressed from a man called David to 'Sue'. But who is Sue, and why does Margaret's mother have her letters? Margaret determines to unravel the mystery, and through letters to her fiance Paul tells us how she does so.This is a very hard book to give a rating to. When it's at its best, it is very good indeed, but it's of a variable standard. On the positive side, Brockmole does create a real sense of warmth and excitement in the David/Elspeth relationship. Their epistolary chats about literature are lovely, there's some attractive descriptions of Skye (though not quite enough), and the letter format provides a very poignant way to show the pair falling in love, without even realizing what is happening to them to begin with. There's a real sense of danger in the sections when Davey is at the Front, and in the later stages of the book Brockmole is strong on Elspeth's confusion about her divided loyalties. And I have to confess that I had a tear in my eye in the final chapters! So, as a romance the book triumphantly succeeded in making me care about both the lovers, and wish them well, and I thought the wartime setting was good. The book's also very readable indeed - I galloped through it in about three days, and with a lot of work on at the same time.On the other hand, I have to say that - like Sarah Blake's 'The Postmistress' though this is an infinitely superior book - there was much about the narrative that struck me as being improbable. For example - how many working-class Scottish girls living on the islands managed to make it as successful poets in the 1910s? I know there are examples of Scottish women from humble backgrounds who became successful writers of literary fiction and poetry (Jessie Kesson springs to mind) but they tended to be born later (Kesson came to fame after World War II) or, like Nan Shepherd, managed to get to university. I think Brockmole distinctly underplayed Elspeth's humble and probably quite poor background (I also doubt she'd have talked so casually about trying for college in around 1912). Then there was the tone of the letters. It's possible that David, a lover of Mark Twain and an impetuous young man, would have written quite informally - but would a Scots crofter's daughter really have written back such chatty, relaxed letters immediately, to a complete stranger? And wouldn't Elspeth's guilt at getting close to another man when she was married have been much stronger? Brockmole also underplays the role of religion in the islands, I think - although Elspeth might have been free-thinking herself, she would have almost certainly come from quite a strict Presbyterian background (unless her family were very unconventional) and so would have felt a deal of religious guilt about falling for a young man when she was already married. Which brings me to the main problem of the book - the situation with Elspeth's husband Iain is very badly handled. It is certainly true that people can make mistakes in who they marry, and, through no fault of their own, fall passionately in love while married to someone else. What I felt was unbelievable was how relaxed both Elspeth and David were about the whole thing. There was barely any mention of Iain in the letters until he went to war (it was almost along the lines of 'oh yes, I've forgotten to tell you about my husband, I mentioned him about 100 pages ago very briefly') and once he was gone, Elspeth's indifference (at one point she says something rather airy like 'I'm not worried about Iain') was unbelievable for a person we were meant to believe was so caring. She might well have had a wonderful nine days with David in London, but I think there'd have been a lot of guilt and worry alongside it. Brockmole should, I feel, have worked Iain and Elspeth's feelings about him much more strongly into the book. It'd have made it a less cosy read, but a more interesting one and would have actually made Elspeth more sympathetic. (And the very good writing about Davey's feelings about Iain later on shows Brockmole was perfectly capable of doing this.)I also found some of the historical references in the book improbable (apologies if they were not). How could Elspeth and David, neither of whom were rich, spend nine days in the posh Langham Hotel? If Elspeth wasn't working (poetry's never paid that highly) how could she afford to 'let a flat in Edinburgh', and what did she live on after she moved there for good with Margaret? At one point when Davey is wounded Elspeth crosses the Channel and goes to see him in France. Not only would this have been ruinously expensive for a fisherman's wife, but I don't believe that women could actually get to the soldiers and ambulance drivers easily (when Sylvia Tietjens visits her husband Christopher in 'Parades End' not only does she get into trouble, but I think she can only do it with some sort of military pass from an admirer). I don't think escapes from German camps were as regular or easy as the one described in the book (not if that Jean Renoir film about one is anything to go by) and there was little mention of the terror of the Blitz in the World War II sections (even if Elspeth was wounded in it). And how did people keep whizzing around so easily by train during World War II, when seats were at a premium and delays horrific? And that's before one wonders at the speed Elspeth keeps expecting letters to America to be answered in 1940. Also - why did she have to go to the Langham Hotel (and spend yet more money) to send out her letters? Couldn't she have made a research trip to London then done her writing and mailing from Scotland?!And there were other minor quibbles on the way. I get why 'Sue' was used as a name (no spoiler, we learn who 'Sue' is at about Page 20), as Margaret has to be unsure who the letters are to, but it bears hardly any relationship to the name 'Elspeth' and we never learn why David chose it. It's a mistake (as always - I still remember Christabel La Motte's dreadful poetry in 'Possession', not to mention Randolph Henry Ash's) to quote fictional 'great' poets by attempting to write their poetry as Brockmole does (though to be fair the bit she writes, if slushy, isn't that bad!). And I didn't find the Margaret/Paul story nearly as compelling as the Davey/Elspeth one as they were neither that interesting as characters.Nevertheless, there was something very powerful about the Davey and Elspeth relationship (and Davey was a genuinely attractive hero, who became more so throughout the book - no mean thing) which made me decide to hold onto this book after reading it, and I imagine that - all these quibbles not withstanding - I will read it again. Creating a genuinely romantic relationship takes some doing, so bravo to Brockmole for that.

This is beautiful, just beautiful. It moved me to tears, the writing is excellent and never once did I skip a page or flip through to see where it was going especially as it's a very unusual format; written in letter form from one character to another. I have been to Skye many times and live close by so could picture the setting perfectly but without that, as the author is so adept in her descriptions of the island, I feel anyone would be able to see the home of "Sue" perfectly. It captured the essence of two lonely souls meeting by chance in such an unsettling period; between the wars and there was almost magic at work with this as I felt as if I was there, with them as they struggled with their long distance relationship, expressing their fears and concerns for loved ones but never doubting their commitment to each other despite the distance between them. Oh I could have continued with this story for another 200 pages, so captivated as I was with it all. I hope this author has plans to write another as I would love to see what she plans for her next adventure. Recommended, highly, it's a grand story to be sure!

Opposites attract. I'm a Belgian novelist who writes very dark, tense and shocking novels on the crossroads between literature and the crime novel. Pegasus Books published "Baudelaire's Revenge" this year in the US. I'm 61 and at the end of my 'career' (not the immediate end, I hope) but I always wanted to write a novel where love conquers in the end, but time and time again my protagonists are destroyed by other emotions - greed, lust,sollipsism etc. - that corrupt their ability to love. Jessica Brockmole has done what I dreamed off: she has written an utterly touching love story bridging the years between WW1 and WW2, evoking the power of hope, illustrating that our deepest feelings do not degrade through time. The fact that Brockmole chose to tell her story in letters add to the emotional force of the tale. The reader connects immediately with the characters. The backdrop of war(s) deepens the lyrical love story. I confess (but keep it secret): now and then tears came into my eyes. Such a heart-warming, gentle saga with characters you want to have close to you. Oh, and before I forget: a vivid rendering of the natural beauty of the Scottisch Island Skye....

I loved the main characters in this book as well as the description of an islanders life. I could feel the wind in my hair coming off the sea with Elspeth and I completely lost myself between the two world wars.The line 'A letter isn't always a letter, words on the page can drench the soul' is now one of my favourite book quotes and sums up Letters from Skye. Highly recommended.

A lovely heart warming story. I couldn't put it down