
The Green Isle of the Great Deep
Neil Gunn(Author)
Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited (Publisher)
Published on 2. June 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-904598-68-8 (ISBN)
Description
"In The Green Isle of the Great Deep", Gunn continues the adventures of the two protagonists from his 1942 novel "Young Art and Old Hector". The unlikely friends, representing the extremes of age and youth, are out on an undercover poaching trip when they become swept up in the currents of a salmon pool. When they awaken they have been transported from the Highlands of our world to an alternative Highland universe: a beautiful, fertile land called the Green Isle. Despite the abundance of the land, and the trees dripping with fruit, the population are subdued and miserable, ruled over by a strict upper class and forbidden to touch the fruit. Young Art, however, is not so easily controlled and his actions begin a chain of events which will change the Green Isle forever. Gunn draws many parallels in this tale, from the biblical references to Eden and the Tree of Knowledge, to contemporary commentary on the Nazi situation in 1940s Europe. Told fully in Highland dialect, 'The Green Isle of the Great Deep" is a both a wonderful Scottish parable and a warning of the dangers of power and its abuse.
Reviews / Votes
'A brilliant novelist' Lewis Grassic GibbonMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Birlinn General
Weight
270 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-904598-68-8 (9781904598688)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Neil Gunn was born in Dunbeath, Caithness in 1891, the seventh of nine children. He published short stories throughout the 1920s and his first novel The Grey Coast in 1926. He wrote several other novels, including Butcher's Broom (1934), The Silver Darlings (1941) and his autobiography, The Atom of Delight, in 1956. He worked for the Civil Service as a Customs and Excise officer before becoming a full-time writer in 1937. He died in 1973.