
Muckle Flugga
Michael Pedersen(Author)
Faber & Faber (Publisher)
Published on 22. May 2025
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-571-38772-4 (ISBN)
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRES FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A kaleidoscopic and linguistically daring work . . . Scintillating.' OCEAN VUONG
'A quirky and original debut that sizzles with scintillating prose.' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
'Michael Pedersen is a rare writer of real passion and power and this debut is phenomenal.' MATT HAIG
Life on a remote island is turned upside down by a stranger's arrival, testing bonds of family and tradition and leaving a young dreamer's future hanging in the balance.
It's no ordinary existence on the rugged isle of Muckle Flugga. The elements run riot and the very rocks that shape the place begin to shift under their influence. The only human inhabitants are the lighthouse keeper, known as The Father, and his otherworldly son, Ouse. Them, and the occasional lodger to keep the wolf from the door.
When one of those lodgers - Firth, a chaotic writer - arrives from Edinburgh, the limits of the world the keeper and his son cling to begin to crumble. A tug of war ensues between Firth and the lighthouse keeper for Ouse's affections - and his future. As old and new ways collide, and life-changing decisions loom, what will the tides leave standing in their wake?
'A kaleidoscopic and linguistically daring work . . . Scintillating.' OCEAN VUONG
'A quirky and original debut that sizzles with scintillating prose.' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
'Michael Pedersen is a rare writer of real passion and power and this debut is phenomenal.' MATT HAIG
Life on a remote island is turned upside down by a stranger's arrival, testing bonds of family and tradition and leaving a young dreamer's future hanging in the balance.
It's no ordinary existence on the rugged isle of Muckle Flugga. The elements run riot and the very rocks that shape the place begin to shift under their influence. The only human inhabitants are the lighthouse keeper, known as The Father, and his otherworldly son, Ouse. Them, and the occasional lodger to keep the wolf from the door.
When one of those lodgers - Firth, a chaotic writer - arrives from Edinburgh, the limits of the world the keeper and his son cling to begin to crumble. A tug of war ensues between Firth and the lighthouse keeper for Ouse's affections - and his future. As old and new ways collide, and life-changing decisions loom, what will the tides leave standing in their wake?
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 220 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-571-38772-4 (9780571387724)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Person
Michael Pedersen is a prize-winning poet and author of Boy Friends, which was a Sunday Times Critics Choice and shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish National Book Awards. He was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship and is the current Writer in Residence at the University of Edinburgh, and Edinburgh's Makar.