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mrmysteryfox's review
4.0
Randomly picked this up on a trip to Skye. Intrigued by the story of germ warfare experiments off the coast of the Isle of Lewis. Thoughtful story considering the morality of performing such experiments and the impact on the local community. Provided an insight into small island life and the interactions of such a close knit community. Worth a read.
dmcnaught's review
2.0
I bought this book after reading about the experiments, the chemicals and the secrets surrounding the entire testing that took place off the coast in North West Scotland.
I've rated it only two stars, not really hearing much about the plot but more about the characters on the Island, there ghosts and foibles
I'm dissatisfied with this title and cannot recommend it to anyone
I've rated it only two stars, not really hearing much about the plot but more about the characters on the Island, there ghosts and foibles
I'm dissatisfied with this title and cannot recommend it to anyone
carnbostrikesagain's review
slow-paced
2.0
This book has got to have one of the most misleading blurbs I've ever read. It endeavours to make this book seem as if it is about Operation Cauldron but it isn't really, that's all just backdrop for 3 relatively boring characters wandering about an island and listening to gaelic songs which are transcribed in gaelic and English in this book which is nice if there weren't nearly one a chapter. How much of this book is actually original content cause I'd say the songs make up near 30% of the overall word count.
It is described also as 'a haunting exploration of the costs and fallout of warmongering'. I fail to see how it fit any of that criteria. Sure one character's wife doesn't like chemical warfare and that makes him lose it but how is that an exploration of anything?
Having a specific event in history as the backdrop of setting of your story does not mean it is an 'exploration' of it. This book isn't seemingly attempting it either. It is more interested in the nature of people who live on islands.
I'm mad cause I was misled and I'm mad for the author cause he didn't mislead me. He probs had nothing really to do with the blurb.
Glad I got it out a charity shop and didn't spend 9.99 on it.
It is described also as 'a haunting exploration of the costs and fallout of warmongering'. I fail to see how it fit any of that criteria. Sure one character's wife doesn't like chemical warfare and that makes him lose it but how is that an exploration of anything?
Having a specific event in history as the backdrop of setting of your story does not mean it is an 'exploration' of it. This book isn't seemingly attempting it either. It is more interested in the nature of people who live on islands.
I'm mad cause I was misled and I'm mad for the author cause he didn't mislead me. He probs had nothing really to do with the blurb.
Glad I got it out a charity shop and didn't spend 9.99 on it.
lindsaytonner's review
3.0
esting to see him develop his skill as a novel writer, this being his second, a follow up of sorts to his previous award winning novel 'As The Women Lay Dreaming.'
Although Mr Murray has lived (been exiled according to his Twitter bio) in Shetland for over a decade, he was born and bred in the Isle of Lewis, and if his vivid descriptions of the island are anything to go by, this is where his heart is.
The blurb on the back of the book tells us that this is a tale of intrigue, of top-secret germ warfare, of government secrets and cover-ups. Set in 1952, it is a fictional account of the very real 'Operation Cauldron' where a vessel moored in the Western Isles carried out experiments with toxins such as anthrax, mustard gas and even the bubonic plague, partly for use as weapons if ever needed and partly to study and learn how to protect the nation in the possible case of a pandemic. However, to say this is the only story within this novel's pages is to do it a disservice. Murray deftly weaves together two main storylines, from opposing points of view, to give a complete, and compelling account of the events.
Our two protaganists are Jessie, a local woman, who has spent years pining for her lost love, and John, one of the men working as a scientist as part of 'Operation Cauldron' who is battling his own inner demons; his struggling relationship with his new wife and his own misgivings about the work he is a part of. It could also be said that there is a very prominent 3rd main character - the island itself. Which is where Donald Murray's love and passion for the island clearly shine.
Throughout the novel the island is described, seen, and experienced by foreigners to the Western Islands as well as by locals who know it like the back of their hands. For all it appears to be a bleak and wild place; barren and devoid of life, when seen through the eyes of local woman Jessie, we see that is not the case, that the moors are filled with many different types of plant life, providing hidden bursts of colour and life, as well as being filled with the sounds of all manner of distictive bird calls and of course the ever present sheep. Unlike incomer John's monotone view of Lewis as an almost frighteningly foreign wasteland, Jessie shows that sometimes you need to look a little closer to appreciate what is right in front of you.
Within these two narratives however, are a host of smaller stories. Although to call them smaller seems unjust, for the stories of the people of the islands are what make these small communities their own personality. The stories of men who have been to war, stationed almost around the globe, who have returned, and the stories of those who never did. Stories of the women who wait for their men and of those who took a leap of faith into the unknown and journeyed to the New World, in search of a new life. These stories are expertly woven into the greater story, like the fine tweed worn by the islanders themselves.
Before reading ‘In A Veil of Mist,’ I had never heard of “Operation Cauldron” where a fishing trawler was contaminated by a cloud of... who knows... Ultimately the scientists caught a lucky break and didn’t cause a disease to wend it’s way from the tiny, insular, testing site, out into the greater world, through their own mistakes and errors, but it could easily have ended in a disaster. One that is all too easy to understand today, a year after the National lockdown response to the Covid 19 pandemic. A timely reminder when John is trying to justify his career to his new wife when he says, “You never know the day or the hour.”
I couldn’t help but feel that the islanders themselves were a metaphor, not for the deadly toxins, but to show the ease in which they could travel throughout the world. The assumption made my the scientists was that these are small people, living small lives, in insular communities in the middle of nowhere, but the Hebredians, much like Shetlanders, are brave and bold, travelling the length and breadth of the world, often returning to the place they call home. The incomers inaccurate assumptions would have been their undoing.
Murray also makes use throughout the novel of the Gaelic language, an unfamiliar tongue to me, living in Shetland, but interesting none-the-less. Just enough is used to create some depth to the characters without going too far the other way, making them strangers to those uninitiated in the complex language. Murray’s obvious familiarity with Gaelic lends a sense of realism to the fictional characters.
Although Mr Murray has lived (been exiled according to his Twitter bio) in Shetland for over a decade, he was born and bred in the Isle of Lewis, and if his vivid descriptions of the island are anything to go by, this is where his heart is.
The blurb on the back of the book tells us that this is a tale of intrigue, of top-secret germ warfare, of government secrets and cover-ups. Set in 1952, it is a fictional account of the very real 'Operation Cauldron' where a vessel moored in the Western Isles carried out experiments with toxins such as anthrax, mustard gas and even the bubonic plague, partly for use as weapons if ever needed and partly to study and learn how to protect the nation in the possible case of a pandemic. However, to say this is the only story within this novel's pages is to do it a disservice. Murray deftly weaves together two main storylines, from opposing points of view, to give a complete, and compelling account of the events.
Our two protaganists are Jessie, a local woman, who has spent years pining for her lost love, and John, one of the men working as a scientist as part of 'Operation Cauldron' who is battling his own inner demons; his struggling relationship with his new wife and his own misgivings about the work he is a part of. It could also be said that there is a very prominent 3rd main character - the island itself. Which is where Donald Murray's love and passion for the island clearly shine.
Throughout the novel the island is described, seen, and experienced by foreigners to the Western Islands as well as by locals who know it like the back of their hands. For all it appears to be a bleak and wild place; barren and devoid of life, when seen through the eyes of local woman Jessie, we see that is not the case, that the moors are filled with many different types of plant life, providing hidden bursts of colour and life, as well as being filled with the sounds of all manner of distictive bird calls and of course the ever present sheep. Unlike incomer John's monotone view of Lewis as an almost frighteningly foreign wasteland, Jessie shows that sometimes you need to look a little closer to appreciate what is right in front of you.
Within these two narratives however, are a host of smaller stories. Although to call them smaller seems unjust, for the stories of the people of the islands are what make these small communities their own personality. The stories of men who have been to war, stationed almost around the globe, who have returned, and the stories of those who never did. Stories of the women who wait for their men and of those who took a leap of faith into the unknown and journeyed to the New World, in search of a new life. These stories are expertly woven into the greater story, like the fine tweed worn by the islanders themselves.
Before reading ‘In A Veil of Mist,’ I had never heard of “Operation Cauldron” where a fishing trawler was contaminated by a cloud of... who knows... Ultimately the scientists caught a lucky break and didn’t cause a disease to wend it’s way from the tiny, insular, testing site, out into the greater world, through their own mistakes and errors, but it could easily have ended in a disaster. One that is all too easy to understand today, a year after the National lockdown response to the Covid 19 pandemic. A timely reminder when John is trying to justify his career to his new wife when he says, “You never know the day or the hour.”
I couldn’t help but feel that the islanders themselves were a metaphor, not for the deadly toxins, but to show the ease in which they could travel throughout the world. The assumption made my the scientists was that these are small people, living small lives, in insular communities in the middle of nowhere, but the Hebredians, much like Shetlanders, are brave and bold, travelling the length and breadth of the world, often returning to the place they call home. The incomers inaccurate assumptions would have been their undoing.
Murray also makes use throughout the novel of the Gaelic language, an unfamiliar tongue to me, living in Shetland, but interesting none-the-less. Just enough is used to create some depth to the characters without going too far the other way, making them strangers to those uninitiated in the complex language. Murray’s obvious familiarity with Gaelic lends a sense of realism to the fictional characters.
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