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rouge_red's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
I didn't expect it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think it's meant to feel quite isolated, but for me, this book makes me want to visit the Shetland Islands and sit outside knitting woolen sweaters. I liked how quiet this novel was and the tiny complexities that make life difficult, yet also worth living, no matter where you are. I can't wait to see what other fiction Malachy Tallack brings out.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
3.0
In a desolate corner of Shetland live a small community in danger of extinction. Young people move away and few take their place, the population is growing smaller and families are needed to bring life into the valley. For David, a lifelong resident, change is something he has observed over time. For Alice the valley is somewhere to escape after the death of her husband.
This is a gentle and spare book in which nothing really happens but the quality of the writing is enough. Tallack writes in a version of dialect which is almost soporific in its gentleness but keeps the reader engaged. A decent enough debut.
This is a gentle and spare book in which nothing really happens but the quality of the writing is enough. Tallack writes in a version of dialect which is almost soporific in its gentleness but keeps the reader engaged. A decent enough debut.
bookish_arcadia's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sarah70's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
ronaea's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vicky523's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
joecam79's review against another edition
4.0
At the age of ten, Malachy Tallack moved to Shetland with his family. Now an award-winning singer-songwriter, journalist and author, he has written extensively about life in these remote islands. Tallack has also published two travel books : [b:Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home|26889749|Sixty Degrees North Around the World in Search of Home|Malachy Tallack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444712924s/26889749.jpg|45285153], an exploration of lands along the sixtieth parallel (which also crosses through the Shetland Isles) and [b:The Un-Discovered Islands: An Archipelago of Myths and Mysteries, Phantoms and Fakes|30170971|The Un-Discovered Islands An Archipelago of Myths and Mysteries, Phantoms and Fakes|Malachy Tallack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463001773s/30170971.jpg|50610951], about mythical islands once believed to be real. Valley at the Centre of the World is his first novel. Set in Shetland, it is a work of fiction but one shaped by the reality that Tallack knows so well.
Tallack emphasizes the sense of isolation by making his setting doubly insular – his protagonists are not only islanders, but the inhabitants of a valley distant from the comparative bustle of Lerwick. There’s old crofter David and his wife Mary. There’s Sandy – their daughter Emma’s ex-partner – who has stayed on in Shetland even as Emma has gone south to mainland Scotland. There’s crime-writer Alice, who has retired to this distant part of the world after prematurely losing her husband to cancer. There’s Ryan and Jo, a young couple who move in as tenants in one of the cottages owned by David. There’s Terry, battling the demons of alcoholism and family breakdown. And then there’s the memory of Maggie, once the valley’s oldest inhabitant, still inspiring affection and respect from beyond the grave.
In its portrayal of an isolated community and its handling of themes of identity and belonging, Valley at the Centre of the World reminded me of another novel I read recently – Ray Jacobsen’s [b:The Unseen|31936168|The Unseen|Roy Jacobsen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473520085s/31936168.jpg|25879684] which is set in a remote Norwegian island. There is also a similarity in the approach to dialogue, the thick dialect of the Shetland Isles (David’s in particular) rendered phonetically to give readers a feel for its sound. Yet the novels are also very different. Jacobsen’s is more overtly (self-consciously?) literary in style, its purposely vague temporal setting giving the novel a timeless, fable-like feel. On the other hand, Tallack strives for authenticity, to the point of having one of his characters (Alice) work on a history of the valley – a convenient way of putting across information about the island without appearing artificial or pedantic.
Tallack’s novel is also clearly rooted in the present and expresses the challenges faced by young (and not-so-young) people who take the plunge and make a distant island the centre of their world. Indeed, the same care taken in the portrayal of the natural setting is dedicated to the development of character – we are given enough of the protagonists’ backstory to turn them into flesh-and-blood figures. And this is one of the book’s strong points – although it is a novel in which not much happens by way of plot, the dynamics between the different characters are strangely beguiling and by the end of the book, the protagonists feel like old friends.
Tallack emphasizes the sense of isolation by making his setting doubly insular – his protagonists are not only islanders, but the inhabitants of a valley distant from the comparative bustle of Lerwick. There’s old crofter David and his wife Mary. There’s Sandy – their daughter Emma’s ex-partner – who has stayed on in Shetland even as Emma has gone south to mainland Scotland. There’s crime-writer Alice, who has retired to this distant part of the world after prematurely losing her husband to cancer. There’s Ryan and Jo, a young couple who move in as tenants in one of the cottages owned by David. There’s Terry, battling the demons of alcoholism and family breakdown. And then there’s the memory of Maggie, once the valley’s oldest inhabitant, still inspiring affection and respect from beyond the grave.
In its portrayal of an isolated community and its handling of themes of identity and belonging, Valley at the Centre of the World reminded me of another novel I read recently – Ray Jacobsen’s [b:The Unseen|31936168|The Unseen|Roy Jacobsen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473520085s/31936168.jpg|25879684] which is set in a remote Norwegian island. There is also a similarity in the approach to dialogue, the thick dialect of the Shetland Isles (David’s in particular) rendered phonetically to give readers a feel for its sound. Yet the novels are also very different. Jacobsen’s is more overtly (self-consciously?) literary in style, its purposely vague temporal setting giving the novel a timeless, fable-like feel. On the other hand, Tallack strives for authenticity, to the point of having one of his characters (Alice) work on a history of the valley – a convenient way of putting across information about the island without appearing artificial or pedantic.
Tallack’s novel is also clearly rooted in the present and expresses the challenges faced by young (and not-so-young) people who take the plunge and make a distant island the centre of their world. Indeed, the same care taken in the portrayal of the natural setting is dedicated to the development of character – we are given enough of the protagonists’ backstory to turn them into flesh-and-blood figures. And this is one of the book’s strong points – although it is a novel in which not much happens by way of plot, the dynamics between the different characters are strangely beguiling and by the end of the book, the protagonists feel like old friends.
shirley_grant's review against another edition
Enjoyed, but thought the book struggled to keep interest.
sha66areads's review
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Cute and simple story of a small community. You get a feeling that it will be some kind of mystery at the start but there really isn't anything there. Just character exploration and interaction.
barbarab's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A quiet, beautiful book about the life in a valley in Shetland and the people who live there. The author paints the picture of this valley, its inhabitants, to stay or not to stay in the valley, the sheep, the work there is to do. If you ever been to the Shetlands, this book will make you want to go back.