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A review by casparb
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
4.0
o what a gorgeous novel a lot of love for this LGG chiselling out a precise prose I'm tempted to refer to chromatography the separation and the bleeding of inks but linguagraphy is, I suppose, just the act of writing something down. 4.5.
So rare to see a woman written this well by a man? We have our classic examples and I think Gibbon establishes himself quite smoothly in that pantheon with Tolstoy (particularly W&P), probably Baldwin and Faulkner to their extents, Joyce, Tennessee W. And even among these to see her as the inarguable protagonist is uncommon. Whether this standard is maintained over the rest of the trilogy? Can't say
Anyway I'm very impressed by this it feels wrought as a work of literature. Hewn, if we're sly. It seems to take cues from Tolstoy, in the best ways. Title as 'Best Scottish book of all time' is, of course, dubious and headline-y so I don't buy it as that but certainly this is a superior crème.
So rare to see a woman written this well by a man? We have our classic examples and I think Gibbon establishes himself quite smoothly in that pantheon with Tolstoy (particularly W&P), probably Baldwin and Faulkner to their extents, Joyce, Tennessee W. And even among these to see her as the inarguable protagonist is uncommon. Whether this standard is maintained over the rest of the trilogy? Can't say
Anyway I'm very impressed by this it feels wrought as a work of literature. Hewn, if we're sly. It seems to take cues from Tolstoy, in the best ways. Title as 'Best Scottish book of all time' is, of course, dubious and headline-y so I don't buy it as that but certainly this is a superior crème.