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A review by rjnicaoidh
Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey by Madeleine Bunting
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I found Bunting's take on the Outer Hebrides interesting yet it fell into the trope of 'Londoners' coming to the Hebrides and writing about it as if it is a new land full on unknown things and hostile natives (hint: it is not).
As a native speaker it was nice to see her take an interest in the language, as this is often ignored in these types of travel-style memoirs.
Overall, I think it is worth reading but Bunting doesn't quite get Scottish politics and identity and this seems clear at points; so well worth reading but it is more informative about what English people may think about the area than on the culture of the Hebrides itself, which is worth bearing in mind.
As a native speaker it was nice to see her take an interest in the language, as this is often ignored in these types of travel-style memoirs.
Overall, I think it is worth reading but Bunting doesn't quite get Scottish politics and identity and this seems clear at points; so well worth reading but it is more informative about what English people may think about the area than on the culture of the Hebrides itself, which is worth bearing in mind.