A review by katieemarie27
The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford

5.0

As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by St Kilda and have read much about the life of the St Kildans. As soon as I saw this book I was intrigued to read it but, being from the Hebrides myself, I also approached it with dubious caution. In the past, I have read several books where I felt the authors exploited the romanticism and escapism stirred up by the wild Highlands and Islands as the ideal backdrop for their story - but giving no real depth to the lives of its people. This book does the complete opposite. It is well researched and gives life to the land. It paints a realistic picture of what rural life was, and to an extent still is, like in places like St Kilda. How hard life can be and ultimately was for them. The author’s well-developed characters and settings had me gripped and I shed more than a few tears at different parts - a good sign of an emotive story! I feel the story was respectfully and tastefully woven. I did predict how the story was going to go quite early on but enjoyed reading nonetheless and there definitely were a couple surprises to keep it interesting. 9.5/10! ✨