Reviews

Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon

neil_denham's review against another edition

4.0

After a rocky slow start, and almost grinding to a halt, in the end something clicked and I really got into it!

alimarvels83's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

rosieannereads's review against another edition

i enjoyed this book so much more than i originally anticipated!!
definitely worth reading if you enjoy the use of landscape beyond it just being described as the setting of a novel!

nuusreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

benedito's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

edulira's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nicky_brierley's review

5.0

What a beautiful novel!

luxxybee97's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 tl;dr – damn poor Chris can really never great a break huh 

 

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   I actually cried while reading parts towards the closure of Sunset Song, as in genuinely teared up, which was very unexpected of me. I never ever cry at books, but Lewis Grassic Gibbon has a ridiculously endearing way of evoking the land of Kinraddie and all the personalities – and I mean personalities – that reside upon it. Not least of course Chris Guthrie and her family, but all the side characters too who, for the most part, feel pretty well fleshed-out for a book that’s only 250 pages long or so. There’s a lot of moments of humour scattered throughout Sunset Song, which is a relief, as much of it is also pretty grim and bleak. I can remember hearsay from fellow students back at university who studied it in Scottish Literature (obviously), but I actually think I would have liked this book much more than I would have been expecting. The obvious parallel that springs to mind is Tess of the d’Urbervilles, but the comparisons are admittedly superficial. Gibbon has much more of the conversationalist in him, or perhaps it’s just the Scottish temperament, even with the gulf of time (and admittedly geography), that draws me so close to this story and these characters. 

 

   No matter what life throws at her, Chris keeps getting up and going, despite the trials and the tribulations. Though I did find the relationship with Ewan not the healthiest, you still felt the genuine depths of their love for each other, and I think that’s what made his transformation post-war so harrowing, not just for Chris but for me as the reader as well. This is just one thing going wrong after another – not just the war and losing loved ones, but the lack of an education too because of the lack of choice, the changes in the landscape, the coming of the machinery whose blades will devour the old life that existed in this place for centuries and which, even by the time this book was published, must have already felt like a distant dream to so many. Gibbon describes the land with such vigour that it feels like I am walking with Chris over it, my hand on the standing stones as well, my eyes falling upon the looming Grampians. It’s superbly well-written and far more engrossing than teenage me would have thought (because teenage me was obviously such a good judge of everything), and a classic that I can actually see myself wanting to read again, and not because I feel like I have to read it. 

susanlawson's review against another edition

5.0

The beautifully written story of Chris Guthrie and her life on the Blawearie croft in the village of Kinraddie. Through happy and sad times, peace and war, she is a strong, wonderful heroine with her heart bound to the land, as the changes at the beginning of the 20th century ravage the countryside and the people around her.

kaithyde's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25