Oh, Caledonia

Oh, Caledonia, Elspeth Barker's exceptional first novel, evokes the unforgiving cold of Calvinism and the climate of inhospitable rural Scotland. It is a world of isolation and loneliness, where Janet, the young protagonist of Barker, turns more and more strongly to literature, nature and her unique aunt Lila, who offers the girl small havens of peace in a life so other miserable. People, birds and beasts move in unison in a joyous yet macabre dance across a dejected landscape, in a story as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and biting. The family motto, Moriens sed invictus ("To die unconquered"), is a fitting epitaph for the wild and courageous Janet, whose determination of hers always made her remain unswerving, even when the force of events seemed to overcome her.