'A truly original and enthralling novel...mischievous, sad, funny and truthful' Stephen Kelman, BOOKER-SHORTLISTED author of PIGEON ENGLISH 'Clever, poignant, beautiful ... peopled by a cast of brilliantly off-the-wall characters, and full of keen-eyed observations about life on a remote Scottish island - and, by extension, everywhere. A must-read' Laura Barnett, author of THE VERSIONS OF US
WINNER OF THE EDINBURGH BOOK FESTIVAL FIRST BOOK AWARD, from the author also known as The Mull Historical Society.
When Fingal McMillan rows out into the Atlantic never to return, his grandson Alexander is left with questions. What really happened to Alexander's mother? Was his grandfather trying to reach The Looming, a rock of local myth? And why have mysterious words appeared on the cliff by the bay?
Alexander is not the only local boy whose origins are clouded by mystery - a mystery which stretches back to Victorian times, when a pioneering travel writer alighted on Scottish shores. But will the island give up its secrets? Or will Ivor Punch - the man who links the past to the present - take them to the grave?
Colin MacIntyre is an award-winning musician who has written and produced six albums to date, having achieved two Top 20 albums under the name Mull Historical Society. He has been voted Scotland's Top Creative Talent and has toured worldwide, including with The Strokes, Elbow and REM, and has played all the major festivals. He has performed live on Radio 4, 6Music, Radio 1, Radio 2, LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND and THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW, among many others. He is the co-author of a Radio 4 Afternoon Play, and has collaborated with Tony Benn and Irvine Welsh. His newest musical project is INK, an enigmatic electro-pop collaboration, of which the GUARDIAN has said, 'Perfect without being too box-ticking. INK is going to be massive.' Born into a family of writers and storytellers, Colin grew up on the isle of Mull in the Hebrides but now lives in London.
