The Guga Stone

About the Book: 

Place one guga [almost fully grown gannet chick] and one stone in a pan of water and boil. Once you can pierce the stone with a fork, the guga is ready for eating…

Meet Calum.

In 1930, the last remaining St Kildans evacuated their isolated outpost 100 miles off the west coast of Scotland. Calum returns a few years later, alone and troubled, the sole guardian of the islanders’ abandoned homes. Haunted by the memories that linger there, he begins to re-live the experiences of residents long past.

Acrobats, airmen, cormorants, cragsmen and angels leap, climb, shimmer and swoop through the pages of The Guga Stone.

With subtle humour, Donald S. Murray mixes mythology, fiction and history to recreate St Kilda’s tales and legends for our time.

Reviews: 

This is a wonderfully eclectic collection of poems and prose by a gifted Scottish writer. THE GUARDIAN

About the Author:

DONALD S. MURRAY comes from Ness in Lewis but now lives in Shetland. A poet, author, teacher and occasional journalist, Donald’s books range from in tone and content from The Guga Hunters and And On This Rock (Birlinn) to Small Expectations (Two Ravens Press) and Weaving Songs (Acair). He has been awarded the Jessie Kesson Writing Fellowship and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. He has also been shortlisted for the Saltire First Book Award and the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award.

DOUGLAS ROBERTSON comes from Dundee but now lives in Hampshire. Artist, teacher and occasional poet, he has worked on numerous collaborations with poets and authors throughout his career. His work is held in public collections throughout the UK.