★ "A small treasure... A bloody and beautiful sojourn in the distant past."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A brilliant Scottish debut, shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and the Bookmark Book Festival Book of the Year.
The year is 825 CE. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by raiders from the north, an unlikely trio finds themselves the lone survivors on a remote Scottish isle. Still breathing are young Brother Martin, the only resident of the local monastery to escape martyrdom; Una, a beekeeper and mead maker who has been relieved of her violent husband during the slaughter; and Grimur, an aging Norseman who claws his way out of the hasty grave his fellow raiders left him in, thinking him dead.
As the seasons pass in this wild and lonely setting, their inherent distrust of each other melts into a complex meditation on the...
Description:
A Fall 2025 Indies Introduce Pick
★ "A small treasure... A bloody and beautiful sojourn in the distant past."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A brilliant Scottish debut, shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and the Bookmark Book Festival Book of the Year.
The year is 825 CE. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by raiders from the north, an unlikely trio finds themselves the lone survivors on a remote Scottish isle. Still breathing are young Brother Martin, the only resident of the local monastery to escape martyrdom; Una, a beekeeper and mead maker who has been relieved of her violent husband during the slaughter; and Grimur, an aging Norseman who claws his way out of the hasty grave his fellow raiders left him in, thinking him dead.
As the seasons pass in this wild and lonely setting, their inherent distrust of each other melts into a complex meditation on the...