Review 127: The Quarry Wood

The Quarry Wood by Nan Shepherd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a Scottish book, written by a Scotswoman nearly 100 years ago. The story was at times difficult in reading due to the Scottish Brogue in the dialogue. The rest of the passages were plain enough English to read, but the conversations were tricky. There was a glossary provided at the back of the book, but not all of the words were listed. Many words were contractions, so as to get the feel of the speakers, yet it was at times nearly indecipherable. Generally though it did not pose too big of a problem, as it can be figured out what was being said, more or less.

The story line isn’t all that unique. Here we have a young woman from a poor family that is smart and goes on in her education. Of course she has difficulty with that, as it wasn’t done very much during this time.

Our heroine, Martha struggles. First she feels as an outsider due to her poverty. At home she is chided for being above the rest of her family. Martha manages to continue, having a good friend, who happens to be married. They help her navigate the intellectual world. About the time Martha gets her teaching degree she realizes she’s in love with her best friend’s husband, Luke. Then the misery starts. Fortunately life has a way of bringing her more work than one should be able to manage. For Martha caring for her ill aunt, teaching the wee ones, and taking care of her mother’s house left her little time to ruminate about Luke.

One aspect makes me wonder, Martha’s mother liked to take in young babies, barins. I didn’t understand in the beginning, but near the end it made clear that these barins that were took in were from unwed mothers.

I was interested in a Scottish story, particularly from a while back. Here is a well written book that fits that, if you can manage with the accented words. This book is the first in a series. Don’t think I’ll read all four, but I may try the last, The Living Mountain.



Oh, and final note: I heard that the story was based on the author's own story, of course fictionalized.