Sometimes you just want to slough off the old world and dance around the bluebell wood in gay abandon. Anything new, anything fresh will do. Why not give Kirsty Logan (http://www.kirstylogan.com/) a go? The summary of her fantasy is as follows. As a ‘Gracekeeper’, Callanish administers shoreside burials, sending the dead to their final resting place in the depths of the ocean. Alone on her island, she has exiled herself to a life of tending watery graves as penance for a mistake that still haunts her. Meanwhile, North works as a circus performer with the Excalibur, a floating troupe of acrobats, clowns, dancers, and trainers who sail from one archipelago to the next, entertaining in exchange for sustenance.
In a world divided between those inhabiting the mainland (“landlockers”) and those who float on the sea (“damplings”), loneliness has become a way of life for North and Callanish, until a sudden storm offshore brings change to both their lives – offering them a new understanding of the world they live in and the consequences of the past, while restoring hope in an unexpected future.
Inspired in part by Scottish myths and fairytales, The Gracekeepers tells a modern story of an irreparably changed world: one that harbours the same isolation and sadness, but also joys and marvels of our own age.
Enquire at your local library or consult http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gracekeepers-Kirsty-Logan/dp/1846559162/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432044440&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gracekeepers for full bibliographic details.
304 pages in Harvill Secker
First published 23 April 2015
ISBN 978-1846559167
Kirsty Logan