Customer Reviews

The Camerons

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book haunts me. It has been weeded out of my library, and I can't find it anywhere.

It seems to be such a true thing. Gillan and Meggie, so far apart in nature, are equally compelling characters, and each of their children's personalities have been developed well.

Remembering my Great Uncle's accent, I was moved by even the language and syntax. In my childhood in Southern Illinois, we lived in a coal town. Classmate's fathers died in the mines sometimes, bazarr crafts involved shining chips of black coal. We burned it in the basement furnace for fuel, and I pulled many a glowing klinker from the flames to drop into a washtub until they cooled and were used to augment the sparse gravel in our driveway. So the story interested me greatly.

Since reading it, we have moved twice, and amidst the laughter of my family, I made sure we had a dark and handsome man as our "first-footer", for good luck. And I cannot read MacBeth without remembering the line where Gillan,reading it for the 3rd time underground, suddenly found Shakespeare to be beautiful....

I want this book again, to read again and to pass on to my boys.

This book was recommended by my mother. I don't know what happened to my original copy but I and my Scottish husband have been searching for it in every second-hand bookstore we could find. Excellent book in particular for those of Scottish heritage.

I first read this about 25 years ago and remembered it being an oustanding read. It was better the second time around. Can't remember when I've been so "involved" in the lives of characters in a novel. Mr. Crichton captures the essence of a group better than anyone. A truly outstanding book.

It has been 27 years since I first read this book and it has always stood out in my mind as being one of my favorite works of fiction. From the first sentence to the last you will be captivated. It is such a shame that this book is out of print and is so hard to find at the libraries because it is a true treasure. I still have my original copy and believe me I'm afraid to lend it out. This book should be considered a classic!

I first read this book when it came out in paperback in the 70's. The binding was totally messed up the last time I tried to read it and I recently ordered a better copy on line. This is a book that I want my children to read. Crichton does a better job than most of portraying life in a UK coal mining town and how people with iron wills managed to survive, if not exactly prosper under adverse conditions. It is one of those books that should remind us all of how good we really have it compared to our forebearers. Reading this book is both a joy and an education for those that would like to regain their connection to the life of the common man.

I read "The Camerons" years ago and decided to re-read it since all I remembered was that my mother and I loved it. It's an amazing story in which the author takes the time and has the skill to weave the reader into the characters' world, and a hard world it is. I encourage anyone who is thinking of reading the book to pick it up and read the first chapter. I bet it will do for you what it did for me, and that was to pull me into the story like quicksand.

I think all readers have a favorite book they go back to over the years, and this is that one for me.
As another reviewer wrote- it haunts me. I'll think of it at the strangest times. I read it *years* before
becoming a Mother myself (it shows a 1987 publish date, but I know I read this in the 70's) and often think of
Maggie and the type of Mother she is for better or worse. A wonderful, full, absorbing novel.

Read this story years ago and after re reading I found it as captivating as ever. This tale is timeless.

A carefully plotted, brilliantly crafted work of historical fiction set in the desperate poverty of a Scottish coal mining village. Like Denise Giardina's Storming Heaven, which also portrays the struggle of bitterly poor miners against the mine owner, Crichton has no difficulty making the romance of collective struggle come alive. Unlike the miners in Storming Heaven, Crichton's miners have no union support and must organize themselves to improve their starvation wages and incredibly dangerous working conditions. Crichton centers his plot around the strike organizer's strong willed indomitable wife Maggie, who has social ambitions and opposes the strike. The result is a fascinating clash of wills, in which Gillon ultimately prevails and Maggie finances the strike from housekeeping money she has scrimped and saved over more than 20 years. Crichton's second and last novel. I prefer it to the Secret of Santa Vittoria (Crichton's first novel which became a movie), as I feel the characters are stronger and better developed.

By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, author of THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE

I read this book when it came out in the '70s and it had quite an impact on me. It's beautifully written and the story is unforgettable. I have bought used copies for my younger friends through the years, as it's no longer in print. It's a classic for the ages.