EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY [Kindle Edition]

Linda Gillard (Author)

Book Description

A passionate, off-beat love story set on the bleak and beautiful island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

Rose Leonard is on the run from her life.

Haunted by her turbulent past, she takes refuge in a remote Hebridean island community where she cocoons herself in work, silence and solitude in a house by the sea. Life and new love are offered by friends, her estranged daughter and most of all by Calum, a fragile younger man who has his own demons to exorcise.

But does Rose, with her tenuous hold on sanity, have the courage to say "Yes" to life and put her past behind her?...


Shortlisted for the WAVERTON GOOD READ AWARD 2006
Runner-up for PURE PASSION (North West Libraries' award promoting romantic fiction.)

* * * * *

Praise for EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY...
"I dropped everything to read it. Read it that very night, in fact. In one solid chunk. I had things to do, sleep to get, work to wake up for, and yet none of it mattered and nothing could tear me away from this breathtaking story... I've been dreaming of Scotland for the past several nights and I have this book to thank for it."
ANGIEVILLE (US book blog)

“The emotional power makes this reviewer reflect on how Charlotte and Emily Bronte might have written if they were living and writing now.”
NORTHWORDS NOW

“A book about madness, memory and mountaineering that defies categorisation. A love story filled with passion and paint-stripping honesty.” HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS ARTS JOURNAL

“Lyrical, intriguing and haunting.” ISLA DEWAR (Women Talking Dirty)

"Complex and important issues are played out in the windswept beauty of a Hebridean island setting, with a hero who is definitely in the Mr Darcy league!"

"What I most liked about it was the writer's evident love for fabric, handiwork of various kinds and the way she brings a whole landscape to life. I'm looking forward to her next."ADELE GERAS (Facing the Light)

Product Details

• File Size: 444 KB
• Print Length: 388 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0055T357G
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,426 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intense Reading Experience March 31, 2011

By Barbara J. Mitchell VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Months ago I read a wonderful book called Star Gazing. Its author, Linda Gillard, lives on an island off Scotland and I soon became FB friends with her. Recently I learned she had a few copies left of her earlier book, Emotional Geology, so I bought one.

I don't know how many U.S. readers are familiar with Gillard's work, but I would encourage anyone who likes a deep love story (as opposed to what we all call romance) to find either of these books and read them.

Warning though, Emotional Geology is an intense experience. It's the story of Rose Leonard, a woman who has been hospitalized after breaking up with her lover of five years. He has left her for another woman and a less complicated life. Gavin was a mountain climber and Rose remembers how he loved climbing more than her, and how she was left behind to worry herself sick every time he took on another climbing challenge. She has a daughter who was a teenager at the time Gavin lived with them. Megan's point of view is different. She loved Gavin and saw him as her protector and the strong man who took care of her mother. You see, Rose is bipolar which has robbed Megan of her childhood.

Rose moves alone to an island a distance off of Scotland where the weather is harsh but there are no mountains except on a distant island. She is an artist and finds it impossible to work when she takes the dose of medications her doctor has ordered. They make her feel like a zombie. But she can't live without them either, so she tries to live on a smaller dose and pursue her textile art in quiet privacy.

Close neighbors become friends, especially Calum, a man with a past that makes him drink a bit too much. However, he's a poet and he's a successful schoolteacher as well. You can see where this is going.... I loved Calum and suffered along with him in his trials and tribulations with Rose's illness. Megan comes for a visit which stirs things up to a boiling point.

The setting is bleak according to Megan, but Rose finds it beautiful. She sees the different colors and textures in the landscape and the sea. Since I'm pretty much of a loner myself, the island and the cottage Rose lives in appealed to me. I did have to put the book aside occasionally; the emotional storm of Rose and Calum's relationship was hard to bear.

In short, I will keep this one and I may even go back to reread it sometime which is something I never, ever do. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great setting to learn about a variety of things. August 4, 2011

By Jack V. Briner

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ever wondered what it would be like to mix bipolar disorder with mountain climbing, the textile arts, poetry, the northern Scottish Isles, romance and love? This novel does it well. I think I learned a bit about all of these. I also increased my Scottish vocabulary. However, I need more Gaelic practice. Overall, a nice setting to learn more about bipolar disorder, mountain climbing and more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this BOOK! January 28, 2011

By A. Cleaver

Format:Paperback

I love to read, almost always have my nose in a book. Everything from young adult lit to some of the steamy stuff, and just about everything in between. This is probably one of my favorite books. The characters are very real and very genuine, the story is very compelling, and once I started, I just couldn't put it down! I laughed, cried, yelled and just about everything in between. No matter what your usually read, give this book a try. I am passing it around to my friends and I want my husband to read it too!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Angieville: EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY September 7, 2010

By Angela Thompson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Just two weeks ago I read Linda Gillard's most recent novel Star Gazing. Though I had somewhat mixed feelings on the ending, I loved the writing and the characters so very much that I was absolutely set on tracking down a copy of Gillard's first book EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY. Unfortunately, it's not readily available on this side of the pond and, the Ville funds being what they are, I wasn't sure just how soon I'd be able to procure a copy. Then what should happen but the very kind Ms. Gillard contacted me and offered up a copy for review! I eagerly accepted and the book showed up a very short while later. And the thing is, I dropped everything to read it. Read it that very night, in fact. In one solid chunk. I had things to do, sleep to get, work to wake up for, and yet none of it mattered and nothing could tear me away from this breathtaking story. Published in 2005, EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY is the first of Linda Gillard's three novels and I'm in awe that it is her debut. In her own words:

***

I decided I'd write a book for grown-ups--a thinking-woman's romance that dealt with real issues, had believable characters, a yummy hero, but no easy answers. I made my heroine--as a matter of principle--47. This was suicide in terms of finding a publisher, but I didn't care--I was writing to amuse myself.

***

Don't you want to read that book? Now? It's downright refreshing. And intriguing to boot. In short, I was all over it.

Rose Leonard came to the windswept island of North Uist off the coast of Scotland to be alone.... After recovering from a breakdown, spending time in a mental institution, time talking to psychiatrists, time adjusting medication dosages, she made the command decision to go away. Away from the past, from the pain, even away from her somewhat estranged daughter Megan, and try to recapture her creative drive. As a textile artist, she thrives on inspiration and she hopes this remote yet stunning location will simultaneously feed that need as well as shelter her a bit from the daily reminders, anxieties, and pressures that so often threaten her. Living in a almost completely bare cottage in a tiny village, she sits at her table and gazes out the window to the water and she breathes in and out. She writes letters to her daughter explaining her choice. And slowly she ventures out to meet the locals. Through a kind neighbor whom she develops a friendship with, Rose encounters Calum Morrison--a high school English and Gaelic teacher who used to live in Edinburgh, but who became fed up with city life and returned to his home to teach and climb. A friendship develops as these two passionate people talk about art and writing and the world around them. It is when Rose's daughter Megan writes to say she's coming to visit that the precarious tightrope walk Rose has been engaging in threatens to come crashing to the ground. The past, with all its horrors and indecencies, is on its way, is ready to move right back in with Rose. And when it does, the life she worked so carefully to fashion may not be able to stand the onslaught.

I had butterflies in my stomach for the entirety of this beautiful book. Every time I turned the page, another arresting passage awaited me. As Rose is a textile artist, creating art from a wide variety of mediums and materials, it seemed fitting to me that this story was pieced together using alternating first and third person narration, letters, poems, and flashbacks. Every one is special. Sometimes it took me a moment to orient myself, but it never left me confused or dissatisfied. Rather, I jumped into each section with verve, wanting to read every piece intently so that I could understand and appreciate the whole. From the opening lines, I knew this book would call my name:

***

I talk to the island. I don't speak, but my thoughts are directed towards it. Sometimes it replies. Never in words of course.

I miss trees. You don't notice at first that there are hardly any trees here, just that the landscape is very flat, as if God had taken away all the hills and mountains and dumped them on neighboring Skye. But eventually you realise it's trees that you miss.

Trees talk back.

In the hospital grounds there was a special place where I used to stand, where I went to feel safe. It was my magic circle, my fairy ring. There were three slender pine trees in a triangular formation, only a few feet apart. I used to stand within that space, sheltered, flanked by my trees, like a small child peering out at the world from behind grown-up legs.

Once, when the air was very still and a brilliant blue sky mocked my misery, I stood between my trees, head bowed, not even able to weep. I placed my palms round two of the tree trunks, grasping the rough bark. I begged for strength, support, a sign. Anything.

My trees moved in answer. Quite distinctly, I felt them move. As my palms gripped them they shifted, as the muscles in a man's thigh might shift before he actually moved. The movement was so slight it was almost imperceptible, as if their trunks were flexed from within.

I knew then that the doctors were right, I was indeed mad. I threw up my head and cried out. Above me a light breeze played in the treetops, a breeze I had been unaware of on the ground. It tugged at the branches with a sudden gust and I felt the trunks flex again, bending to the will of the wind.

I wasn't mad.

At least, not then.

***

Rose is such a frank narrator. And she's dealing with serious and prolonged mental illness, so that is really saying something. Ms. Gillard skillfully allows the reader into Rose's inner struggle to stay still, to stay in one piece and moving forward. Being bipolar, she is at times woeful, angry, elated, and utterly lost. But she never felt unapproachable and the fact that everything was laid bare made me feel a close kinship with her, despite the fact that I have not encountered the challenges and trauma she was up against. Once again, as in Star Gazing, the attacks of hopelessness and grief are just delightfully balanced by the breathtaking relationship that grows between Rose and Calum. He is several years younger than she and that point becomes a bit of a sticking one for the reserved Rose. Calum is bothered by it not at all and his sweet and persistent forays into her personal space brought a smile to my lips over and over again. The way their work brings them together and forges a bond between them that overshadows less important concerns such as age and experience, enriched the connection for me and formed a bright point of light when their individual pasts came knocking. I would be remiss if I did not mention the vast and glorious third main character in this novel. And that is the Scottish landscape itself. I've been dreaming of Scotland for the past several nights and I have this book to thank for it. The wind and the rain, the gales and the beautiful, beautiful names: Uist, Cuillin, Benbecura, Skye. I can't help but think Rose chose well when she settled on a place in which to heal. This is a story about dealing with grief and betrayal, about the constant battle against despair and the brutalities of the mind, about finding love and deciding to believe in your ability to keep it. I was completely won over by EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY and cannot recommend it highly enough. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Check out this "Transita" novel! You won't be disappointed. August 27, 2007

By Kel

Format:Paperback

This was a story about Rose. Rose is in her mid-forties and has a daughter who is in her early 20's. Rose moves to an island off the coast of Scotland for peace of mind, literally. For Rose's mind is not usually at peace. Suffering from Bipolar disorder, Rose is convinced an isolated life away from friends and family is the perfect remedy to help her forget her past. She throws herself into her work and begins healing. And then she meets Calem. Calem is a local school teacher. He is very handsome and Rose finds herself immediately attracted to him. But Rose's past still has a hold on her emotions and she can't seem to let go. Calem is also haunted by a past he would like to forget and believes Rose can help. This book is a "Transita" book from the UK. Transita is a publishing company geared toward promoting books about middle-aged, (45+) women. I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable this story was. I loved the scene set on the Scotland coast. The mountain climbing angle was very interesting and unique. This book also had it's share of haunting twists and turns. It was like an English version of an Anne Rivers Siddons book. A special thanks to "Lyzzybee" from bookcrossing who included me in her bookring! I liked this book so much, I am trying to figure out how to spread the word here in the states!

More About the Author

Linda Gillard is the author of six novels and she lives in the Scottish Highlands. She has a website at www.lindagillard.co.uk and an author page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LindaGillardAuthor

Linda graduated from Bristol University, then trained as an actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Whilst under-employed at the National Theatre, Linda developed a sideline as a freelance journalist. She ran two careers concurrently for a while, then gave up acting to raise a family and write from home.

Twelve years later, she re-trained as a primary teacher and taught in Norfolk for some years. She moved to the Isle of Skye where she lived for six years in a house on a hill overlooking the Cuillin mountain range which featured in her first novel, EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, short-listed for the 2006 Waverton Good Read Award.

A LIFETIME BURNING was published in 2006 and STAR GAZING, set partly on Skye, in 2008. STAR GAZING was short-listed for "Romantic Novel of the Year 2009" and "The Robin Jenkins Literary Award", the UK's first environmental book award. STAR GAZING was also voted "Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010" by the readers of Woman's Weekly magazine.

Linda's fourth novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE was published in 2011 as a Kindle e-book and quickly became a bestseller. It has sold over 30,000 downloads and was selected by Amazon as an Editor's Pick "Best of 2011" in the Indie Author category. HOUSE OF SILENCE is now available in paperback.

Two new novels are now available on Kindle: UNTYING THE KNOT (awarded a 2012 B.R.A.G Medallion by the Book Readers' Appreciation Group) and THE GLASS GUARDIAN, a supernatural love story, also available in paperback.