Between Grandmother Mountain and the cold sea, Alaia and her family live off the land. But when one of her brothers goes hunting and never returns, the fragile balance of life is upset. Half-starved and maddened with grief, Alaia's mother follows her visions and goes in search of her lost son. Then a stranger from a rival tribe appears on their hearth seeking shelter. Are his stories of a great wave and a people perished really to be believed? What else could drive a man to travel alone between tribes in the depths of winter? Hopes of resolution come when Alaia's mother returns home as a Go-Between, one able to commune with the spirits. But as all the Auk people come together for their annual Gathering Night, who there will listen to the voice of a woman? "The Gathering Night" is a story of conflict, loss, love, adventure and devastating natural disasters. This utterly enchanting pre-historical novel is set deep in our stone-age past, but resonates as a parable of our troubled planet 8000 years on.
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'Gripping, its mix of reality and myth reminiscent of Louis de Bernieres.' Scotland on Sunday (on Hy Brasil)
--This text refers to an alternate
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About the Author
Margaret Elphinstone is the author of nine previous novels, including Light, Voyageurs and The Sea Road. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies.
--This text refers to an alternate
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly evokes mankind of the distant past,
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This review is from: Gathering Night (Paperback)
Margaret Elphinstone's daring effort to portray mankind's distant past succeeds brilliantly. While many aspects of life 8,000 years ago are beyond our reach, The Gathering Night presents a highly plausible picture of the lifestyles, motivations, and beliefs of humans in that distant world. It is also a tight drama with compelling characters. Highly recommended
1.0 out of 5 stars
A gathering, but nothing gathered,
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This review is from: The Gathering Night: A Novel (Paperback)
Had I not been interested in life in the Mesolithic I would have closed this book before I got past page 10. I had reached page 200 before it became clear that there might be some kind of plot in amongst all the descriptive chatter, and even then it was as clear as mud.
Passages describing the day to day activities of a nondescript stone age tribal family are excellent and well researched but they only serve to delay what little narrative there is. And other sections, such as the description of shamanic experiences are signally unconvincing. The style too is difficult to follow, developing as it does as a family history being told to the new generation around the hearth. Each person speaks in turn, often repeating or merely adding to the previous speaker. They describe moving from camp to camp so often that it is difficult to know who is speaking or where you are half the time. By the time I got to about page 300 things were beginning to move a little, but by then I was passed caring. I really looked forward to a good read, but I was sadly disappointed.
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