Customer Reviews

The Hills is Lonely (Common Reader Editions)

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

 

 

I found a battered copy of this book in a second hand shop about 15 years ago, and still have it, as I won't even lend it out, I love it so much!

Ms Beckwith, a middle-aged spinster in the mid to late 1950's who lives in England, is ordered by her doctor to go somewhere in the countryside to rest and recuperate after an illness (we're never told what), so she puts an ad in a magazine and awaits replies. She is almost decided on going to a farm in Devon, when she receives a very bizarre and absolutely hilarious letter from a woman on the island of Bruach (apparently really the isle of Eigg) in the Hebrides, NOT the Shetlands, offering her accommodation. She is so amused by this letter that she chooses to go and stay there. Rather than a restful recuperation, she has to endure a stomach-churning ferry crossing in a storm, then she has to scale a six foot wall on her arrival on the island and things just get funnier from there! This is a wonderfully funny and gentle book, with an assortment of endearing and hilarious charaters, it's a real comfort read to snuggle up on the sofa with. Ms Beckwith does show the people in an amusing light, but this is done only with the greatest affection, and no malice whatever could be intended. The book is all the funnier when you know that all the incidents really happened and all the characters are real people. I would heartily recommend this book and the following FIVE books in the series:- Lightly Poached - The Sea for Breakfast - The Loud Halo - A Rope in Case - and Bruach Blend.

These really are lovely books, and I can't for the life of me understand why they haven't been turned into a film or at the very least a TV series, as they would be perfect Sunday evening family viewing.

I keep my battered copy in the suitcase I keep packed for the emergency hospital trips that come up every so often with my elderly parents. It's a lovely story, well-written. Ms Beckwith obviously feels great affection for the characters, even as she relates their quirks.

Delightfully written account of WWII era living in the Hebrides. Under physician's orders to lead a less stressful life, Miss Beckwith relocates from England to this remote island setting. She provides an outsider's view of ordinary and sometimes not so ordinary everyday life. Her observations are keen, witty, honest and appropriate to her generation.

The narrative does seem to drag a little with seemingly excessive accounts of kitchen gatherings. However, cultural context pulls this back into perspective and therefore does not detract overall.

A wonderful, funny read.

A former English schoolteacher takes up residence in a remote, backwater community in the Hebrides. It was funny in many parts, (I especially enjoyed her first fishing experience), but as the story progressed, she never really revealed any charm in the inhabitants of the neighborhood. I kept expecting a gradual understanding and respect for these people, but it never came. She rarely described anything laudable about the inhabitants, although she found plenty to poke fun at: dishonesty, drunkenness, obstinacy, ingnorance, slovenliness, insincerity, unhealthy diet, loose morals, lack of sanitation and personal hygiene, etc. I fail to see why she stayed. Guess the rent was cheap.