Off in a Boat [Paperback]

Neil Gunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 1998

In 1937, the Scottish writer, Neil Gunn, gave up his job in the civil service, sold his house in Inverness, and bought a boat. With his wife and his brother John, he set off on a three-month voyage around Inner Hebrides. The boat had outlived its first youth, and its engine was somewhat cranky; she went tolerably under sail. These are not high recommendations, but for Gunn, and at times his fellow voyagers, the vessel was an argosy of freedom, of adventure and misadventure–for they were fairly inexperienced sailors, and the waters of the region are by no means placid. Gunn was a Scots nationalist in a sense that goes far beyond the political, even though he thought that an independent Scotland was the only proper basis for a reasonable civilization. He was by nature poetic, uplifted or cast down by changing skies, seascapes, and shores. His descriptions of those things, including their moods, are remarkably evocative. And he is also a passionate historian of his country, exalting its possibilities, anathematizing its shortcomings. The book is illustrated with Daisy Gunn's photographs taken on the voyage, which are palpably amateur but wonderfully telling.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Exhilarating.... Gunn's joy is infectious. (Euan Cameron The Independant )

Scotland's greatest novelist of the century. (The Book Reader )

The most important Scottish novelist of the 20th century. (Trevor Royale )

About the Author

Neil Gunn is recognized as one of Scotland's foremost writers. In recent years, many of his books have been re-issued, including two volumes of criticism and half a dozen novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: New Amsterdam Books; Open market ed edition (April 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941533980
• ISBN-13: 978-0941533980
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,429,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Its like you are there, July 28, 2011

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Wandering Traveler "Rhon" (Traveling) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Off In a Boat: A Hebridean Voyage (Paperback)

Don't let the date of the book fool you. Even if this voyage took place many decades ago, it still is a solid piece of historical writing. It is a journal of a place and a diary of a culture, from a single perspective and through a narrow window, but the richness of detail and the depth of topic would not have it any other way. It is an excellent travel guide, of sorts - no, it won't tell you the latest places to go, and much of the information may be out of date with respect to specific names of people and shops, but some of it won't be out of date in that respect either. What makes it a great travel guide is that you read it for the perspective of culture, distance, clime, and place. You absorb those things, and you will have gotten something that the typical "40 things to see and do" or "Top 10 spots" or "The short-attention span guide" won't give you. You need to still buy your OS Landranger map and get your "40 walks" guide. No doubt. Get the most recent one of those, and keep those updated. But this book - you won't need to update it. You will want to cherish it. But read it for the right reason. To absorb the culture, not as a tourist spot book. But I tell you what - you'll be a better tourist for it. And you'll savor the trip in layers of experience the typical travel guide just can't give. Its a keeper.