Swim the Moon [Hardcover]

Paul Brandon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2001

A haunting tale of love, music, and magic on the stormy coast of Scotland.

After the loss of his wife, Scottish fiddle player Richard Brennan moves to Australia to escape the ghosts of his former life. Six years later, he returns for his father's funeral and decides to remain in his father's desolate cottage in the north of Scotland, gathering together the threads of his former life, scratching out a living playing music.

Then Richard meets Ailish, the enigmatic young woman who's ethereal singing haunts the bay by moonlight.

As their relationship builds, the secrets of his family's past are brought to light, one by one, leaving them to confront a history that is both terrifying and fantastic-a legacy that may well cost Richard his soul.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By turns tender and tormented, this haunting, lyric Celtic rhapsody on the ancient theme of selkies seal-people who in human form ensnare their mortal lovers makes a bewitching debut novel. A little shaky dialogue doesn't mar the beauty of this mythic tale at all. Mysteriously drawn back to the remote cottage in northernmost Scotland where his male ancestors and his wife have all died by drowning, Richard Brennan experiences nightmares of grief and guilt that counterpoint his joy to be "home," playing fiddle in "sessions" around the countryside. Alone in the isolated bothy (cottage) alive with ghosts, Brennan fears for his sanity, his mind tormented by ghastly visions of the sodden corpses of his forefathers, but eventually his psychic wounds start to heal. When lovely, enigmatic Ailish appears at the seaside, dancing and singing rapturously in the silvery Scottish moonlight, Brennan joins his music and his soul to hers. Given how closely the author's last name resembles his hero's, one has to wonder whether an autobiographical element animates this eerie tale of love and loss. Brennan's music comes wondrously alive in rhythmic prose and elusively shifting imagery, proving that myth and legend are inseparable parts of being a folk musician. In the old songs, pain and delight together shape human life. One pays for the other, as the bards know, "when sea-girls wake us, and we drown." Definitely a writer to watch, Brandon has a vivid, original voice, full of poignant longing and haunting echoes.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Six years after his wife's accidental death, fiddler Richard Brennan returns to Scotland from Australia for his father's funeral and finds himself drawn once more to his homeland. When disturbing dreams culminate in the vision of an elusive young woman whose presence portends love and heartbreak, Richard crosses an invisible border that carries him into the center of a family curse and a legacy of retribution. Brandon's first novel tells a compelling tale of one man's encounter with a creature born from wild magic. Recommended for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312877943
• ISBN-13: 978-0312877941
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,138,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A touch of magic, November 20, 2001

By 

"keltham" (Brisbane, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swim the Moon (Hardcover)

I've heard those multi-volume fantasy epics are described by publishers as "extended fantasy products." It's a sign that fantasy these days is dominated more by marketers than by storytellers. So when a new and fresh approach comes along that defies genre, that grounds itself in a reality that we know and yet takes us to another world in our imagination, it can only be a good thing. Paul Brandon has offered us that new and fresh approach, and I for one am delighted.

Swim the Moon is the story of Richard Brennan, a man struggling to find new meaning in a life that was stripped of it after the death of his wife. He finds it in remote northern Scotland, in a place so wild and rugged that it may as well be a fantasy otherworld.

Brandon's strength is his ability to create a sense of place through his prose. Sometimes aching passages of description enhance the reader's sense of Richard's isolation. There is no "big twist" at the end. I'm unconvinced that Brandon ever intended to create one. What we see as we accompany Richard on his emotional journey is the way our lives become entangled with fantasy until we can't extricate ourselves. There is a sense of timelessness about this story, of myth and magic. Richard's choice is inescapable but the haunting resolution of the novel is that, in the end, he doesn't want to escape it.

Make no mistake. Not much happens in this book. If you are looking for a racy plot of epic adventure, look to those extended fantasy products at your local Borders. This one is for the romantics and the dreamers...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swim the Moon - haunting and inspiring, January 30, 2002

By 

Rob Macnab (Christchurch, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swim the Moon (Hardcover)

Paul Brandon is one of those writers that I can immediately find a kindred spirit with. His descriptions of scenery are breathtaking, and he reveals the subtle nuances of human emotions and actions with intensity and vitality. A great read, from an accomplished writer with a bright future. There aren't a lot of books that I would buy (being of Scottish descent I tend to borrow them from the library!), however this is one that I intend to add to my collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take a Swim, September 30, 2001

By 

"robert_hoge" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swim the Moon (Hardcover)

The good news about Paul Brandon’s debut novel Swim the Moon is that the author seems to have found his voice. And the better news is that it’s a voice worth listening to. Many authors take half a dozen novels to find their voice â€" a style that they are obviously comfortable with.

Brandon seems to have hit upon a lyrical style that suits him well right from the start. The style also works well for the story, especially considering the amount of exposition it contains. He mixes sentences that get straight to the point with long, lingering fragments that are almost poetic. He has a wonderful sense of place â€" describing the Scottish coastline in marvellous detail. It's easy to get lost in his exquisite description - feeling the cold and tasting the salt of the sea.

Richard is a wonderfully well-rounded main character. He is likeable but possessed of enough foibles to keep him pleasantly human.

The novel isn’t without some problems. The pacing is flat in a few places and some of the dialogue was forced. Most disappointingly, the ending feels rushed. But in a good way. I would have liked it more if Brandon had devoted at least twice the number of pages to wrapping the story up than what he did.

It’s not a new and inventive story, so people looking for high adventure and a dozen plot twists a minute, beware. But it never purports to be that.

Swim the Moon is a beautifully told story about love and sense-of-self. It is a pleasure to read.