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Lewis Grassic Gibbon
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Sunset Song (Canons) Hardcover – February 6, 2020

by Lewis Grassic Gibbon (Author), Nicola Sturgeon (Introduction)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 216 ratings
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Faced with a choice between a harsh farming life and the world of books and learning, Chris Guthrie chooses to remain in her rural community, bound by her intense love of the land. But everything changes with the arrival of the First World War and Chris finds her land altered beyond recognition.

In lyrical prose, Sunset Song evokes village life in the early twentieth century and offers a powerful portrait of a land and people in turmoil.

This stunning new edition of one of the most cherished Scottish novels of the twentieth century includes a specially commissioned introduction by Nicola Sturgeon, in which she writes with heartfelt passion of her love for what she regards as 'one of the finest literary accomplishments Scotland has ever known . . . In no small way, I owe my love of literature to Sunset Song'.

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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Canongate Canons
  4. Publication date
    February 6, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    5.67 x 1.14 x 8.66 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1786898616
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1786898616
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A British literary classic-- "New York Times"

An evocative look at female life on the Scottish frontier . . . Sunset Song is the story of a resilient young woman during the early 20th century. Her profound identification with the land is her source of renewal and strength as she endures harrowing family circumstances and, eventually, the devastating fallout of the First World War-- "Los Angeles Times"

An unforgettable evocation of a way of life that has slipped away . . . It is a love song for a landscape and language still familiar - and precious - to a generation born long after he died . . . Chris is one of the great women of 20th-century fiction-- "Guardian"

His three great novels have the impetus and music of mountain burns in full spate-- "Observer"

It is gritty and passionate and one of Scotland's great 20th-century novels-- "Daily Express"

Portrayed with a lyrical intensity that echoes through the years and still resonates today-- "New York Times"

When I read Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song in my mid-teens I entered into it with such wholehearted love that I longed to live inside it . . . The rhythms of the prose are incantatory, musical . . . Chris is the centre of the novel and its genius, vivid on every page where she's present--TESSA HADLEY "Guardian"

Sunset Song's great gripping hybrid of melodrama and realism . . . left me scorched--ALI SMITH

Chris Guthrie is the most passionate and appealing heroine in Scottish literature; Grassic Gibbon's magnificent novel is fresh, powerful and timeless--ANNE DONOVAN

If this new edition is prompting you to re-read Sunset Song after many years, as I have just done, you will find it has lost none of its appeal and emotion. And if you are about to read this remarkable novel for the first time, you are embarking on a profound journey--NICOLA STURGEON

Review

An unforgettable evocation of a way of life that has slipped away . . . It is a love song for a landscape and language still familiar - and precious - to a generation born long after he died . . . Chris is one of the great women of 20th-century fiction ― Guardian

His three great novels have the impetus and music of mountain burns in full spate ― Observer

Chris Guthrie is the most passionate and appealing heroine in Scottish literature; Grassic Gibbon's magnificent novel is fresh, powerful and timeless -- ANNE DONOVAN

It is gritty and passionate and one of Scotland's great 20th-century novels ― Daily Express

A British literary classic ― New York Times

If this new edition is prompting you to re-read Sunset Song after many years, as I have just done, you will find it has lost none of its appeal and emotion. And if you are about to read this remarkable novel for the first time, you are embarking on a profound journey -- NICOLA STURGEON

An evocative look at female life on the Scottish frontier . . . Sunset Song is the story of a resilient young woman during the early 20th century. Her profound identification with the land is her source of renewal and strength as she endures harrowing family circumstances and, eventually, the devastating fallout of the First World War ― Los Angeles Times

Sunset Song's great gripping hybrid of melodrama and realism . . . left me scorched -- ALI SMITH

When I read Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song in my mid-teens I entered into it with such wholehearted love that I longed to live inside it . . . The rhythms of the prose are incantatory, musical . . . Chris is the centre of the novel and its genius, vivid on every page where she's present -- TESSA HADLEY ― Guardian

Portrayed with a lyrical intensity that echoes through the years and still resonates today ― New York Times

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canongate Canons; Main edition (February 6, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1786898616
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1786898616
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.67 x 1.14 x 8.66 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 216 ratings

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Lewis Grassic Gibbon

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
216 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sharon Pratscher
5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunted Melody
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2016
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I've read a lot of books set during this time period that illustrate the impact of World War One and how it completely changed the lives of the people who lived then, but none as lovely and haunting as this one. Scotland as it had been for a thousand years turned inside out as was the rest of the world.
3 people found this helpful
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Syd Hardenburgh
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book. A little hard to read as it ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2015
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This is a wonderful book. A little hard to read as it is written with a lot of Scots dialect, but it does have a guide in the back. The story is good.
I am sure that in the day it was written, it was somewhat shocking. This was recommended to me by a librarian and I am so glad that I took the time to read it.
3 people found this helpful
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Elizabeth Stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2017
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Beautifully written. Encapsulates a period of a Scottish social history in farming community during and after World War I
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bilstar
5.0 out of 5 stars sunset song
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2012
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Not a novel for everyone but since it was first published in the early thirties it has become a classic of sorts. It is lyrical in language but not easy for everyone to follow since it is written in the Scottish country dialect of the early 20th century. For it's time it is very frank with regard to sexual matters.I believe it is a minor classic.
2 people found this helpful
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Lloyd Chapin
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece.
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
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Beautiful, but heart wrenching.
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mlees
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2018
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I have not finished reading it yet
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David Dekker
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a treasure.
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2023
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This story of a girl growing up in Scotland is amazing. Set in early 20th century the author conveys the story in a language almost lyrical.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves history and great writing.
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Top reviews from other countries

FortbildungsFreitag
5.0 out of 5 stars Still worth reading <3
Reviewed in Germany on May 1, 2023
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There is not a better book than this one :)
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MG Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars A Work of Art
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2023
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This Canongate edition is a handsomely bound hardback with an ‘awful bonny cover,’ as I’m sure the narrator of Sunset Song would have said. The narrator is not a character in the novel, but speaks the same language and comes from the same fictional place, Kinraddie in the north-east of Scotland. There are therefore many Scots or Doric words, like quean, kye and childe in the text, but there is a helpful glossary at the back. English words are not corrupted. There is no ‘hoose’ instead of ‘house.’

As another reviewer has observed, it is not a particularly easy read, because the author writes in long convoluted sentences. But the more you get into the book the easier it becomes. Sunset Song is a remarkable and a poetic portrait of rural Scotland at a time when much was changing due to the capitalisation of agriculture the coming of the Great War. But the novel is also a personal story, that of Chris Guthrie, and it seems remarkable to me than a man in the first part of the twentieth centuary could write so intimately about a the life of a young woman. It fair takes your breath away.

This is no po-faced novel. It abounds with humour. "She looked a daft-like keek for she was lifting up her hands and her eyes like a heifer choked on a turnip...." That is a decription of the figure of Faith, the sister of Hope and Charity, in the church’s stained glass window. “For if there’s a body on earth that would skin a tink for his sark and preach for a pension in purgatory, it’s an Auld Kirk minister.” Grassic Gibbon is fairly scathing about the clergy, but as the relatives of the fallen stand at the newly inscribed war memorial, it is the minister who provides an eloquent summation of what has been lost measured not only in lives, but in the passing of a way of life.

There are two more books in the ‘Scots Quair’ series, so I will shortly be placing my order.

Quean - girl
Kye - cows
Childe – an adult male
Keek - to look, shyly
Heifer – a young cow
Sark - shirt
2 people found this helpful
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A. C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Sunset Song review (very short)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2022
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I read this book recently for the first time. I’m quite well read and have no hesitation in saying this is among tha very finest books I’ve read. The story is concentrated with significant events often taking up only a few paragraphs. There’s the minimum of descriptive writing, just enough to convey, for example the importance and permanence of the land or soil. The characters are sparely described. We learn much of them but that’s largely by their actions and words. The language used involves many Scots words which I did not know and I’m Scottish. I recommend The Essential Scots Dictionary as an essential companion. You won’t get the most from this book without help. I was looking up words on virtually every page. The story is excellent. It’s all very believable and you might think it all really happened and these people existed. There are light-hearted moments but the people’s lives are a struggle and that’s a persistent theme. I think there is also a strong theme of loss in the broadest sense. It’s an intense, at times overwhelmingly sad story with a satisfying ending. I’m making a point of giving nothing of the storyline. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this great yet comparatively short book.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars The book has strengths and weaknesses, of course. ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2017
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The book has strengths and weaknesses, of course. The description of the area, the weather, the sense of place all very successful. Evocative. Character and plot less convincing. The central character, Chris, is meant to be feisty but in fact I frequently found her too egotistical to be credible and others characters were predictable, even stereotypes. The ending is deplorable. But for all that it's a page turner and the invented dialect in which it is written is superbly maintained and wholly engaging..
One person found this helpful
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Jonathan Talbot
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and funny
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2022
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I picked up on this after hearing Kirsty Wark’s radio programmes on Scottish literature. It then sat in the pile of to be reads by the side of the bed. My book group is reading Howard’s End but despite its glittering reputation l found it dull and in some ways, offensive. So l picked up Sunset Song and what a contrast. Here is a book with real energy and characters l actually care about. It is difficult at first for English readers to attune to Scots dialect but there is a rhythm and earthiness which make this a compelling read. The narrative cracks along and we see the way the various characters are at once different and united. What l especially love is the way the book is infused with the sardonic humour which propels life everywhere, despite the hardships and mishaps. To my way of thinking this is not a great Scottish novel, it is a great novel period and l would take it over EM Forster and his boring, uptight upper middle class Englishness any day of the week.
4 people found this helpful
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