Paperback by Kelpies Classics, £6.99
I can clearly remember feeling annoyed when I first read this book as a child. Not by the book, but because my primary school teacher had us take it in turns to read it out loud in the class.
I was so engrossed in the gripping tale of 13-year-old Alisdair’s adventures on the Isle of Skye, that I wanted to read it faster. Along with Treasure Island, this was one of the childhood books that captured my imagination and got me really interested in books.
First published in 1955 and re-published several times since then, it was interesting reading it again as an adult as the story of the young boy who swaps the dusty streets of London for the peace of a croft in Skye. It’s just as captivating as I remembered. The author paints a fantastic picture of a way of island life that’s now largely disappeared and sets his adventure at a time when Britain was in the grip of the Cold War.
Having been sent to the island to spend the summer at his late father’s croft and cottage, young Alisdair accidentally finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue involving spies, submarines and warm-hearted crofters.
The action switches from fast-paced and thrilling to slow and breathtakingly tense, while his descriptions of Skye make you want to pack a bag and head there immediately.
There are echoes of Buchan’s classic, 39 Steps, which given its classic status is no bad thing. It’s a first class boys-own style adventure book, but also a first class read for girls and adults.
Take my advice, don’t leave a 45 year gap before reading it again. Available in all good bookstores now, the latest
edition is sporting a swish new cover, created by Gray’s School of Art
student Lewis Copland, who won the Kelpies Design and Illustration Prize 2015 for his design for the novel.
