A Mist Sprite's Study of Being Human

by Kyra Hinton

What if the people love the land and the land loves them back?

For eons Margie has tended the land in her quiet glen, deep in the Scottish Highlands. Margie, whose incorporeal self is made of equal parts mist and wonder, has always reveled in the rhythms of nature’s growth and decay. But one day she must watch with wide-eyed fascination (yes, imagine with me that the mist has eyes) as her glen changes with the arrival of a small family of humans. As the centuries stretch on and historical events roll across the Isle of Mist, Margie learns what it is for people and place to belong to each other. But what happens when the land is taken away from the people who loved it? Does the land miss its displaced people?

A Mist Sprite's Study of Being Human is an experimental literary novella as ethereal as a mist sprite. Equal parts history and fairy tale, it offers an achingly beautiful insight into the Highland Clearances from the perspective of the place and its poets. While Margie’s story is tied to a particular glen, it echoes the pangs of displacement throughout time. Margie invites readers to see the world as she does, and leaves those who encounter this story as she is -- forever changed.

165 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2025

Reviews

[Amanda Biamonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

My blood has always sang the song of Hiraeth whenever I’m in Scotland. Reading the song of Hiraeth Margie sings was like sucking on sour candy on a hot summer day — so sour and so sweet and so overwhelming in the best way 💚

[Katie Roper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible, evocative, emotional.

[Abby Smith (Weigand) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a 5 star book, and this definitely scratched that itch. The amount of care and effort that went into this story is evident in Kyra’s writing, and it left me pondering new perspectives. Pick up this book. You won’t regret it!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her debut novella, artist and author Kyra Hinton paints an achingly beautiful portrait of the Highland Clearances as seen through the eyes of the mist sprite (if mist sprites had eyes) that hovers over mossy green banks in the Scottish glen. My perspective on the place I live has changed since my introduction to Margie, and I’m not sure I can imagine life without her now. This is a beautiful telling of a story that plumbs the depths of humanity’s heart. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Emily McClanahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyra’s history of Scotland as seen through the experience of a mist sprite is beautiful and haunting. While her style of perspective writing isn’t my favorite, it still transported, and moved me to experience the same joys and sorrows Margie felt. I especially loved the history references in the back that correspond with the movement of time in the story. It’s a beautiful example of weaving non-fiction with storytelling. Recommend a read.

[Jill Truax · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote a better review on Fable, but read this! If you read nothing else- make time for this absolute masterpiece. I fell in love with Margie- her curiosity, her love. I fell in love with Scotland, which I have never visited. With the skill of a poet, Kyra immerses you in Margie's world. It is heartbreaking and beautiful all at once.

[Lisa Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: reading this book will make you want to visit Scotland! This is an enchanting story about what it means to be human and our relationship to the land we call home. I had so many feelings (wonder, joy, sadness, anger) as I saw humanity through the mist sprite’s perspective. What a poetic and lovely way to tell a story about a time and place with so much beauty and loss.

[Amber Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is kind, curious, and it will live in my head rent free. I love Margie. I appreciate the grief that is acknowledged while also approaching the world with child like wonder. I love this story.

[Bailey Mcgee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story!

This is a beautiful and haunting story that will work its way down into your soul. I fell in love with Margie and loved this short journey with her.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so achingly beautiful! I’m reading it on the heels of visiting Scotland for the first time and it really does leave me with a sense of homesickness.

[Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's to the poets, who cannot be silenced,
who remind us of the places,
we cannot return.

I don't actually know much about Scottish history. There's so much in this world that I don't know and that's okay because we have books and stories that can inform us. I know that this story of a Mist Sprite couldn't be counted as necessarily "true", as Hinton had also mentioned in her Author's Note, but it was extremely powerful in telling the story of something so simple, mysterious, and beautiful as the mist in a glen. I cried a lot while reading this book. Hinton's writing is breathtaking. She knows how to set up a scene and make it feel like we're the mist alongside Margie. She perfectly described how a mist sprite could learn the ways of humans. She told a tale that could resonate with any person that came from displaced peoples.

There's not much more to say, other than this is one of the most powerful books I've read in a while. I've had books that I've loved so much and felt the effects of their words, but this one dug deep into the core of my soul and showed me the way to the mist in the forest.

[Ember Swing · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a joy spending time in the Glen with Margie, looking at things from a new perspective, from the smallest mushrooms and dewdrops to the very land we walk on.