What do you think?
Rate this book
Captain of Kinnoull Hill, The
Dennis Duckworth - widely considered the least-likeable person on the Chicago music scene – is a philanderer and a misanthrope with a history of inflicting pain and suffering on nearly everyone he meets. When a routine flight from New York mysteriously alters its path mid-flight, he finds himself penniless and stranded on a remote hillside in rural Scotland. The hill is home to Eddie the Red Cap - a curmudgeonly, thousand-year-old goblin who secretly loves books and regrets the violent past of his people. Eddie is determined to put his murderous life of mayhem behind him; Dennis merely wants to stop being a jackass. How can it be that Dennis faces the bigger challenge? Filled with absurdity, magic, humour and hope, The Captain of Kinnoull Hill asks what happens when we can no longer abide our own nature. How much can we truly change about ourselves and -- in the end -- is it worth it to try?
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2016
1 person is currently reading
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2018
Although a quick, delightful read, it took me quite some time to finish The Captain of Kinnoull Hill because, well, life.
The story is dialogue driven , often reading like a screenplay, and moves forward mainly via flashback, and action that straddles the line between television sitcom and rom-com movies, with bits of slapstick and insult humour adding spice to the mix (but not as mixed as that metaphor!).
The story follows self-made bad guy—not a criminal, exactly, but a world class d-bag—on his road to redemption. The story hits all the notes of a rom-com, without the couple finding bliss at the end. Like the movie High Fidelity, all of the characters in The Captain are, in varying degrees, social misfits, or eccentrics.
High Fidelity’s Rob Gordon (played by John Kusack), and The Captain himself, Dennis Duckworth share traits. For example, they’re both music nerds, although Gordon tends toward music historian, and Duckworth on new and esoteric. They’re both a-holes who have treated women poorly. Neither is particularly likable.
Where they differ, they differ greatly: Gordon is list-obsessed and in the end, when he wins back his wife/fiancée Laura, his list includes why she should take him back and how he benefits from reconciliation—and doesn’t contain any list items that illustrate benefits to her, or promises that he’ll work at being a better man.
Duckworth **spoiler alert** doesn’t get the girl, But he’s made friends with Maggie in Perth, Scotland, and his soon-to-be-ex Sarah, as well as fellow record nerd and surly record store clerk Abby.
But wait there’s more, such as Eddie the Red Cap who wants to be human, ostensibly so he need not be alone in the world. The red caps—goblins—were believed into existence about 1,000 years earlier, and as times changed, believers fell off, driving most of the red caps to death, mainly by suicide. Of course Eddie wants to change his appearance and fit in without scaring anyone, and duckworth wants to transform his inner monster into a form that doesn’t scare (most) people off.
The story is dialogue driven , often reading like a screenplay, and moves forward mainly via flashback, and action that straddles the line between television sitcom and rom-com movies, with bits of slapstick and insult humour adding spice to the mix (but not as mixed as that metaphor!).
The story follows self-made bad guy—not a criminal, exactly, but a world class d-bag—on his road to redemption. The story hits all the notes of a rom-com, without the couple finding bliss at the end. Like the movie High Fidelity, all of the characters in The Captain are, in varying degrees, social misfits, or eccentrics.
High Fidelity’s Rob Gordon (played by John Kusack), and The Captain himself, Dennis Duckworth share traits. For example, they’re both music nerds, although Gordon tends toward music historian, and Duckworth on new and esoteric. They’re both a-holes who have treated women poorly. Neither is particularly likable.
Where they differ, they differ greatly: Gordon is list-obsessed and in the end, when he wins back his wife/fiancée Laura, his list includes why she should take him back and how he benefits from reconciliation—and doesn’t contain any list items that illustrate benefits to her, or promises that he’ll work at being a better man.
Duckworth **spoiler alert** doesn’t get the girl, But he’s made friends with Maggie in Perth, Scotland, and his soon-to-be-ex Sarah, as well as fellow record nerd and surly record store clerk Abby.
But wait there’s more, such as Eddie the Red Cap who wants to be human, ostensibly so he need not be alone in the world. The red caps—goblins—were believed into existence about 1,000 years earlier, and as times changed, believers fell off, driving most of the red caps to death, mainly by suicide. Of course Eddie wants to change his appearance and fit in without scaring anyone, and duckworth wants to transform his inner monster into a form that doesn’t scare (most) people off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2022
Funny and wise, don't miss this offbeat gem. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews