The House by the Loch

by Kirsty Wark

Scotland, 1950s
Walter MacMillan is bewitched by the clever, glamorous Jean Thompson and can't believe his luck when she agrees to marry him. Neither can she, for Walter represents a steady and loving man who can perhaps quiet the demons inside her. Yet their home on remote Loch Doon soon becomes a prison for Jean and neither a young family, nor Walter's care, can seem to save her.

Many years later, Walter is with his adult children and adored grandchildren on the shores of Loch Doon where the family has been holidaying for two generations. But the shadows of the past stretch over them and will turn all their lives upside down on one fateful weekend.

The House by the Loch is the story of a family in all its loving complexity, and the way it can, and must, remake itself endlessly in order to make peace with the past.

Genres: Fiction, Scotland, Historical Fiction, Historical, Mystery

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2019

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story tells of the MacMillan family. Walter cannot believe his luck when the glamorous Jean Thompson agrees to marry him. For Jean, Water is a stabiliser, a loving man she hopes can quieten her spirit and keep her problems at bay. Their home at Loch Doon, where in 1941 a Spitfire pilot plunged down witnessed by Walter, does not having a calming effect on Jean. It becomes more like a prison, but Walter is deeply attached to the place. Years later Loch Doon has become a special place for Walter’s adult children Patrick and Fiona and their spouses, Elinor and Roland and offspring Carson, Iona and Pete. Until tragedy happens. This casts a pall over all their lives that extends far beyond that fateful weekend. Gradually, over time family secrets emerge.
This had all the ingredients of a great read with a family saga, secrets and the brooding landscape of Galloway. I loved the way the relationship between Carson and her grandfather Walter was drawn. It was my favourite element of the book. I liked certain other aspects of this book. Loss, grief, guilt and alcoholism are just some of the issues covered over the course of the story. And yet, it seemed to take forever to read it. I think for me, the biggest issue was while I could empathise with the characters and the situations, it all felt like it was happening at a distance. I never became emotionally involved with the characters, not even during the most dramatic scenes. Perhaps that is the difference between a competent writer and a really good writer. The excellent writer makes you feel every emotion with the chracters so you forget you are reading a book, but instead are right there with them. You are involved. This book failed to achieve that for me.
While I never considered giving up on the book, I also never found myself avidly reaching for it either. This is my first book by this author so I would be interested to read another and see how I react to that. For this one, I felt it moved at a slow pace and I was just not as invested in the characters and therefore the story as I expected it to be. So better than just an okay read. I did like it but not one I could say I loved.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I was expecting a lot more of this novel to be set in the past and, although a good portion of it is, the primary focus is the present day and the MacMillan family: grandfather,Walter; his son and daughter, Patrick and Fiona; their respective partners, Elinor and Roland; and Walter’s grandchildren, Pete, Carson and Iona. A lot of the story is seen from the point of view of Carson and I particularly liked the strong bond she has with her grandfather and her willingness to embrace exciting opportunities.

I enjoyed the sections of the book looking back at the development of the relationship between Walter and his late wife, Jean, from their initial meeting, their courtship and marriage to starting a family. However, behind the scenes there are tensions including Jean’s domineering father, her troubled mother and the long hours Jean spends alone in their house on the remote, if picturesque, Loch Doon. How these tensions manifest themselves in Jean’s behaviour, and the impact of this behaviour on Walter and their children is heartbreaking. Even more so, when the full story becomes known.

As for the story set in the present day, it becomes gradually apparent that history may be repeating itself. Loch Doon may be a place of beauty but it has also been the scene of tragic events, including one witnessed by Walter as a young boy, and will be again.

In her afterword, the author writes, “This novel means a great deal to me. It expresses my love of Scotland and the power it holds over me, and it also expresses the complexity of what family is and the way that it remakes itself endlessly.” The author’s love of Scotland definitely comes through in the wonderful descriptions of the loch and the surrounding Galloway hills.

The House by the Loch is an emotional, well-crafted story of a family dealing with change, guilt and loss, and how – together – they must come to terms with secrets of the past and face up to the future.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a bit of a slow starter and didn't think i would enjoy it. It was a little dull until the story took a tragic turn, then seemed to come together. A bit of a sad tale but worth reading.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reluctant to give The House on the Loch a rating because unfortunately I really didn't enjoy this book and didn't read to the end, and having looked at a few of the other reviews I know that there are plenty of people who did! Honestly, and in my humble opinion? It dragged and didn't seem to be going anywhere; what I did read didn't hold my attention long enough to be interested in finding out what happened next. This is however, just one opinion among many.

[Jane Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book from Kirsty Wark - I really liked her last one and this one was very good as well. This one is set in Galloway, where she obviously had holidayed when young and also in Ayr where I think she was born. The story revolves round a family who are torn apart by a major event and what happens to them and is told sympathetically and well. Her descriptions are good and you can imagine yourself in the setting of the story by the loch. Impressed!

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If journalism is history in the making then this journalist-turned-author has made more history than most. Kirsty Wark has anchored Newsnight since 1993. But in her novels she takes a deeper view of history. Her second novel, The House By The Loch, is set in Galloway- one the most beautiful and least well-known parts of Scotland, even to many Scots. This spare and beautiful landscape anchors three generations of one family struggling with grief in the present and a secret from the past. As with her debut, she once again draws on real events to conjure compelling fiction. Prologue opens with ten year old Walter Macmillan watching a spitfire crash into Loch doon. Flying Officer Frantisek Hekel: ‘the day the war came to Loch doon’.

This is a story about belonging, passion, separation and the impossibility of anticipating or understanding everything that will happen in our lives.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to net galley for the ARC of this book.

I felt this had an interesting concept but for me it never really sparked into life. I found the backwards and forwards motion in time unnecessary and at times frankly boring. The author might have been better to have integrated straight forward narrative with the dramatic events at the core.

For the first 30% i just wanted to put it down, there were no connecting points in the narrative, the characters were one dimensional and the storyline was going nowhere. The midsection captured the grief time line well but again i didn't think the constant carping back to the agarophobic mother was necessary, added anything to the narrative or affected the plot line.

I had expected more from this

[Pam Hutley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very beautifully written saga set on the edge of a Scottish Loch in Ayrshire. The writer clearly knows the loch and it’s area well as the descriptions feel real. Spanning a number of generations and covering off many usual themes- love, greed, secrets , guilt , family mysteries … but it is neither a dull piece nor is it predictable. I enjoyed the characterisation of its principal characters - and could clearly visualise them- their stance and costumes and see how their behaviours would have presented on their faces … in an almost cinematic way. An enjoyable read which really gets into hearts and minds.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The house on loch Doon in Ayrshire is the main setting for the story of Walter and Jean's life. The story alternates between present day and the 1950's when Walter met Jean. Now in the present Walter is surrounded by his children and grandchildren at the house on loch Doon and the ups and downs of Walter and Jean's marriage and secrets are discovered and exposed.
I found this novel was not really for me as in my opinion it was very slow and did not hold my interest. 3.5 stars.

[Davida Chazan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars
I don't know why I pictured the actor James Garner as the man protagonist of this book - he's not Scottish, but I did. Oh well. You can read my review of this book here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2021/01/1...

[Linda Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter keeps his family close.

I’m going to be totally honest and say that to begin with I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy The House by the Loch. Initially it felt a little too descriptive. However, once I attuned myself to Kirsty Wark’s writing and realised that setting is absolutely essential to the narrative I realised my original concern was entirely misplaced and I ended up absolutely loving this evocatively written story. It’s difficult to say too much about plot for fear of spoiling the story for others, but I found The House by the Loch captured me completely.

The loch, the countryside and the physical buildings are beautifully presented so that I could envisage them in my imagination. Kirsty Wark’s writing had the ability to transport me right into the setting and I found her dialogue felt so real it was as if I were listening in to conversations rather than reading about them. The House by the Loch is a visual and auditory feast to the extent I did actually forget I was reading a book.

The characters are vivid and real, depicted through carefully crafted nuances so that I cared about them all. The portrayals of Walter, Carson and Jean in particular held me spellbound. Jean’s brittle, glittering, alcohol fuelled life felt every bit as tragic to me as any Shakespearean character and I frequently felt that Walter was a man more sinned against than sinning. It was Carson who gained my compassion the most. Her relationship with Walter, her guilt, her ambition and her development through the novel felt so true to life.

Indeed, it is relationships that make The House by the Loch such a compelling read for me. Kirsty Wark explores what family love and loyalty is, and how it can affect us, with such sensitivity that she managed to reduce me to tears several times. Her uncovering of truths, her exploration of addiction and mental health, of family, grief and guilt all blend into a hugely affecting read that builds through beautiful writing, understanding of humanity and moving plotting.

The House by the Loch is intense with feeling. It’s moving, emotional and ultimately hopeful. I began unsure if I’d like it and ended thinking it was a wonderful read.

[Catherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A change from my usual more gritty reading; I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved the family and all the characters, and the Scottish setting. Plot moved on gently; I was never bored. Pleasing writing style.

[Antonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the family dynamics in this one! The love that they have for eachother but also the limitations of their humanity when they fail eachother. Heart-breaking at times but gave me an overall warm feeling.

[H. Daley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another dysfunctional family saga. Well written but depressing.

[Elite Group · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family secrets unravel in a remote Scottish setting.

This atmospheric story is set, as the title suggests, on a remote loch in Scotland, which is beautifully described.

Walter MacMillan has lived by Loch Doon all his life. Now, his children and grandchildren join him for their holidays. With a series of flashbacks, we begin to piece together a complicated family story. Past events emerge that seem to dominate their present lives.

In the 1950s Walter MacMillan had fallen in love with a clever and beautiful woman, only to find out she was deeply troubled. His life now revolves around his children and adored grandchildren, and the problems of his marriage have remained hidden and kept secret, until one fateful weekend when three generations meet up. His children also have their problems, but all their lives are shattered by a terrible tragedy and the skeletons, long hidden, start to come out of the cupboard.

The second half of the book is devoted to a family dealing with grief and the unravelling of past events until, finally, an admission from Walter starts to make sense of it all.

Kirsty Wark’s book holds the attention, particularly the first half, which is full of well-described family tension. The problem with this story is that the principal, dramatic event, takes place halfway through. The rest of the book deals with the slow unravelling of the past, and this is something of an anti-climax. Too much time is then spent on rather ordinary people trying to sort out their lives, and my attention was lost, and I felt inclined to skip to the final chapter.

The first half of this book is well written, and those who love family sagas will want to persevere to the end.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

[Diane Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took far too long to read this and perhaps I didn't get as good a read as I thought I would. Enjoyable enough for a family drama with a wee but of a twist. I loved where it was based around the Loch and enjoyed imagining the settings.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Kirsty Wark’s debut novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, so I was keen to read her second book, The House by the Loch. I enjoyed it very much. It’s a beautifully written family saga covering three generations. It has a strong sense of place and goes deep within the characters’ inner lives, hopes and fears. And as mysteries and secrets, losses and tragedy are gradually revealed I became totally absorbed by the story. At times immensely sad it is also uplifting. It’s set in Galloway in Scotland, south of Ayr near the Galloway Hills, mainly around Loch Doon.

The House by the Loch begins when ten-year-old Walter MacMillan witnessed a Spitfire crashing into Loch Doon in October 1941, based on a real incident. It was something he never forgot and he built a cairn as a memorial to the pilot. The narrative switches between the 1950s and the present day, telling of Walter’s marriage to Jean, a vibrant young woman when he first met her, his relationship with his children, Patrick and Fiona, and his grandchildren, Carson, Iona and Pete. They all have their problems and difficulties within their relationships, but matters come to a head one weekend when there is another tragedy in the loch.

This is a book that you need to take your time reading, a book to savour and reflect upon at leisure. It has a slow meditative pace as the beautiful scenery of the Galloway landscape unfolds in front of your eyes. But it is the characters themselves that kept me turning the pages, centred on Walter and his granddaughters Carson and Iona. Walter is an immensely patient man, but he was unprepared for the effect living in isolation in the house by the Loch had on Jean, who came to see it as a prison, and on their marriage and children.

Even the minor characters came across to me as real people – Edith, for example, Jean’s mother, an elegant beautiful woman who couldn’t leave her house and garden, feeling she might collapse, and her father brash businessman Billy. Then there are Marie, who helped Jean when she couldn’t look after Carson and Iona, Fiona, who struggled with her marriage, Elinor, Patrick’s wife and her sister, Meg and also Walter’s cousins who only come into the story in the latter part of the book.

Kirsty Wark’s love of Scotland comes over very strongly in this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it reminded me of family sagas I’d read years ago – books that swept me along as the secrets of earlier generations impact on their descendants. It’s about family relationships, happiness, love, loss and heartbreak.

Many thanks to the publishers, Two Roads, for my review copy via NetGalley.

[Sharon Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me quite a while to get into this book but once I did I enjoyed it.
Set in current times and in the fifties it follows the lives of the Macmillan family around the picturesque Loch Doon and tragic events that impacted them.
I liked the relationship between Carson and her grandfather Walter and the uncovering of the story around his marriage to Jean.
A little slow in places I would give this 3 Stars.

[Nicola Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Kirsty Wark's first book, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, so I was really keen to read this, her long-awaited follow up. It has a gorgeous cover and really, who wouldn't want a house by a loch?

It's set in the Galloway area of Scotland in the current day and also looking back to the 1950s. Walter Macmillan, his two children and their children holiday regularly on the shores of Loch Doon, where Walter and his wife, Jean, had lived as newlyweds back in the 50s. One particular get-together though leads to tragic consequences for the family.

The book looks back to when Walter met Jean, and the early years of their marriage. Living in a remote place suited Walter, but Jean not so much. Not everyone is suited to solitude and Jean certainly didn't seem to be. We follow the ups and downs of their marriage in amongst reading about what is happening in the current day with Patrick and Fiona, their children, and Pete, Carson and Iona, their grandchildren.

I have to be honest and say that this book didn't wholly work for me. I found it a bit slow and difficult to engage with. I didn't really feel a great deal for the characters and even when something horrendous happened it all felt strangely emotionless. However, this is just my opinion and what suits one person doesn't suit the next. There is some beautiful writing in this book, some very detailed and evocative descriptions of Scottish life, both in the town of Ayr and by the loch, and I do love to read about all things Scottish. It's clear that Kirsty Wark has a fondness for the area. Having said that, I remember thinking several times whilst reading that it felt a bit like a sweeping American novel with the sense of space and the set up of the story.

I think this is a book that is very much character-driven and which takes a look at family dynamics. I think you will enjoy it if you like to take your time with a book, and to get under the skin of the characters. It's very much about family relationships and secrets, and the effect they can have through the generations.

[Geri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because I consider the author, Kirsty Wark, to be a skilled and thorough television presenter so was interested to see how she would be as a novelist. The story is set in rural Galloway in the South of Scotland and covers the story of a local family over a period between the 2nd World War and present times. The main characters are Carson, a teenage girl, and her grandfather Walter. A fatal accident in the current time setting is the main event around which the plot hinges. The accident's effects on Carson, Walter and the rest of the family are explored and the time scale shifts backwards and forwards to explore secrets, lies and cover-ups in the family's past. Although I think the novel was well researched with a very good sense of place I did not empathise with any of the characters and was not very interested in what happened to them. I felt the outcomes for all the characters were rather implausible and too easily resolved. Overall the novel was a disappointment.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a right mixed bag this book was. It wasn't until the book is about a third of the way in, that it actually start to move forward into any sort of storyline rather than just 'background information'. I wasn't too keen either on the way it was written, especially the first two-thirds where it seemed to jump back and forth in time so much so that you weren't sure when it was supposed to be set in!

The final third of the book was probably the bit I enjoyed most and which is why Its getting 3 stars rather than the 2 it should really deserve. Not a book I would really recommend unless someone is really desperate for something to read.

[MReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hovered between three and four stars on this. The pen portraits of a family with both overt tensions and underlying tensions that nobody really understands are beautifully done. Kirsty Wark really is an excellent descriptive writer. I felt the plot meandered a lot, and as a personal preference I would’ve liked a slightly pacier book, hence my rating. But if rich description is your bag, you may well love it.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my cup of tea, and I confess I skim-read most of it after ploughing though the first 1/4. Not quite sure why it didn’t work for me, as the plot was fairly strong, but it just felt all a bit superficial and the characters were pretty one dimensional, would have been nice to have positive female character rather than stereotypes...
Others seem to have liked it so down to personal preference I guess.

[Ros Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderfully written novel by Kirsty Wark. I loved the story line and imagining the Scottish scenery in which it’s largely located. Families are complex at the best of times, and this (extended) family is no exception! Sometimes you find authors run out of steam and their books end in a very disappointing and unbelievable way. Not this one. Well done Kirsty! Can’t wait for the next one.

[Alison Vicary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I could get no further than halfway through Chapter 2. The wording seemed all wrong and the characters well centred and not real. I do appreciate some may enjoy this but it definitely was not for me

[Claire O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on holiday in Scotland - should maybe have a trigger warning but that may spoil the story

[Jack Deighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of three generations of the MacMillan family, grandfather Walter, his children Patrick and Fiona, and grandchildren Carson, Iona and Peter. But before we get into that, in a preface which signals that not all will be sweetness and light, we are shown Walter’s childhood memory of witnessing the wartime crash of a Spitfire piloted by a Czech Flying Officer, Frantisek Hekl, into Loch Doon in the Galloway hills. Subsequently Walter built a cairn to Hekl’s memory on a hill above the loch.

In the present day of the narrative, Fiona’s philandering husband, Roland, a successful architect who piggy-backed on her design aesthetic, has built on the shores of the loch a modern, hi-tech replacement for one of the two log cabins Walter had given his children. Patrick and his wife Elinor meanwhile, are content with the more modest lifestyle of a teacher and illustrator respectively. Occasional chapters give the history of Walter’s meeting with his wife Jean (Thompson) and their life together.

Coming down from their house in Ayr for holidays on the loch is an idyllic relief for Carson from her irritations with younger sister Iona which are, though, exacerbated at times by Iona’s idolisation of cousin Pete. The strains in Roland’s and Fiona’s marriage bear echoes of Walter’s with Jean though Fiona’s drinking is less of a fatal flaw then Jean’s. But lochs have their dangers and, when tragedy strikes, each of the characters is in some way to blame for it and all their lives are turned upside down.

Wark has the Scottish novelist’s eye for landscape and she handles character well enough but her prose sometimes leaves a bit to be desired as occasional phrases lean to the tin-eared or ill-considered. There is, too, a jumpiness to the sequencing, lending a feeling of skittishness to the text.

[Voluntarystress · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Two Roads for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. I requested this book on the strength of the author’s name, having long been a fan of her television work. I wasn’t disappointed. Four or five pages in it was obvious I was in the hands of an expert wordsmith. Her descriptions of the surrounding countryside are glorious. This is an author who obviously knows and loves the area intimately. To my mind, the principal character in this book is the glorious lochside scenery. But this writer knows how to convey huge and raw emotions superbly too. I could quote so many wonderful passages but will settle for just one example. A separated couple were said to have ”stored away their affection for each other like fine china, and when they were all together as a family they displayed it beautifully for all to see”.

This is the tale of a family and a tragedy, how it affects them and how they come to terms with it. We meet three generations of this family and look back to a fourth and see that what has happened in the present has it’s roots in the past. We look back effortlessly in time through the thoughts of the main characters. This is seamless and allows the story to flow, rather than as in many novels, having whole chapters devoted to different eras. I’m frightened of offering any negative comments on such a perfect book, but a map of the area would have been helpful. Possibly it’s intended to include one in the published book. I loved this authors work so much that I had to immediately read her previous first novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle. I could go into raptures about that one too but that is another story.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walter witnesses a tragedy as a young boy at the side of the loch, close to his home. It haunts him, throughout his life, even though he could do nothing to stop it. Years later, his family gather at the loch, and once again it is the scene of a tragic event, this time personal, and he wonders if it is his fault and if his family will ever recover.

The setting is beautiful, yet unforgiving, an addiction for Walter, that threatens everything he holds dear.

A multi-generational story, Walter recalls his younger days, his marriage to Jean and their lives at the loch. Addiction and mental health issues irrevocably alter the family, and their effects resonate across the generations. The story's ethos is predominately sad, but at its conclusion, there is a reckoning, a chance for redemption and a way forward for those left.

The characters are flawed, and therefore believable. Some are self-destructive, but whether the root cause is from nature or nurture, or both is part of what this story explores. The plot is complex, hiding its secrets until the end, The story is engaging and draws you into the family, how they interact and what it means to keep a family together.

Forgiveness, justice and understanding are all important themes. The emotional journey, the characters travel is poignant and often filled with a sense of hopelessness. Ultimately, it is the courage, love and tenacity of the family members, that gets them through the darkness, to survive and make the family stronger.

I received a copy of this book from John Murray Press - Two Roads via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is described as follows:-
Scotland, 1950s
Walter MacMillan is bewitched by the clever, glamorous Jean Thompson and can't believe his luck when she agrees to marry him. Neither can she, for Walter represents a steady and loving man who can perhaps quiet the demons inside her. Yet their home on remote Loch Doon soon becomes a prison for Jean and neither a young family, nor Walter's care, can seem to save her.

Many years later, Walter is with his adult children and adored grandchildren on the shores of Loch Doon where the family has been holidaying for two generations. But the shadows of the past stretch over them and will turn all their lives upside down on one fateful weekend.

The House by the Loch is the story of a family in all its loving complexity, and the way it can, and must, remake itself endlessly in order to make peace with the past.

I enjoyed the way this intergenerational story is told and how problems of the past, in this case mental health issues and alcoholism can pass down the generations but also in some cases how good can come out of a tragedy. An aspect I particularly liked was the relationship Walter had with his grandchildren and reminded me of the happy times I used to spend with my grandfather pottering in his garden.

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle but in common with that novel Kirsty again conjures up so well a sense of place and landscape. We've stayed down at the end of the Mull of Galloway and explored some of the area but shall hopefully be exploring the Loch Doon area on our next visit in September.