This was a rare treat of a book, set in the Cairngorms with a story spanning almost a hundred years. At its heart was the friendship between two (almost) cousins born only weeks apart and growing up in the hardships of a tenancy farming family. The themes of belonging and landscape and community intertwined with the realities of small town living - sometimes harsh and cruel, at other times binding and loving. Despite the widely thrown net of stories and characters, shifting between a banker brought down by the financial crash, a neurodiverse teenager, a minister turned publican, a mean, increasingly demented aunt, there was a cohesiveness about this story which was I think down to the commonality of the central highland landscape - arguably not the most magnificent part of Scotland, but its land locked mountain ranges, ancient, if sparse woodlands and hidden lochs have a solid, forceful hold on its inhabitants. They may share a space, but hold diverging views about land management, ecology, tourism - everything really. But, ultimately, this book is hugely satisfying, well researched, and challenges the reader to look again at the romanticised view of highland life, through an open, curious lens. All life is here. Oh, and did I mention, it is beautifully written.