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The Land of Maybe: A Faroe Islands Year
'In this excellent book, Ecott's evocative telling makes me want to go to this weird and wonderful place.' - PAUL THEROUX
'I never want to leave the remote island world so atmospherically, precisely educed between the covers of this book. Ecott's prose has the power of tides, his perception is as searching as the Atlantic wind, and he has the soul of a natural-born naturalist. A masterpiece.' - JOHN LEWIS-STEMPLE
Following the natural cycle of the year, The Land of Maybe captures the essence of 'slow life' on the 18 remote, mysterious islands which make up the Faroes in the North Atlantic. Closer to the UK than Denmark, this fast disappearing world is home to a close-knit society where just 50,000 people share Viking roots and a language that is unlike any other in Scandinavia.
We follow the arrival of the migratory birds, the over-wintering of the sheep and the way food is gathered and eaten in tune with the seasons. Buffeted by the weather and the demands of a volatile natural environment, people still hunt seabirds and herd pilot whales for a significant portion of their basic food needs.
This is not a travelogue, but a deeper exploration of how 'to be' in a tough landscape; a study of a people and a way of life that represents continuity and a deep connection to the past. The Land of Maybe offers not just a refuge from the freneticism of modern life, but lessons about where we come from and how we may find a balance in our lives.
'I never want to leave the remote island world so atmospherically, precisely educed between the covers of this book. Ecott's prose has the power of tides, his perception is as searching as the Atlantic wind, and he has the soul of a natural-born naturalist. A masterpiece.' - JOHN LEWIS-STEMPLE
Following the natural cycle of the year, The Land of Maybe captures the essence of 'slow life' on the 18 remote, mysterious islands which make up the Faroes in the North Atlantic. Closer to the UK than Denmark, this fast disappearing world is home to a close-knit society where just 50,000 people share Viking roots and a language that is unlike any other in Scandinavia.
We follow the arrival of the migratory birds, the over-wintering of the sheep and the way food is gathered and eaten in tune with the seasons. Buffeted by the weather and the demands of a volatile natural environment, people still hunt seabirds and herd pilot whales for a significant portion of their basic food needs.
This is not a travelogue, but a deeper exploration of how 'to be' in a tough landscape; a study of a people and a way of life that represents continuity and a deep connection to the past. The Land of Maybe offers not just a refuge from the freneticism of modern life, but lessons about where we come from and how we may find a balance in our lives.
283 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 2, 2024
Ask someone about the Faroe Islands - a few might associate them with Denmark (they are a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark); a few might know that St Brendan the Navigator (the Irish monk) stopped at the Faroes on his legendary voyage to Greenland and the Americas (a la Tim Severin's Brendan Voyage); but for most people - the Faroe Islanders are known for still hunting whales.
They continue to hunt pilot whales, as a traditional hunting right. This is large part of this book, occurring in the middle third, and Ecott pulls few punches. It is gruesome, described in great detail and tells of culls in quite extraordinary numbers. For most people - the author and myself included, having this described is a disturbing experience.
But thankfully that is far from all this book is about. Tim Ecott is an Irish born, British author who draws many parallels with the rural Ireland of his grandparents era and the Faroes - based on his numerous and lengthy visits to the islands.
The numerous seabirds get plenty of coverage, but not at the expense of other land based birds - a family of ravens feature heavily. The author also provides a recent and longer term history of each island visited, although for me the many, many people he meets and the names all become a bit of a blur after a while, but there is no lack of interest as I was reading (little change of retention of the knowledge though!).
There is no doubt the Faroe Islands are a harsh and hard place to live. They live a traditional style of life, where they work hard on the land; they are a hardy people. There was a short quote I thought quite apt:
So to recommend this book? Yes certainly:
If you are interested in whales and sea life, but can consider them food.
If you are interested in ornithology, but can consider eggs and birds as a food.
If you are interested in traditional lifestyles in a harsh and weather-beaten land, and can cope with accurate descriptions of the above! However if, like me, the Faroese names all blend and mix into a unrecognisable blur, don't expect to keep much of the island history or personal history of those we meet straight in your head for very long!
This was a fascinating and articulately written book that I really enjoyed reading.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
They continue to hunt pilot whales, as a traditional hunting right. This is large part of this book, occurring in the middle third, and Ecott pulls few punches. It is gruesome, described in great detail and tells of culls in quite extraordinary numbers. For most people - the author and myself included, having this described is a disturbing experience.
But thankfully that is far from all this book is about. Tim Ecott is an Irish born, British author who draws many parallels with the rural Ireland of his grandparents era and the Faroes - based on his numerous and lengthy visits to the islands.
The numerous seabirds get plenty of coverage, but not at the expense of other land based birds - a family of ravens feature heavily. The author also provides a recent and longer term history of each island visited, although for me the many, many people he meets and the names all become a bit of a blur after a while, but there is no lack of interest as I was reading (little change of retention of the knowledge though!).
There is no doubt the Faroe Islands are a harsh and hard place to live. They live a traditional style of life, where they work hard on the land; they are a hardy people. There was a short quote I thought quite apt:
They accommodate an appreciation of the majesty and beauty of the animals and birds around them, with a belief that they are things which equally must be hunted, killed and eaten.Ultimately the Faroese people treat the birds, eggs, pilot whales, hares, and fish the same as they do their farmed sheep - as livestock. They live a life timed by the seasons, taking traditional foods at the prescribed times. The have little association of the feelings that the western world, with no hunter gatherer aspect left in their lives, apply to wildlife.
So to recommend this book? Yes certainly:
If you are interested in whales and sea life, but can consider them food.
If you are interested in ornithology, but can consider eggs and birds as a food.
If you are interested in traditional lifestyles in a harsh and weather-beaten land, and can cope with accurate descriptions of the above! However if, like me, the Faroese names all blend and mix into a unrecognisable blur, don't expect to keep much of the island history or personal history of those we meet straight in your head for very long!
This was a fascinating and articulately written book that I really enjoyed reading.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
August 27, 2022
This has the feel of a nature memoir – but a rather unconventional one, where the nature involved tends to be getting killed in a variety of creative ways. Gannets are beheaded, whales speared, hares shot, and rams dispatched with a bolt gun; yet Tim Ecott describes all this with the same careful, deft tone that he uses to describe Faroese sunsets or mountain flowers, and indeed he succeeds in convincing you that it's all part of the natural rhythms of life here.
This is quite a neat trick – but the Faroe Islands is not a place where people are hunting for fun or bravado. They're doing it because there really isn't much to eat out here in the middle of the North Atlantic. ‘Killing animals and birds for food,’ he points out, ‘is still part of everyday life for many people here,’ and it's strange to poke around the villages on the islands and realise that there are no butchers, no fishmongers: people here are still very used to killing animals themselves when they want to eat them. Certainly the idea of subsistence hunting seems a lot more ethical and sustainable to me (as a vegetarian) than having goods packed in plastic and flown in long-distance by airplane to be sold by the Faroes' few supermarkets.
The most notorious example of this is the traditional whale drive, one of which Ecott goes along to – with, he claims, mixed feelings, though I don't believe him for a minute: there's no way a journalist and writer would have turned down the chance to see it for himself. There has been some international pressure against such killing in recent years (including a visit by a tearfully campaigning Pamela Anderson), but the only effect of this, apparently, has been to inspire a new generation of Faroese to learn these traditional ways of catching food. ‘The whales saved us many times in the old days when the sheep all died of cold,’ one boy, knee-deep in blood, tells Ecott. ‘Who knows what can happen in the world? One day we may have to fend for ourselves again.’
I wondered, while I was there, how on earth people manage to have a balanced diet, since the wind is too strong for most vegetation to grow (there are essentially no trees on the Faroe Islands, for instance) and many people seem genuinely to have barely nibbled a green vegetable in their lives. Though the cuisine is certainly…inventive (Ecott mentions such delicacies as rognaknettir, ‘dumplings made with raisins, cod roe and the fat from around a sheep's rectum’), it's effectively a diet of just meat and tiny island potatoes, with vitamin D from the whale blubber – though that's also full of mercury these days. Yet everyone looks very wind-tanned and healthy in a classic Scandinavian way.
Ecott has a nice line in simile, which makes his descriptions often a delight: he notes how ‘the downpour comes and goes like a fever’, sees a curlew's egg ‘patterned as if lightly drizzled with melted chocolate’, and, on an eider duck, ‘a smudge of pale green, like the plush on a Victorian nursing chair that has stood by a window, deeply faded by lifetimes of sunlight’. There's no doubt that the natural world is where most of his attention is drawn here, and when he does consider human culture, it tends to be in the context of the traditional skills that are still so prevalent here. In some ways time has almost stood still; one house on Streymoy is inhabited by the seventeenth generation of the family who took it over in 1550, which Ecott suggests ‘may be the oldest home continually occupied by the same family in Europe’. Now, of course, they also have helicopter links to nearby islands and the fastest internet speeds in Europe too.
Though he doesn't speak Faroese, he has enough exposure to it to give us useful local terms where he can, and to take an interest in its complexities. He mentions such intriguing facts as the word ternudimmi, supposedly ‘meaning literally “just for a moment”, denoting the briefest of times in the summer night when the terns fall blessedly silent’. I have been unable to verify this, since I still can't get hold of a good Faroese dictionary (no surprise, as they haven't existed for more than a few years) and the term ternudimmi is currently a ‘Googlewhackblatt’, returning only a single result – this book – at least until I hit ‘post’ on this review.
I was also interested to learn the old Faroese way of telling the time:
This reminds me of Polish, where północ also means both ‘north’ and ‘midnight’, though here it's taken to a more extreme maritime level.
Chatting with his friends after a gannet hunt, Ecott tells us that the ‘men speak of men's things: hunting and sheep, boats and the weather, and women’. It would have been nice to know what the women are speaking about, and this book does not tell us much about what kind of conversations are going on in kitchens and living-rooms on the Faroes. It's really much more interested in the bleak cliff-faces, the wild outfields, and the animals and (mostly) men who spend their time there. But as long as you're OK with that, this is full of evocative and well-written passages about how life is lived in one of Europe's furthest and most atavistic outposts.
This is quite a neat trick – but the Faroe Islands is not a place where people are hunting for fun or bravado. They're doing it because there really isn't much to eat out here in the middle of the North Atlantic. ‘Killing animals and birds for food,’ he points out, ‘is still part of everyday life for many people here,’ and it's strange to poke around the villages on the islands and realise that there are no butchers, no fishmongers: people here are still very used to killing animals themselves when they want to eat them. Certainly the idea of subsistence hunting seems a lot more ethical and sustainable to me (as a vegetarian) than having goods packed in plastic and flown in long-distance by airplane to be sold by the Faroes' few supermarkets.
The most notorious example of this is the traditional whale drive, one of which Ecott goes along to – with, he claims, mixed feelings, though I don't believe him for a minute: there's no way a journalist and writer would have turned down the chance to see it for himself. There has been some international pressure against such killing in recent years (including a visit by a tearfully campaigning Pamela Anderson), but the only effect of this, apparently, has been to inspire a new generation of Faroese to learn these traditional ways of catching food. ‘The whales saved us many times in the old days when the sheep all died of cold,’ one boy, knee-deep in blood, tells Ecott. ‘Who knows what can happen in the world? One day we may have to fend for ourselves again.’
I wondered, while I was there, how on earth people manage to have a balanced diet, since the wind is too strong for most vegetation to grow (there are essentially no trees on the Faroe Islands, for instance) and many people seem genuinely to have barely nibbled a green vegetable in their lives. Though the cuisine is certainly…inventive (Ecott mentions such delicacies as rognaknettir, ‘dumplings made with raisins, cod roe and the fat from around a sheep's rectum’), it's effectively a diet of just meat and tiny island potatoes, with vitamin D from the whale blubber – though that's also full of mercury these days. Yet everyone looks very wind-tanned and healthy in a classic Scandinavian way.
Ecott has a nice line in simile, which makes his descriptions often a delight: he notes how ‘the downpour comes and goes like a fever’, sees a curlew's egg ‘patterned as if lightly drizzled with melted chocolate’, and, on an eider duck, ‘a smudge of pale green, like the plush on a Victorian nursing chair that has stood by a window, deeply faded by lifetimes of sunlight’. There's no doubt that the natural world is where most of his attention is drawn here, and when he does consider human culture, it tends to be in the context of the traditional skills that are still so prevalent here. In some ways time has almost stood still; one house on Streymoy is inhabited by the seventeenth generation of the family who took it over in 1550, which Ecott suggests ‘may be the oldest home continually occupied by the same family in Europe’. Now, of course, they also have helicopter links to nearby islands and the fastest internet speeds in Europe too.
Though he doesn't speak Faroese, he has enough exposure to it to give us useful local terms where he can, and to take an interest in its complexities. He mentions such intriguing facts as the word ternudimmi, supposedly ‘meaning literally “just for a moment”, denoting the briefest of times in the summer night when the terns fall blessedly silent’. I have been unable to verify this, since I still can't get hold of a good Faroese dictionary (no surprise, as they haven't existed for more than a few years) and the term ternudimmi is currently a ‘Googlewhackblatt’, returning only a single result – this book – at least until I hit ‘post’ on this review.
I was also interested to learn the old Faroese way of telling the time:
Twelve midnight was called ‘north’ while twelve noon was referred to as ‘south’. Six am became simply ‘east’ and six pm was ‘west’. Ninety-minute intervals were ‘half-eighths’, so that ten-thirty pm would be north-north-west.
This reminds me of Polish, where północ also means both ‘north’ and ‘midnight’, though here it's taken to a more extreme maritime level.
Chatting with his friends after a gannet hunt, Ecott tells us that the ‘men speak of men's things: hunting and sheep, boats and the weather, and women’. It would have been nice to know what the women are speaking about, and this book does not tell us much about what kind of conversations are going on in kitchens and living-rooms on the Faroes. It's really much more interested in the bleak cliff-faces, the wild outfields, and the animals and (mostly) men who spend their time there. But as long as you're OK with that, this is full of evocative and well-written passages about how life is lived in one of Europe's furthest and most atavistic outposts.
April 26, 2020
I have travelled to the Faroe Islands twice, visiting about 8 of the islands, so for me, reading this book was like a trip down memory lane.
Mykines is by far my favourite part of Faroe Islands, so when I opened the book and found that this was where the journey began I knew that I would love this book! So much that was said about Mykines seemed familiar - the ferry and helicopter rides, walking to the tip of Mykineshomur, avoiding skua swoops, revelling in the thousands of puffins, staying at the guesthouse and eating at the cafe. It felt a little bit like going home!
Tim Ecott's descriptions of the stunning landscapes are vivid and tie-in so well with my memories of these amazing islands. Even for those places I have never visited, I could easily picture what they look like, and I feel that a reader who has never visited the Faroes would be able to do the same. (At times, though, I did find the descriptions a little too detailed and started to fell a bit vertiginous!)
As well as the natural wonders, I enjoyed learning more about the culture and history of the islands. I completely understand Ecott's mixed feeling when it comes to topics like hunting whales, collecting eggs, hunting chicks etc, but I believe he gave a well-rounded view of the islanders' interactions with the wildlife around them, not falling into the trap of making quick, uninformed judgements based on current, popular viewpoints. The locals of the Faroe Islands are definitely much more attuned to, and show greater respect for, the world around them, and I believe that there is much that we can learn from them.
I loved the small chapters about the ravens that were spread throughout the book. Not only did it help to break the story up, but it was also just a lovely, detailed, personal aside. Tim Ecott is a talented writer, and this book is well worth a read even if you have never been to, or plan to go to, the Faroe Islands. It is like a ray of sunshine in the hectic, busy, 21st century world.
Mykines is by far my favourite part of Faroe Islands, so when I opened the book and found that this was where the journey began I knew that I would love this book! So much that was said about Mykines seemed familiar - the ferry and helicopter rides, walking to the tip of Mykineshomur, avoiding skua swoops, revelling in the thousands of puffins, staying at the guesthouse and eating at the cafe. It felt a little bit like going home!
Tim Ecott's descriptions of the stunning landscapes are vivid and tie-in so well with my memories of these amazing islands. Even for those places I have never visited, I could easily picture what they look like, and I feel that a reader who has never visited the Faroes would be able to do the same. (At times, though, I did find the descriptions a little too detailed and started to fell a bit vertiginous!)
As well as the natural wonders, I enjoyed learning more about the culture and history of the islands. I completely understand Ecott's mixed feeling when it comes to topics like hunting whales, collecting eggs, hunting chicks etc, but I believe he gave a well-rounded view of the islanders' interactions with the wildlife around them, not falling into the trap of making quick, uninformed judgements based on current, popular viewpoints. The locals of the Faroe Islands are definitely much more attuned to, and show greater respect for, the world around them, and I believe that there is much that we can learn from them.
I loved the small chapters about the ravens that were spread throughout the book. Not only did it help to break the story up, but it was also just a lovely, detailed, personal aside. Tim Ecott is a talented writer, and this book is well worth a read even if you have never been to, or plan to go to, the Faroe Islands. It is like a ray of sunshine in the hectic, busy, 21st century world.
October 2, 2021
I’m not normally a reader of books focussed on fauna, but my fascination with the Faroe Islands got the better of me. The author does a great job of honestly depicting the connection between the local population and their natural surroundings, it definitely isn’t a book for animal rights activists.
The only reason I gave four stars instead of five was a lack of focus on the history and politics of the islands, but that’s just personal taste more than anything. It was great to read some non-fiction relating to some of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited.
The only reason I gave four stars instead of five was a lack of focus on the history and politics of the islands, but that’s just personal taste more than anything. It was great to read some non-fiction relating to some of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited.
April 27, 2020
I have a deep affection for Faroe Islands and hope that this book inspires people to learn more about this unusual archipelago. Aside from wanting to describe the remarkable natural history of Faroes, I wanted express my deep affection for its people - who have offered me nothing but hospitality and friendship over several years, with a generosity of spirit that is remarkable. This is a very modern society, but people respect the old traditional ways and have held onto a strong sense of community that is missing in some many other parts of the world. I wanted to capture a snapshot of that culture before it changes too much, and evoke the beauty of the green mountains where ravens soar and the chiruping of the oyster catchers provide constant music throughout the summer months.
June 28, 2020
There's no doubt he's a talented writer and objectively this is a wonderful book which transports you to these incredible islands but the squeamish vegetarian in me struggled to read the numerous incidents of animal slaughter. This is absolutely my issue, not the author's but it impacted how I felt about the book.
December 27, 2024
L'autore è un irlandese che vive nel Regno Unito e che ha passato molto tempo alle Isole Faroe, dove continua a tornare perché, come dice lui (sto parafrasando, non ho segnato le parole precise) "nessun luogo al caldo sarà mai bello come questo posto freddo e aspro". Lo capisco perché sento fortissimo il fascino del Grande Nord, mentre le zone calde o torride mi ispirano poco, con le dovute eccezioni.
Le Isole Faroe sono un luogo che vorrei visitare da tempo e mi sono informata molto in questi anni sulle cose da vedere e da fare, perciò ritrovare tutti quei nomi che avevo già mentalmente appuntato nella mia To-Do List è stato bello.
C'è da dire che l'autore sembra più interessato (perlomeno nel libro, non so nella vita reale) alla vita nelle Faroe che ai meravigliosi paesaggi che le costituiscono, per cui ci sono molti racconti di quello che ha fatto con i suoi amici faroesi. In particolare è un libro che sconsiglio assolutamente ai vegani, agli animalisti e a tutti coloro che sono particolarmente sensibili, perché ci sono moltissime scene, anche interi capitoli, sull'uccisione di animali a scopo alimentare. Le Faroe non sono una terra per vegani, così come non lo sono molti altri posti selvaggi dove la vita e l'alimentazione sono diversissime da quelle a cui siamo abituati. Per forza di cose, perché cosa volete che cresca alle Isole Faroe?
Ad ogni modo, libro interessante ma parla troppo di animali per i miei gusti, inteso sia da osservare (es. i corvi, le pulcinelle di mare, ecc.), sia come fonte di nutrimento. Alcune parti sono molto crude anche se io non sono particolarmente sensibile.
Le Isole Faroe sono un luogo che vorrei visitare da tempo e mi sono informata molto in questi anni sulle cose da vedere e da fare, perciò ritrovare tutti quei nomi che avevo già mentalmente appuntato nella mia To-Do List è stato bello.
C'è da dire che l'autore sembra più interessato (perlomeno nel libro, non so nella vita reale) alla vita nelle Faroe che ai meravigliosi paesaggi che le costituiscono, per cui ci sono molti racconti di quello che ha fatto con i suoi amici faroesi. In particolare è un libro che sconsiglio assolutamente ai vegani, agli animalisti e a tutti coloro che sono particolarmente sensibili, perché ci sono moltissime scene, anche interi capitoli, sull'uccisione di animali a scopo alimentare. Le Faroe non sono una terra per vegani, così come non lo sono molti altri posti selvaggi dove la vita e l'alimentazione sono diversissime da quelle a cui siamo abituati. Per forza di cose, perché cosa volete che cresca alle Isole Faroe?
Ad ogni modo, libro interessante ma parla troppo di animali per i miei gusti, inteso sia da osservare (es. i corvi, le pulcinelle di mare, ecc.), sia come fonte di nutrimento. Alcune parti sono molto crude anche se io non sono particolarmente sensibile.
May 7, 2022
I really wanted to like this book, and in the beginning, I did. The first several chapters were promising, but after a while, the endless descriptions of men climbing down cliffs to steal bird's eyes and slaughter baby birds - not to mention whale hunts - grew monotonous.
I picked up this book because I had seen a brief video from Green Renaissance on two families living on one of the Faroes islands and I became fascinated by the idea of a remote island people in the North Sea who treasured their culture and their independence. While the book gave me a good glimpse at the peoples' unwavering belief in the power of traditions, it veered off too many times into long, poorly told history lessons. Each chapter seemed to be another hunt or animal slaughter: sea birds, whales, and sheep. I do understand that the Faroes people rely heavily on these resources for food, but don't they do anything else? I got no sense of anything else in their lives other than hunting and preserving meat. Do they farm? Do they throw birthday parties? What is a Faroese wedding like? One family loves football - great - but I wanted the author to tell me about their unique games, sports, holiday traditions, clothing. All I know is that they wear wool and one family likes football. I really wanted to "see" through the eyes of the author to learn about these unique people but the prose kept it all at arm's length, like I was reading a report on the island.
Lastly, the editor should have flagged repetitive sentences that did not add to the book. I counted at least three of these sentences in one chapter: "The air is cold." This tells me nothing. What does it feel, smell, taste like? The author's poor description, relying on factual recitations of brooks, rivers, waterfalls, cliffs, terrain is numbing.
As an author myself, I hate giving bad reviews. But I really did not like this book. I gave it 3 stars because of its uniqueness and the courage the author showed to do some of the things he did (I know I could not do them) but as a story, it failed to engage me as I'd hoped it would.
I picked up this book because I had seen a brief video from Green Renaissance on two families living on one of the Faroes islands and I became fascinated by the idea of a remote island people in the North Sea who treasured their culture and their independence. While the book gave me a good glimpse at the peoples' unwavering belief in the power of traditions, it veered off too many times into long, poorly told history lessons. Each chapter seemed to be another hunt or animal slaughter: sea birds, whales, and sheep. I do understand that the Faroes people rely heavily on these resources for food, but don't they do anything else? I got no sense of anything else in their lives other than hunting and preserving meat. Do they farm? Do they throw birthday parties? What is a Faroese wedding like? One family loves football - great - but I wanted the author to tell me about their unique games, sports, holiday traditions, clothing. All I know is that they wear wool and one family likes football. I really wanted to "see" through the eyes of the author to learn about these unique people but the prose kept it all at arm's length, like I was reading a report on the island.
Lastly, the editor should have flagged repetitive sentences that did not add to the book. I counted at least three of these sentences in one chapter: "The air is cold." This tells me nothing. What does it feel, smell, taste like? The author's poor description, relying on factual recitations of brooks, rivers, waterfalls, cliffs, terrain is numbing.
As an author myself, I hate giving bad reviews. But I really did not like this book. I gave it 3 stars because of its uniqueness and the courage the author showed to do some of the things he did (I know I could not do them) but as a story, it failed to engage me as I'd hoped it would.
April 21, 2020
This beautiful book was the perfect piece of armchair travelling into the extraodinary landscape of the Faroe Islands. Tim Ecott invites the reader to join him in a lost world of gannets, puffins, whales, sheep as well as windswept cliffs, gorges and skerries. His knowledge of nature is second to none. It made me want to book a flight straightaway to these remote Viking islands.
February 10, 2023
The Faroes are a fairly unique place, and Tim Ecott's biography of the islands does a great job of portraying that. The smaller islands are spectacular, but as Ecott roams them, it's increasingly amazing how people manage to quite happily live there and - by and large - farm the land. On Stóra Dímun, an ancestor who managed to not fall to his death off a cliff long enough to reach the grand old age of 88 is revered. A dog who fell off a cliff and survived subsequently drowned because he wasn't able to find a place to come ashore on an island of cliffs.
Life in the Faroes was never easy - which is why people rappel down cliffs to catch eggs for dinner - but there's a pride in tradition and good old-fashioned manliness. Everyone knows how to use a knife, and people can still point out where key points in the epic sagas of a thousand years ago happened. The author even notes a link between surviving in harsh conditions and general happiness.
The chapter on the grind is the strongest. Starting with the author's own views on it - a general uneasiness as to whether he'll be able to take part or observe - and an overview of the numbers involved, then moving to a fairly no-holds-barred account of the grind, how the meat is kept and shared out around the community afterwards, and how high mercury levels in the whales (a result of modern pollution) actually endanger the islanders as a result. A few years ago, Pamela Anderson visited the islands as part of a general protest against the grind, arguing the islanders should stop because she and others found it personally offensive. When asked if she would rather the islanders flew food in from halfway around the world wrapped in plastic, she had no answer. The result - interesting in the light of western protests at the Qatar World Cup - was that the younger generation made a point of getting involved in the next grind. ("When foreigners came here and said they should abandon something that was an intrinsic part of their culture, then it became important to learn to kill a whale.") It's hard, having read Ecott's account, not to agree with them.
The book does feel a bit unfinished. Opening chapters move from island to island - Mykines, Stóra and Lítla Dímun, Koltur and Hestur (where, for 20 years, two families lives and resolutely refused to talk to each other), Nólsoy, Sandoy, Vágar - but the last couple of chapters then return to Mykines for a rabbit hunt. While not uninteresting of itself, it may have been a more rounded book to finish in the captain Tórshavn to see if Ecott's experience is of the Faroes in general or just the rural islands. Also, for some reason the author refers to "Faroes" rather than "the Faroes", which is one of those things that start to niggle after a while. Plus a book about a place as stunning as the Faroes surely demands a picture section.
The latter two in particular are small criticisms though. This is a very insightful book about a remarkable place.
Life in the Faroes was never easy - which is why people rappel down cliffs to catch eggs for dinner - but there's a pride in tradition and good old-fashioned manliness. Everyone knows how to use a knife, and people can still point out where key points in the epic sagas of a thousand years ago happened. The author even notes a link between surviving in harsh conditions and general happiness.
The chapter on the grind is the strongest. Starting with the author's own views on it - a general uneasiness as to whether he'll be able to take part or observe - and an overview of the numbers involved, then moving to a fairly no-holds-barred account of the grind, how the meat is kept and shared out around the community afterwards, and how high mercury levels in the whales (a result of modern pollution) actually endanger the islanders as a result. A few years ago, Pamela Anderson visited the islands as part of a general protest against the grind, arguing the islanders should stop because she and others found it personally offensive. When asked if she would rather the islanders flew food in from halfway around the world wrapped in plastic, she had no answer. The result - interesting in the light of western protests at the Qatar World Cup - was that the younger generation made a point of getting involved in the next grind. ("When foreigners came here and said they should abandon something that was an intrinsic part of their culture, then it became important to learn to kill a whale.") It's hard, having read Ecott's account, not to agree with them.
The book does feel a bit unfinished. Opening chapters move from island to island - Mykines, Stóra and Lítla Dímun, Koltur and Hestur (where, for 20 years, two families lives and resolutely refused to talk to each other), Nólsoy, Sandoy, Vágar - but the last couple of chapters then return to Mykines for a rabbit hunt. While not uninteresting of itself, it may have been a more rounded book to finish in the captain Tórshavn to see if Ecott's experience is of the Faroes in general or just the rural islands. Also, for some reason the author refers to "Faroes" rather than "the Faroes", which is one of those things that start to niggle after a while. Plus a book about a place as stunning as the Faroes surely demands a picture section.
The latter two in particular are small criticisms though. This is a very insightful book about a remarkable place.
February 3, 2022
Well thank God I'm finished that one.
I started off thinking I'd be giving this book four stars... which dwindling to three... which dwindled to two. By the final chapter we were almost getting into one star territory, a category which I would normally reserve for books which make me ask 'who published this bilge and why?'.
But much as I grew to despise this book, I can still recognise it is technically sound and evokes a sense of place so two stars it is.
Why did I grow to despise it as it went on? It starts off with a description of a gannet hunt, and by page three we've already had a 'kill count' of 500 gannets as well as a visceral description of precisely how to kill a gannet chick (in case you were wondering: knife; brute force; side of head). Gosh, I thought, he certainly went for a strong opening scene. Nature in the tooth etc.
However, as other reviewers have noted, this is the first in only many slaughter scenes. The book, in a sentence, is men getting together to be manly by killing things, e.g.; birds, whales, hares, sheep. Think Hemingway does the Faroes. True, Ecott does also sometimes recount the historic Faroe saga, which is in large part men being manly by killing each other.
Also, there don't appear to be many women on the Faroes at all - they certainly didn't feature in this text much. I suppose sometimes they do appear to give hot drinks and sandwiches to the manly men.
In the last few pages of this book, Ecott goes off with a group of men to kill something (I can't even remember what at this point, all the hunts have merged into one) and describes how in the hut, 'men speak of men's things: hunting and sheep, boats and weather, and women'. Men's things. I don't know if it's that gender theory hasn't reached the Faroes yet or if it just hasn't reached Ecott: either way I won't be reading any more of his books to find out.
I started off thinking I'd be giving this book four stars... which dwindling to three... which dwindled to two. By the final chapter we were almost getting into one star territory, a category which I would normally reserve for books which make me ask 'who published this bilge and why?'.
But much as I grew to despise this book, I can still recognise it is technically sound and evokes a sense of place so two stars it is.
Why did I grow to despise it as it went on? It starts off with a description of a gannet hunt, and by page three we've already had a 'kill count' of 500 gannets as well as a visceral description of precisely how to kill a gannet chick (in case you were wondering: knife; brute force; side of head). Gosh, I thought, he certainly went for a strong opening scene. Nature in the tooth etc.
However, as other reviewers have noted, this is the first in only many slaughter scenes. The book, in a sentence, is men getting together to be manly by killing things, e.g.; birds, whales, hares, sheep. Think Hemingway does the Faroes. True, Ecott does also sometimes recount the historic Faroe saga, which is in large part men being manly by killing each other.
Also, there don't appear to be many women on the Faroes at all - they certainly didn't feature in this text much. I suppose sometimes they do appear to give hot drinks and sandwiches to the manly men.
In the last few pages of this book, Ecott goes off with a group of men to kill something (I can't even remember what at this point, all the hunts have merged into one) and describes how in the hut, 'men speak of men's things: hunting and sheep, boats and weather, and women'. Men's things. I don't know if it's that gender theory hasn't reached the Faroes yet or if it just hasn't reached Ecott: either way I won't be reading any more of his books to find out.
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July 30, 2020Wonderful book full of incredible descriptions of what sounds like an incredible landscape. I found myself searching the names of places and events to get a real feel for this spectacular country (which has now rapidly moved up my list of places to visit). As one who is not too into bird watching I did find myself smiling when I reached each "Raven" update in a way I didn't think I would in early chapters. I have a friend from Faroes who I'll now be needling to take me!
October 7, 2022
A very unique book that gives a rare insight to the Faroe Islands. I read it during a 9-day trip there and this made the reading experience all the more special. Highly recommended reading if you plan on visiting this beautiful nation.
January 9, 2021
I had high hopes for this given the wealth of very positive reviews I had seen but I had mixed feelings about it.
I don't have an issue with the fact that the grind is covered, or that bird harvesting is mentioned. It's the sheer amount of coverage of small groups of men killing animals and birds in particular that's just too repetitive rather than shocking. It starts with killing Gannets, covers collecting Fulmar eggs, takes in harvesting Fulmar chicks and goes back to the Gannets before moving on to hare shooting which only really makes the same points.
In places the writing is excellent, I would have preferred a more rounded account of the Faroes though including Faroese women who are largely marginalised in this book.
I don't have an issue with the fact that the grind is covered, or that bird harvesting is mentioned. It's the sheer amount of coverage of small groups of men killing animals and birds in particular that's just too repetitive rather than shocking. It starts with killing Gannets, covers collecting Fulmar eggs, takes in harvesting Fulmar chicks and goes back to the Gannets before moving on to hare shooting which only really makes the same points.
In places the writing is excellent, I would have preferred a more rounded account of the Faroes though including Faroese women who are largely marginalised in this book.
January 25, 2024
I love the Faroe Islands so was excited to read this account of a year on the islands. If I’d known it would be 90% about the birds, I wouldn’t have picked it up. It started off by beautifully describing the islands but then all it was was birds. Birds. Birds. The details about slaughtering animals was also not needed. The in-depth explanation of how to slaughter a sheep in particular left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Overall it was just disappointing.
August 23, 2020
Less of a travelogue and more of a butcher's manual - not for the faint hearted!
January 1, 2025
3.5 stars, but rounded up because of my interest in the Faroes and my enjoyment of certain items discussed. But as a book, this doesn't hold up entirely well. It could just have easily been titled "The Land of Blood: A Faroe Islands Year of Hunting", given Ecott's almost single-minded focus on egg-stealers, fledgling scoopers, sheep butchers, whale slaughterers and rabbit hunters. Are there no farmers to discuss? No craftsman? No "urban" dwellers in Torshavn who don't feel the need to bloody their hands for sustenance? In the end, it seems a very specific group of Faroe Island residents that we learn about, limited to the outer reaches of the smaller, westernmost isles.
Ecott's journalism background infuses his style of writing, which doesn't necessarily work in this longer medium. He insists on throwing in tangential facts he hears or learns in order to pad out the pages, but there seems little rhyme or reason to including some of them, and often only the most tenuous connection to what he'd been discussing immediately before. He also insists on giving the local name of every hill, path, cliff, shed, etc., though without translations of their meaning, or a map showing their location, which results in them amounting to nothing more than confusing throwaway filler.
He also seems overly focused on the birds of the Faroes, which can be somewhat forgiven in light of the importance of the islands as nesting sites, but that might not be the most interesting thing for people expecting to learn about the Faroes overall and their people. Moreover, the book starts out seeming to spend a chapter or two on a single island before moving on to another island, but then that progression stops and we hardly visit any of the larger islands or examine their peoples or customs, which again makes this book rather lacking in presenting the full picture of the Faroes. It's as if Ecott had an assignment to cover a certain aspect of the Faroes, the cliff-climbing birder catchers for instance, and then thought it could be spun into an entire book - but unfortunately lacked the depth necessary to succeed at the larger endeavor.
Nevertheless, for someone like me coming at it with a pre-existing interest in these islands, the book offers a sufficient level of interest to make it worth reading. And thank you to my daughter for the gift of it for Jólabókaflóðið!
Ecott's journalism background infuses his style of writing, which doesn't necessarily work in this longer medium. He insists on throwing in tangential facts he hears or learns in order to pad out the pages, but there seems little rhyme or reason to including some of them, and often only the most tenuous connection to what he'd been discussing immediately before. He also insists on giving the local name of every hill, path, cliff, shed, etc., though without translations of their meaning, or a map showing their location, which results in them amounting to nothing more than confusing throwaway filler.
He also seems overly focused on the birds of the Faroes, which can be somewhat forgiven in light of the importance of the islands as nesting sites, but that might not be the most interesting thing for people expecting to learn about the Faroes overall and their people. Moreover, the book starts out seeming to spend a chapter or two on a single island before moving on to another island, but then that progression stops and we hardly visit any of the larger islands or examine their peoples or customs, which again makes this book rather lacking in presenting the full picture of the Faroes. It's as if Ecott had an assignment to cover a certain aspect of the Faroes, the cliff-climbing birder catchers for instance, and then thought it could be spun into an entire book - but unfortunately lacked the depth necessary to succeed at the larger endeavor.
Nevertheless, for someone like me coming at it with a pre-existing interest in these islands, the book offers a sufficient level of interest to make it worth reading. And thank you to my daughter for the gift of it for Jólabókaflóðið!
May 17, 2025
We're just over a year from our planned Faroe Islands trip, which means it's time for me to begin immersing myself in the history and literature of the Faroes. This was a great place to start! The title comes from how the concept of maybe, "kanska" in Faroese, dictates everything in a place where the wind and weather are so incredibly unpredictable that it makes planning ahead tenuous at best.
The highest windspeeds in Europe were recorded in 2016 in the Faroes; 176mph, as fast as Hurricane Katrina. The toughness of these people who live in this remote, harsh climate is unbelievable. They have an inseparable pragmatism, and most of the book is spent in acquiring food, whether it be hunting seabirds or hares or planting potatoes.
Whaling was a main source of subsistence in the Faroes for 1000 years, a place notoriously low on edible resources, and it's still a significant food source. The Faroese are not separated from the sources of food production as we are. We have the luxury of getting our meat from the grocery store and not having to take part in the slaughtering, but I wonder how different a whale hunt and a slaughterhouse for cows and pigs would be. The whale hunts are a cultural tradition, they're carefully monitored, the people don't take more than they need, and the pilot whales being hunted aren't endangered. It's still (rightly) a struggle to deal with the killing of these beautiful and intelligent animals, and the book does a great job of showing both sides without passing judgment.
Four and a half stars rounded up to five for a vivid portrayal of a fascinating place and its people.
The highest windspeeds in Europe were recorded in 2016 in the Faroes; 176mph, as fast as Hurricane Katrina. The toughness of these people who live in this remote, harsh climate is unbelievable. They have an inseparable pragmatism, and most of the book is spent in acquiring food, whether it be hunting seabirds or hares or planting potatoes.
Whaling was a main source of subsistence in the Faroes for 1000 years, a place notoriously low on edible resources, and it's still a significant food source. The Faroese are not separated from the sources of food production as we are. We have the luxury of getting our meat from the grocery store and not having to take part in the slaughtering, but I wonder how different a whale hunt and a slaughterhouse for cows and pigs would be. The whale hunts are a cultural tradition, they're carefully monitored, the people don't take more than they need, and the pilot whales being hunted aren't endangered. It's still (rightly) a struggle to deal with the killing of these beautiful and intelligent animals, and the book does a great job of showing both sides without passing judgment.
Four and a half stars rounded up to five for a vivid portrayal of a fascinating place and its people.
September 24, 2025
I honestly don`t know if I really liked it. I bought this book while traveling in Faroe islands for my honeymoon. We loved every second of it and I was looking forward to enjoying the holiday a little while longer through the lens of this book. So while enjoying all the facts about the culture, the tales and the stunning descriptions of the landscape. I even enjoyed the gory parts more than I thought I would. Having been there and experienced their relationship to food first hand, I was not shocked by the slaughter scenes. I was not a fan of the grindatrap part, but I do somehow understand faroese perspective and the book would have been missing something if this would not have been discussed. So whats the problem?
I grew really tired of the midlife crisis the author was having while writing this book. I mean he left his wife and children at home while traveling to Faroe for long periods at a time, because he was in search of the meaning of his own life. And what did he do? Watch ravens chicks grow... Poor wife. Also it is a mans perspective, without exceptions. Women are really mentioned and if they are solely in the context of cooking food. Horrendous.
I grew really tired of the midlife crisis the author was having while writing this book. I mean he left his wife and children at home while traveling to Faroe for long periods at a time, because he was in search of the meaning of his own life. And what did he do? Watch ravens chicks grow... Poor wife. Also it is a mans perspective, without exceptions. Women are really mentioned and if they are solely in the context of cooking food. Horrendous.
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August 1, 2024Macaber maar mooi? In elk hoofdstuk wordt een ander dier gedood, gedetailleerd beschreven. En in elk hoofdstuk wordt de liefde voor dieren beschreven.
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'I questioned again why I was so far away. And why I was drawn back again and again to these outcrops in the far North Atlantic. And I thought about whether I might kill a whale.'
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'Here, and thoughout Faroes, the weather is not an abstract thing, not something which delays a picnic or stops people doing some gardening: it is the essence of the place. (...) The close connection the islanders still feel with the natural elements. This relationship is something that goes hand in hand with an awareness of the impermanence of life, the threat of cliff and storm, an ever present likelihood of death.'
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'I realise that this alternative life of these stormy rocks has brought with it a rediscovery of my sense of self, spawning the strongest sense of homecoming.'
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'I questioned again why I was so far away. And why I was drawn back again and again to these outcrops in the far North Atlantic. And I thought about whether I might kill a whale.'
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'Here, and thoughout Faroes, the weather is not an abstract thing, not something which delays a picnic or stops people doing some gardening: it is the essence of the place. (...) The close connection the islanders still feel with the natural elements. This relationship is something that goes hand in hand with an awareness of the impermanence of life, the threat of cliff and storm, an ever present likelihood of death.'
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'I realise that this alternative life of these stormy rocks has brought with it a rediscovery of my sense of self, spawning the strongest sense of homecoming.'
September 27, 2024
I was in the Faroe Islands this Summer, and I wanted to find a book that conveyed how compelling this place is, from the basalt cliffs rising out of the fjords to the no-nonsense good nature of the people, and this book comes about as close to capturing that feel that I have found so far. Be warned: There are detailed graphic scenes of bird hunts and whale rendering, but if you can take the gore, they add context to the people and their connection with the land. We were staying in a little house owned by a grandmother in a quiet town at the edge of a narrow fjord, and I always wondered what the heavy scale was doing hanging over the washing machine that we used in the basement. Well, I wonder no longer....
August 25, 2025
Having just spent two weeks traveling to 12 of the Faroe Islands, I enjoyed revisiting many of the places I had been. I especially liked Ecott’s immersion into the lives of the locals. His fascination with the ravens became my fascination. I will admit that by the end, all of the hunting started to wear on me but upon reflection, a book about the cycle of a year in a remote place with little ability to grow food of necessity must focus on the culture of the place, the culture of subsistence which in the Faroe Islands requires hunting. I did have to skim/skip some of the more detailed descriptions but am still glad to have learned about the communal aspect of how people survived and still survive in such a remarkable place.
May 30, 2021
Reading this book has left me spellbound. Tim certainly is a fantastic story teller, but that’s not where the magic lies in his tales. With his words, he manages to convey a feeling, a way of life and to activate all your senses in the process. It is astonishing how much beauty there is to be found in the most simple and natural things. This book does not give you a tour guide on the Faroe Islands, but it does give you a profound understanding on how life is in the Faroes and how little it has changed. Thank you to Tim and the Faroese people for giving the rest of us access into the intimate island culture that is the Faroe Islands.
November 29, 2022
The Land of Maybe is a book about Tim Ecott's travels to the Faroe Islands. He describes the culture of the islands and tells the stories of his experiences and of the people that live there.
I really liked how Ecott wrote this book. It wasn't a biography about himself, and it wasn't a travel book. It was a book about the Faroe Islands. Ecott was not the focus, the Faroese were. The book talks a lot about nature, farming and hunting - and birds are mentioned on nearly every page. It's not a bad thing, because it gives a great and atmospheric view of the Faroes.
Great book. 4 stars from me.
I really liked how Ecott wrote this book. It wasn't a biography about himself, and it wasn't a travel book. It was a book about the Faroe Islands. Ecott was not the focus, the Faroese were. The book talks a lot about nature, farming and hunting - and birds are mentioned on nearly every page. It's not a bad thing, because it gives a great and atmospheric view of the Faroes.
Great book. 4 stars from me.
April 17, 2023
En av dom böckerna som har uppslukat mig totalt i den värld som den beskriver medan jag läser. Jag tycker om att läsa om sätt att leva som är obekant för mig. Det är många i kommentarerna som kritiserar det snäva innehållet och bristen på diversitet, vilket jag också reagerade på. Jag kom dock till slutsatsen att boken inte ”måste” ha ett visst innehåll eller vara inkluderande, författaren berättar om de sakerna som han vill. Det skulle ha kunnat nämnas på baksidan att perspektivet är ganska litet (främst män och jakt). Jag skulle också ha velat läsa mera om tex det färöiska samhället men tyckte om boken så som den var.
July 9, 2024
Picked up while visiting the Faroe Islands, this short book by a BBC journalist provides an valuable insight into to these harsh islands; weather-beaten inhabitants and much about their wildlife. The writing captures eloquently the rugged and isolated geography and culture of the islands and focuses specifically on its birdlife. My one criticism is that perhaps some more content on other subjects may have balanced the narrative out a little. Be prepared for some very gruesome sections especially the slaughter of scores of whales beached on purpose by the islanders and also the killing of sheep and birds in abundance.
July 6, 2022
This book gives great insight in the living conditions and traditions in the Faroe islands.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of the ravens, the in depth stories about Mykines, hunting for gannets and other birds etc.
I was reading this book while visiting the Faroe islands and after my return which made it the more interesting and gave me more insight in the country and people during my travels. The detailed descriptions might seem a bit slow but they reflect life on the faroes perfectly.
I recommend this book for everybody who wants to visit the Faroe islands.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of the ravens, the in depth stories about Mykines, hunting for gannets and other birds etc.
I was reading this book while visiting the Faroe islands and after my return which made it the more interesting and gave me more insight in the country and people during my travels. The detailed descriptions might seem a bit slow but they reflect life on the faroes perfectly.
I recommend this book for everybody who wants to visit the Faroe islands.
September 9, 2022
After visiting the Faroes in June 2020, I wanted to read more about the the islands. This was an excellent choice. The author splits the book into alternating chapters about life on the islands, and visiting a raven’s nest watching a specific pair raise their young. It’s an interesting literary device, and I found myself looking forward to each alternate chapter.
If you plan on visiting these wonderful Islands, you could do worse than to read this book before hand.
If you plan on visiting these wonderful Islands, you could do worse than to read this book before hand.
May 29, 2025
Leer esto mirando la ventana de mi habitación en lo alto de Torshavn...lo ha sido TODO PARA MI👏🏼👏🏼
Gracias a este libro he podido pasar estas dos semanas diciendo cosas como "esto viene explicado en el libro del hotel" o "sabíais que esto se hace así desde 2011"... y me temo que los que me conocéis sabéis que NADA me proporciona más satisfacción en esta vida que ser absolutamente insoportable. Soy ahora una experta en las Islas Feroes y en aves marinas del atlántico norte.
Gracias a este libro he podido pasar estas dos semanas diciendo cosas como "esto viene explicado en el libro del hotel" o "sabíais que esto se hace así desde 2011"... y me temo que los que me conocéis sabéis que NADA me proporciona más satisfacción en esta vida que ser absolutamente insoportable. Soy ahora una experta en las Islas Feroes y en aves marinas del atlántico norte.
April 4, 2023
Found this book at the library when preparing for my first visit to the islands this summer.
Reading the beautiful descriptions of the nature and life in the Faroes has only increased my excitement about going.
I really enjoyed the "this is how it is" descriptions in the book. Felt like I could see all the places.
Now I just have to wait until August to see it with my own eyes 😊
Reading the beautiful descriptions of the nature and life in the Faroes has only increased my excitement about going.
I really enjoyed the "this is how it is" descriptions in the book. Felt like I could see all the places.
Now I just have to wait until August to see it with my own eyes 😊
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