Reading 1001 discussion

Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

1. How does Chris Guthrie's character develop throughout the novel? What are her strengths and vulnerabilities?

2. Discuss the significance of the recurring motif of the "sunset" in relation to Chris's life and perspective.

3. How does the novel depict the relationship between humans and the land in rural Scotland?

4. Discuss the role of folklore and myth in the novel's storytelling.

5. Discuss the impact of the war on the community of Kinraddie and its effect on Chris.

6. How does the novel conclude? What is the symbolic meaning of the final image?

7. Does the book deserve to be on the list?

I am halfway through this novel - nothing like being 'stuck' on a plane for getting reading done!

My thoughts so far:

1. She develops over time, not just due to physical maturing (which changes how she views men and how society views her) but also from her exposure to the wider world through books and education and (of course) from adversity.

3. The land is their blessing and their curse. Generally it seems that the characters in the novel are very poor and they don't own the land they work. They (seem to) love it though and know it intimately.

4. I am enjoying they way Gibbon weaves the folk lore into the story. So far it has been subtle. The edition of the book that I was able to buy for the kindle has an introduction that says Gibbon recommended (at some point) not reading the Prelude before the rest of the novel. Of course, this is the folklore so I think it is important to read that to understand his later allusions (even though the Scottish dialect can be a challenge).

I finished the book last night.

5. The war had a big impact on the community as a whole. Some of the men went to the front and either were killed or greatly changed. Politics rather than being an amusement (as it was in the past) became serious and charged, and in some cases pitted neighbour against neighbour.

7. I do think it deserves to be on the list. It is definitely better than some of the others I have read!

This is my second reading of this book. I read it in 2022 and I don't usually reread books unless they are classics I have not read since my teens. I wanted to see if it would still have the same impact it had on the first reading.

1. How does Chris Guthrie's character develop throughout the novel? What are her strengths and vulnerabilities?

Chris makes a specific decision about staying on the land which included marrying and having children, rather than continuing her education and becoming a teacher. She viewed herself as two separate people, the educated "English" one and the quean, who was a product of the land and belonged to the land. Motivated by youthful emotions that she didn't quite understand but also this love of the land that she did understand she said "yes" to falling in love with a man even more emotionally immature than herself and not nearly as well educated. At this moment she moves from being a girl to a woman. She becomes very self reliant and cares little as to what others think, even her relations. However, she continues to be vulnerable to her own emotions, in particular wanting to belong to someone, wanting to be full of love.

2. Discuss the significance of the recurring motif of the "sunset" in relation to Chris's life and perspective.

The book doesn't actually spend a great deal of time on physical descriptions but rather concentrates on what the characters are seeing and doing. Chris looks out at the land during moments of transition, when her father dies, when she loses Ewan and then at the end when the whole of Scotland goes through a transition with her.

3. How does the novel depict the relationship between humans and the land in rural Scotland?

The land gives them their foundation and their meaning. They do not own the land, for the most part, and even those that do not actually farm such as Rob the Miller or the Minister, ultimately are formed by the nature of the rural farming community that they are a part of.

4. Discuss the role of folklore and myth in the novel's storytelling.

The preface gives us insight into some of the legends that inhabit that area of Scotland, including the ancient people that fought the Picts, married the Picts, and fought the Romans. Although Chris is not a true believer in this haunting, nevertheless, she was frightened on more than one occasion by something her English books could not explain. The land, the stones, the birds, the songs and the people themselves, carry within them much of the ancient stories and the ancient ways of being.

5. Discuss the impact of the war on the community of Kinraddie and its effect on Chris.

The war actually means almost nothing to the people of this small rural area. The Germans are made out to be monsters in their press but they are far away. Slowly however, the outside world infiltrates even here. Some men like Chae, see it not only as an adventure, but as a way of moving the world into a more equitable and socialist position. Others are shamed into going "for king and country" even though the king wasn't particularly their king nor was the country (England and London in particular) really their country. War raises prices and some people get rich, and others lose everything including their lives. It essentially turns all of Kinraddie upside down. All the old values and the old way of life in which everyone depended on each other is lost.

6. How does the novel conclude? What is the symbolic meaning of the final image?

The sun is setting on the older way of life, the older traditions and the older ways of farming. With the trees gone, the land is only good for sheep rather than grain and therefore even if the farmers wanted to, they could not go back to doing what they were doing before. Many lives have been lost to emigration and the war. Nothing will be the same except, the stones, in essence say: "This too shall pass".

7. Does the book deserve to be on the list?
Absolutely.

Can I answer # 7 first? I am amazed this book got dropped from the core list, it is gorgeous. But also, I listened to it and omg what a magical experience to hear the rhythms and cadence of the dialect. As for #6, I am going to carry it "like a quietly lighted lamp in [my] heart" for always.

This is a book all about growth and change, and it is amazingly well done (#1). Chris's growth from childhood is so rich: the dreams of escape from a tyrant to intellectual life and Englishness, seen as superior, and then once free being able to realize the strength of her connection to place and therefore to herself (#3). The wedding is so fabulous, such a warm coming together of the community in the heart of the book (the audiobook sings all the songs! I felt like I was there #4), and then some happiness followed by trauma as a result of the world and our lack of control and the anger that can engender, which so often takes the wrong, to worst targets - those closest to us (as with Chris's father, so with Ewan. #5). Followed again by a reconciliation, an understanding and a return to love in the presence of loss - for which the sunset is the best metaphor (#2). I loved the fact that the word sunset recurs so infrequently here, but that things happen at the end of the day and the story ends at the end of the day with that sad peace that is infused with loss and love together (#6).

Beautiful review Jenna….and you answered the questions at the same time

Thanks Gail. I am so in love with this book and I can't believe that I a) had never heard of it and b) almost didn't read it! I guess that is the magic of the 1001 list :)

Jenna wrote: "Thanks Gail. I am so in love with this book and I can't believe that I a) had never heard of it and b) almost didn't read it! I guess that is the magic of the 1001 list :)"

I so agree. I read this book a few years ago and loved it. Sometimes when I'm ploughing through something I'm not enjoying or learning from (my two reasons for reading), I wonder if it is worth continuing with the list, but then up comes a gem I would never otherwise have come across, that makes it all worthwhile!

1. How does Chris Guthrie's character develop throughout the novel? What are her strengths and vulnerabilities? As the book is more about the book than Chris herself, her decision to stay with the land and farm, be a wife and a mother is the way in which the story of the land is developed. And as the land is changing so does Chris. I did like her quite a bit. A strong character.

2. Discuss the significance of the recurring motif of the "sunset" in relation to Chris's life and perspective. The sunset is referring to the end of life as they or as Chris knew it. Things are changing and the old ways are "sunset".
3. How does the novel depict the relationship between humans and the land in rural Scotland? They are closely related.

4. Discuss the role of folklore and myth in the novel's storytelling.

I liked the opening of the book with the griffon. I do like when folklore and myth are brought into the story. It helps to develop the culture.

5. Discuss the impact of the war on the community of Kinraddie and its effect on Chris. The war really did destroy the community. Young men leaving and going off to die or to return injured or mentally traumatized.

6. How does the novel conclude? What is the symbolic meaning of the final image? hope, the rock represent permanence but Chris says her life has forever changed. And it has.

7. Does the book deserve to be on the list? YES

Jenna’s review made me start crying again, so I’m going to need a minute…

1. How does Chris Guthrie’s character develop throughout the novel? What are her strengths and vulnerabilities?
Chris is smart but naïve at the beginning of the book, especially about sex and men. She is torn between her “English side” and her “Scottish side” – a love for learning, books, and culture and her love of the land and the simplicity of country life. She keeps something of her educated, sensitive self as she matures. This is usually seen in moments when she recognizes (to borrow a phrase from Genji) the transient nature of life. For example, on her wedding night she contemplates how “this marriage of hers was nothing,” that she and Ewan would both pass away, and the land would eventually change and pass. This kind of awareness separates her from other country folk, and by the end she seems to live in some isolation from them, especially as a widow. This may be a vulnerability, but it is also a strength, as she appreciates life and the land in a way they cannot.

2. Discuss the significance of the recurring motif of the “sunset” in relation to Chris's life and perspective.
I associate the standing stones with sunset. Almost every chapter begins with Chris at the stones and ends with her leaving the stones at sunset, often to face a momentous change. One era of her life is over and another is beginning. The ending brings this pattern full circle; the restoration of the standing stones marks the end of one way of life, “the passing of last of the Old Scots Folk,” and the beginning of another era. But, as the minister notes, even this era will eventually give way to something new.

3. How does the novel depict the relationship between humans and the land in rural Scotland?
At the end of the book, the minister notes that the old crofter was a man “with the land closer to his heart than the flesh of his body.” That just about says it all. They knew the land and the animals as well as they knew themselves as their family, both in good times and in bad.

4. Discuss the role of folklore and myth in the novel's storytelling.
The book starts with a bit of folklore about Cospatric slaying a gryphon, thus founding Kinraddie. The standing stones are even older than this, if I understand history correctly. There is so much “past” in Europe, compared to the US. It makes me feel quite immature.

5. Discuss the impact of the war on the community of Kinraddie and its effect on Chris.
Although only four native sons die in the war, the community changes a great deal, primarily by reaping the benefits of war-time capitalism, the demand for food and other materials. This is most apparent in the disappearance of the forests, as all the trees are cut down for timber. This immediately changes the climate of the area. Aside from that, the owners of the land choose to depart from the tradition of leasing, so the farmers are forced to buy the farms themselves if they can afford to, or to leave. Since many cannot afford to buy, gentry replace the working-class farmers. The effect on Chris… wow. When Ewan returns home on leave – that passage was heartbreaking. She loses the last of her girlish dreams and fantasies, to say the very least.

6. How does the novel conclude? What is the symbolic meaning of the final image?
The new minister is charged with erecting a memorial to the WWI soldiers. He surprises everyone by reconstructing the ancient standing stones as a tribute to “the last of the Old Scots Folk.” The memorial ends with a quote from revelation: “And I will give him the morning star.” This is symbolic of the sun setting on the old way of life but the promise of the sun rising on a new, hopefully better era.

7. Does the book deserve to be on the list?
It absolutely does. I’m disappointed that it’s been removed in the 2018 edition. :(

Rosemary wrote: "Sometimes when I'm ploughing through something I'm not enjoying or learning from (my two reasons for reading), I wonder if it is worth continuing with the list, but then up comes a gem I would never otherwise have come across, that makes it all worthwhile!"

Yes, I am currently reminding myself of this as I struggle through the last few pages of England Made Me before the end of the month deadline lol.

Jane wrote: "Jenna’s review made me start crying again, so I’m going to need a minute…"

Jane, I saw from your review in the main thread that you almost abandoned it before finding the audiobook. I'm so glad that you did find it - I'm sure that was part of what was so spellbinding about it for me. I still sometimes hear the voice in my head, like a favorite song.

It was your rave review that made me give it a try - so thank you!!

Jenna wrote: "Jane wrote: "Jenna’s review made me start crying again, so I’m going to need a minute…"

Jane, I saw from your review in the main thread that you almost abandoned it before finding the audiobook. I..."