Half-Light by Neil Gunn
Neil M. Gunn is celebrated as one of Scotland's foremost novelists of the 20th century. Less well known is that he was also a perceptive and meditative essayist and accomplished writer of short stories. Most of his short stories were written in the 1920s and 1930s in parallel with his early novels, which they influence and inform. This collection draws some of its short stories from two previous collections but others are published for the first time. Although most are set against a Highland background, they are not in any way parochial; they touch on universal themes, which invite the serious reader to ponder and enjoy. Topics explored are: childhood and a sense of wonder; love in its deepest and most subtle sense; death as part of the cycle of existence and the place of land and sea in the development of those in search of greater self-understanding. The stories are attractive in their own right and have a freshness and immediacy that give a clarity and accessibility to the rich subject matter. They are also a gateway to a greater understanding of Gunn's essential thinking on life and living.
'Lively writing which makes enjoyable reading in the 21st century' The Scots Magazine '...a new collection of Gunn's short fiction ... while set in the Highlands they deal with universal human preoccupations'. Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman
Neil Miller Gunn was born in Dunbeath, one of the nine children of 'bookish' Isabella Miller, and James Gunn, a fishing skipper of local renown. In 1911, he began 26 years as an excise officer, many of them at whisky distilleries in the Highlands and the Islands. In 1921, Gunn married Jessie Frew. The first of his 21 novels, The Grey Coast, appeared in 1926. In 1937, the acclaim won by his seventh, the prize-winning Highland River, encouraged him to resign his excise post and write full-time. Gunn's wife died in 1963, and he lived alone in the Black Isle until his death. Since then, his standing as one of Scotland's finest novelists had become even more firmly established, and the Neil Gunn International Fellowship has been founded in his honor.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781849950459 |
| ISBN 10 | 1849950458 |
| Title | Half-Light |
| Author | Neil Gunn |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Whittles Publishing |
| Year published | 2011-11-02 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |