And the Land Lay Still

Description

'Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece and, without doubt, my book of the year' John Harding, Daily Mail And the Land Lay Still is nothing less than the story of a nation. James Robertson's breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle and hope - epic in every sense. 'Powerful and moving. A brilliant and multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century' Sunday Times 'Bold, discursive and deep, Robertson's sweeping history of life and politics in twentieth-century Scotland should not be ignored' Ian Rankin, Observer, Books of the Year 'Gripping, vivid, beautifully realized' The Times 'Brilliant and thoughtful. Eminently readable, subtle and profound' Independent on Sunday 'Engrossing' Daily Telegraph

James Robertson was born in Scotland in 1958. He is the author of The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, And the Land Lay Still, and The Professor of Truth. Joseph Knight won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year, The Testament of Gideon Mack was longlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, and And the Land Lay Still won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year. Robertson is also the author of four short story collections, most recently 365: Stories, five poetry collections and numerous children's books written in English and Scots. He runs the independent publishing house Kettillonia, and he is co-founder and general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young adults. His forthcoming book, To Be Continued, will be published in August 2016 by Hamish Hamilton.

Wonderful, brilliant, panoramic, illuminating. A joy to read -- Irvine Welsh * Guardian * Gripping, vivid, beautifully realized * The Times * Powerful and moving. A brilliant and multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century * Sunday Times * Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece and, without a doubt, my book of the year * Daily Mail * Big, ambitious, intricately organised . . . it's some achievement * New Statesman * Dizzying . . . subtle and profound . . . And The Land Lay Still reads like an alternative history of Scotland told by its everyday people instead of its movers and shakers . . . eminently readable * Independent on Sunday * Both epic and domestic, it delivers a wonderful lifelikeness * Scotsman * A hugely ambitious and compassionate novel . . . a jam-packed, dizzying piece of fiction . . . already it's being spoken of as the most important novel about Scotland since Lanark * Scotland on Sunday *