A multigenerational saga, secrets, legends, tradition. The story of a generations.
Fascinating even if a bit too crowded at times.
3..5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The McArthur family have lived in their small farmhouse for generations, eking out an existence and buoyed by family ties and secrets. When Arthur John dies, Anna returns to the family home and slowly starts piecing together the story of the past alongside a young Irish scholar whose relations may have also been involved. Incorporating three generations and uncovering the past does not give Anna any answers.
I was pleasantly surprised with this novel as I approached it thinking it was going to be a little twee story about families in a quiet generic way. It definitely isn't that! There are some nasty little secrets in the past which the reader is made aware of but not the protagonists which means that this is a not neat story. It is a very impressive debut.

This is a story about family, secrets , history and redemption. Things happen which have long term consequences- unknown at the time. It is told from the perspective of different characters so we get differing viewpoints on the same incidents. I thought that it was a perfect reminder to speak to our older relatives to gather all the family history while we can. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

And Now the Light is Everywhere weaves together the stories of three generations of the MacArthur family of Argyll, Scotland. I found it really difficult to get into. The pacing at first seems rather slow and disjointed and it was a struggle for me to keep track of the various characters. That said, I’m so glad I persevered. The second half of the book is brilliant with a satisfying and emotive conclusion.

A powerful debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Argyll Scotland 1998, and moving backwards and forwards in time, telling of the story, learning about the characters and how they fit into the storyline.
The MacArthurs, going back through the generations.Telling the stories to the story collector, who has called intermittently over the years.
Descriptions of a beautiful area of countryside to live.

At first I found the book a little slow and difficult to get into, but I am so pleased I continued as it was a good read.
Getting to know the characters and their feelings. Some nice, some not so.
Family secrets, stories carried forth in their re telling of old folks tales.
Family bonds and traditions. Love, where people fit in their family and affections.
A book I found hard to put down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own

Thank you to NetGalley"We are only allowed such a small piece of knowledge about who we are, and where we really come from. We march relentlessly into our unknown future, beginning anew with every second."

This was just the most exquisite novel, absolutely took my breath away. Right from the start, before I even knew who the wide range of characters were, I had already fallen in love with the beautiful Scottish landscape in which the story is located. For me, the descriptions of the hills and the water and the way of life felt like someone had taken thoughts straight from my head: a combination of childhood holiday memories and my own deep love of traditional folklore (and even how we see it in academia, and the accompanying emotions and ethics - it ticked so many boxes, and was so relevant to where I find myself in life at the moment)

And then I realised that as well as this, I was going to have to fall in love with the MacArthur family. Each character was written with so much detail I felt like they were performing on stage in front of me, or as if I were sat in the kitchen with them as they narrated their lives. The layers of relationships between each character grew and grew and with every twist and surprise I could only feel for them more deeply - for the pain that they all went through and felt they couldn't share with one another, as is the way of complex histories.

There were so many pieces to this story, some that by the end I was desperate for - wanting as badly as our characters to understand the whole arc of a family history, and others I didn't even realise were missing until they quietly opened up whole pieces of the puzzle that had previously been hidden. Ultimately, stories like this can have no perfect conclusion because we are an imperfect people who, out of love or hate or fear or bravery, make choices that ripple through history, but I felt MacRae offers us a beautiful hommage to these complicated feelings in the way we leave Anna, Jamie, Donnie, Bella, Fern, and Netta at the end of the novel. A masterpiece of historical fiction, and one I am glad to have experienced!

This was an interesting, intriguing story based in beautiful Scotland, about the MacArthur family which span over decades and was told in different points of views. There were secrets, lies, losses and love, the writing was wonderfully descriptive however I have to admit I struggled with the first half of the book and felt there were a few too many characters to keep up with!
That said I enjoyed the book and thought it was a great debut novel.

This isn’t the sort of book I pick up very often.

It’s an excellent story, but it’s not a light read, or a happy one - which it’s not meant to be of course. It’s incredibly sad, and it feels very accurate historically with how people behaved, and how issues were dealt with.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but it has left me feeling incredibly depressed!

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

at around 40% i was kind of lagging with this and almost dnfed but i am EXTREMELY glad i did not. this is a story that starts subtle and creeping and then rears back to PUNCH you in the face. tore through the last half of it. breathlessly readable and sweeping in florid, lovely prose. love all these guys! anna! jamie! netta! harriet! those are my kids.

this takes a bit of concentration, i had to work quite hard to piece things together and keep track of who everyone was, but that made it so gorgeous and rewarding. what a gem!

A multi-generational and multi-layered story that took just too long to get going for me. I'm sure it was beautifully written but if a book doesn't catch my imagination then reading it becomes a chore and this plodded on to long for me. A great idea with lovely language, but not for me.

A remarkably memorable multilayered debut from LA Macrae who adroitly handles different generations of family, dysfunctional, the question of identity, with her adroit shifts in time and characters, storytelling enriched by Scottish culture, traditions, and folklore. This is a tale of family mystery, where pieces of the puzzle are orchestrated to come together, to throw a light on its darkness and secrets, illustrating the connections between the past and the present, what impact might the truth have on the future? Set in 1990s Argyll in Scotland with an uncertain Anna MacArthur feels unsure of her future, and is aware of her grandmother, Netta, leaving post-war for Canada on a ship, leaving her son behind, but never seen again. Anna inadvertently pulls at this family thread, delving into the past, the stories told, where each little bit of what she uncovers chips away at who she thinks she is. An enthralling read from a talented writer, with twists and turns, that heightened my curiosity and kept me gripped from start to finish. I look forward with great interest and anticipation to her next book!! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

The secrets that lie dormant within a family brought to life through this book. Told in different voices across several time lines to bring together this embedded mystery. Skilfully portrayed across what could have been a confusing read with each character telling their part . It certainly climaxes as the story unfolds and you need to keep close track of the characters

A brilliant debut! Wonderful story telling, captivating and well thought out. All the classic features of life in a small, Scottish village: the interconnected lives, the ‘big house’ and elders within the community who have folk songs and stories to ‘pass on’.

I wasn’t sure how the plot would play out from reading the blurb alone but the beauty of this book is that the reader learns the truth alongside the family members. It is very much a gradual pulling back of the layers, revealing how many hidden secrets one family can have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“crafting a fairytale-esque darkness that I AM THRILLED BY.”
A beautiful debut of a multi-generational family with narratives across multiple points of time. It is a lovely piece, with complex imagery and mythologies, that craft a fairytale-esque darkness that I AM THRILLED BY. The connection between any folk stories, and the families that carry them forth is such a beautiful story, it is beautiful to see it woven into this tapestry with such skill from a debut author.

I really liked this book which covers three different time periods with interlinked family stories set in rural Argyll. The novel is nicely written and the stories pull you into the folklore of the area and the lives of the MacArthur family.
I looked forward to picking up this book and was loath to set it down again!

Although an interesting story with a few twists and turns, it took a very long time to get into (over half way through the book) before things started to make sense and link together. There were too many characters to remember and I had to go back to the beginning and remind myself of events in order to make connections between them. I did begin to enjoy the story more once I had made more connections but the ending left too many unanswered questions.

And Now the Light is Everywhere was a spectacular read focused on family throughout history and how the past and present can meet and influence the future. I was very much invested in the stories told however, I do think the number of characters were a bit much to keep abreast of in my mind. This novel is unique, in that, the end is still somewhat unknown and readers are left feeling okay by it which is a first haha.

My favorite quote says, "We are only allowed such a small slice of knowledge about who we are, and where we really come from. We march relentlessly into our unknown futures, beginning anew with every second. But right now, there is the present. Life is a series of moments called now."

This novel is beautifully written - really elegant, lyrical prose that I loved. I found the story a little slow for my liking but that's a very subjective view. Absolutely fabulous characters - a brilliant, weaving, multi-generational story that all ties together wonderfully. LA MacRae is definitely an author to watch out for.

In the beginning, it took me some time to get going, but then, I could not put down the book. It was a nonstop history. After some chapters, I was struggling between reading and preparing my meals!

A multigenerational family narrative in which we learn about the MacArthurs, their lives, loves, and losses, as well as some very dark secrets. I believe it is a book in which the less one understands before beginning, the better the reading experience.

I will say that there were more people than I would have recalled without taking off-book notes, and I'm not sure whether all of the subplots were required. There was a lot for this reader to remember between the several timeframes, people, and tales. I can definitely see it being fantastic if adapted for the film, and given it's the author's first, I am greatly astonished.