Marram

Memories of sea and spider silk

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Pub Date 19 Mar 2020 | Archive Date 19 Mar 2020

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Description

From the southern tip of Barra  to the ancient stone circle of Callanish, Leonie and her friend Shuna ride off the beaten tracks on their beloved Highland ponies, Ross and Chief. In deeply poetic prose, she describes not only the beauties of the Hebridean landscape, its spare, penetrating light and its people, but also confronts the ghost of her mother and their deeply fractured relationship.

From the southern tip of Barra to the ancient stone circle of Callanish, Leonie and her friend Shuna ride off the beaten tracks on their beloved Highland ponies, Ross and Chief. In deeply poetic...


A Note From the Publisher

Leonie Charlton travelled extensively as a child, living in England, Africa, Wales and Scotland. She has worked as a cowgirl in Australia, an English teacher in Japan, and her degree in Hispanic Studies took her to Catalonia for two years. In 1998 she settled in Glen Lonan, Argyll. Marram is her first full length book although her fiction and poetry have appeared widely in magazines.

Leonie Charlton travelled extensively as a child, living in England, Africa, Wales and Scotland. She has worked as a cowgirl in Australia, an English teacher in Japan, and her degree in Hispanic...


Advance Praise

‘What a joy Marram is! Images of place and people flood the senses in a truly unputdownable account of two journeys intertwined.A beautiful and evocative piece of writing.’ -Karen Matheson, singer with Capercaillie

‘Leonie has conjured a memorably magical world of nature and wildlife, places and people, that lingers in the imagination long after finishing the book. You don’t have to like ponies or wild islands to enjoy reading Marram, but for those who do, this book will become a special treasure.’ -Juliet Blaxland, author of The Easternmost House

Marram is a story about love – love for a string of windswept islands, for their people and wildlife, for a couple of shaggy ponies and for a lost and parent. With an affectionate eye for the smallest detail and an indulgent ear for the softest lament, Leonie Charlton does them all proud.’ -John Keay, author and presenter

‘Tried by nature’s elemental rawness, washed with fear and despair, Marram is Leonie Charlton’s telling of a gruelling journey as she wrestles with the ragged memories left by her mother’s untimely passing.’ -Alastair McIntosh, author of Poacher’s Pilgrimage

‘What a joy Marram is! Images of place and people flood the senses in a truly unputdownable account of two journeys intertwined.A beautiful and evocative piece of writing.’ -Karen Matheson, singer...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781913207106
PRICE £12.99 (GBP)

Links

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 10 members


Featured Reviews

This is the story of the author, her friend and their amazing ponies on a three week trek through the Outer Hebrides, and it was a joy to read from start to finish. Reading it was like a meditation, the descriptions of the scenery were so beautifully written and the the pace made me slow down and enjoy the experience as they trekked through very remote landscapes, met a number of interesting and helpful people, were battered by the rain and winds and while the author reflected on her life and relationship with her late mother.

The parts of the book where the author spoke about her mother, family, experiences and feelings were scattered throughout the story but never felt out of place or jarring. The journey that she made, emotionally and physically, was very moving, magical and restorative..

I am grateful to the publishers for providing me with an e-copy of this book in order to write a review.

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Not just a pony ride through the Outer Hebrides. I found this book quite thought provoking about a girl’s relationship with her mother. The trip through the islands was interesting.

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I confess I was a little nervous about the ‘but also’ bit at the end of the blurb, but this book is a delight to read.

It helps if you have a longing for the wild, wet and woolly Western Isles of Scotland. It helps if you too adore the idea of a holiday roaming around them on your Highland pony. It helps if you love examining lichen-encrusted rocks while absorbing the sounds of wind, wave and wildlife.

But you don’t need that.

Leonie Charlton writes of her journey through the marram grass, across the sands and sea-fords with a detailed eye and loving, lingering words. I strongly admired her choices of words for birdcalls. The oystercatchers, redshank and lapwing were particularly apt.

My concerns about the relationship with her mother soon blended with the rest of the journey. It had been an uneasy relationship. Her mother had developed a brain tumour, maybe when the author was in her teens. It was not diagnosed for decades. I have secondhand experience of this situation. I would hesitate to discuss it with the daughter concerned, but from the little she’s told me, Leonie’s experiences were very similar. So I even enjoyed Leonie’s gradual unravelling of her past as the journey progressed.

As for the book overall, I had the most restful nights as a result of reading it before bed. Instead of the stresses of house moves and alterations keeping my mind buzzing, I fell asleep dreaming of the sound of wind in the grass and seabirds on the strand.

Full marks to the author for what has turned out to be inspirational as well as interesting. Highly recommended!

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I thought this book was a very good diary of a journey from Barra to Lewis with a couple of ponies. Some such narratives can become repetitive but Leonie Charlton avoids this. The writing is lyrical and the memories of her mother are, like those of many of us I am sure, a two edged sword. Having travelled in the Outer Hebrides I was looking forward to learning more about the areas I had visited and this book makes me want to go back and discover the places that Leonie and Shuna visited. With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review and e-ARC of this book.

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This book tells the story of the author, her friend and their two Highland ponies.They travel from Barra to the island of Lewis on a remarkable and beautiful journey. As a child, my summers were spent on South Uist, my mother having been born there, and I was transported back to a simpler time when life was so much easier. Leonie has an eye for detail and a beautiful way with words. This is not just the story of a riding trip but also the relationship between mother and daughter, a truly magical read from beginning to end. I can highly recommend this well written and evocative read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

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This book enchanted me with its descriptions. The Outer Hebrides truly comes to life under the magic pen of Beady. I could see all the colours, imagine the water surrounding everything, the sounds, the smells, the wind and rain. And not least the people, with their kindness and unbelievable love of the places they inhabit.
Thank you Beady for this incredible account, one day(hopefully sooner rather than later) I hope to be able to follow you on this incredible trip!

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This is a beautiful and poetic book. It seems a simple premise. A woman and her friend go on a pony trek through the Hebrides. It is a simple premise but, oh, it is so much more than that. It is deep, it is funny, it is endearing, it is heartbreaking, it is... well you get the idea. There is a lot to take you away from the current situation we find the world in. Never more did we need to wander along at the pace of a pony in a beautiful but bleak landscape.

"The strong aroma of coffee mingled with the fresh wood shavings and yesterday's horse dung, three smells that filled me with a deep sense of wellbeing."

I have never been on a pony trek and I have never been to the Hebrides but I felt every day and every part of the journey as if I was there. I could picture the flora and fauna and the weather! They meet various friends and friends of friends and have many mishaps and adventures but the whole book is just a relaxing treasure.

Recommended if you just want something to take your mind off things.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

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