Eighth Moon Bridge by Angus Peter Campbell
They say he brought back some Spanish gold and others say he didn’t bring anything except the rags he was wearing but had the power to turn stone into gold and that the two stories somehow got mixed up.’
Did Olghair MacKenzie steal alchemical secrets from the Egyptians? Or was he a rebel pirate who found refuge on a small Scottish island after the Armada? Does his treasure still lie hidden there?
Six hundred years after MacKenzie’s death, an ex-footballer returns to the island where he spent his youth. As the first frosts of winter arrive, Jack moves into a fisherman’s cottage fragrant with the scent of the sea. After many restless years, it is a true homecoming. Delighting in his employment as postie, he starts to reconnect with himself, with his family and with this tiny community.
The tale of Olghair MacKenzie has fascinated Jack since childhood and he resolves to discover the truth behind the legend. To do so, he must unlock the secret of a bridge the shape of a perfect wave, understand the significance of stone number 759 and find out what is meant by the eighth moon. Can Jack trust the dreams of the local seer, or grasp the clue in the old Gaelic way of counting the months?
Jack’s quest is truly magical, for it will lead him into very personal territory, unveiling links that tied him to the island long before he ever set foot there.
Review
What a wee gem of a book this is! It's full of the charm and challenges of a small Scottish island, packed full of characters and culture. This is the first book by this author that I have read but it won't be the last. It is a poetic read, full of the rhythms and rhymes of nature, history and the Gaelic language.
It reads like a memoir, inserted with the stories of Jack’s youth, the move to the island, his burgeoning football career, a return to the island and his time as a postman there. He goes from being an ‘outsider’ when he first moves there as a child to an accepted and important part of the community as an adult. My favourite passages were those on the island and the mystery around the gold of Olghair MacKenzie, not because of the mystery but the perceived history and culture behind it. It is something that would feel very authentic if it did happen somewhere in the Western Isles. Maybe it has!
Jack was a lovely character to follow - totally normal in a way, with the turns in his life. His relationships with those around him were deep, apart from Charlotte I would say. I would have liked a tad more substance to her. Overall, this was a lovely snippet of island life and I could have read double the length of this book and still feel as if I would want more.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
