I won this book through Goodreads First Reads.It took me the best part of two months to read this book and at times I felt frustrated that I couldn't get through it quicker. So this morning when I finally finished it I had a proud smile on my face, which then promptly disappeared as I realised the wonderful journey I had been on the last two months had come to an end. At over 800 pages long, with a small font and more lines of text per page than an average book it really is a massive undertaking to read. I don't regret a moment of it though.I don't even know quite where to begin with reviewing a book that covers such a vast period of time. Never have I ever before read a book where I have seen multiple characters born, live a full life and die. There are so many characters in this novel and it has a family tree at the front of the book which often became a lifesaver to check to remind myself of who each character was in relation to another one. There is also many characters to keep track of who do not fit into the family tree. I've read books in the past where the number of characters in the book has been overwhelming and poorly handled by an author. I was pleased to find that I rarely got lost among all the comings and goings of characters in this story and Reay Tannahill managed to handle everyone efficiently.The author has a very readable writing style which pulls the reader in. I felt like I was reading about real people as everyone was so well developed. The only bad thing I can find to even mention in this review is something that another reviewer has also touched upon. At times you really do feel like the author has some sort of sadistic obsession with making people miserable. There was multiple occasions where I wished so hard for certain people to get together as couples. So many times both these couples came close and everytime it never happened. I felt truly miserable at times due to this. However, it was just another sign of what an amazing job the author had done in writing this book. During life you do have highs and lows, and this is really shown in this novel.People change through life, and so people change in this story too. I was a massive fan of Villia from the beginning of the novel. She is the main protagonist of the book and it follows her from childhood until her eventual death. In the early stages of her life I found her an inspiration. She grows into a very strong woman and has to really fight for her survival at times. As she gets older she becomes a very cold woman though, and becomes much less likeable for it. This said, it reads so honest and fits with everything she has been through. I personally fell for Perry and Gideon. They were the two characters I enjoyed having chance to read about. On the other end of the scale, I really disliked Theo, Luke and Magnus. I don't dare write much more about the characters of the book as I don't like to have any spoilers in my reviews.This novel has everything you could ever want. It is historical fiction which covers a time frame of around 100 years with so many lives, dramas, love affairs and twists. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has the patience to read such a large daunting story. It is well worth the effort and it's one of the best books I have read this year.
‘A Dark and Distant Shore’ was first published in 1983, in 1984 and more recently 2014.The author Reay Tannahill died in 2007. She had written a number of non-fiction and fiction books and is regarded as a worldwide bestseller.This is a story of Vilia who at the age of seven was forced to leave her beloved home ‘Kinveil’, a castle in the Highlands. Her father could no longer afford to maintain the family home and it was sold to Mungo Telfer, a Glasgow merchant.Vilia never forgot her family home and for decades was obsessed with reclaiming the family home. The reader follows her life and the lives of the Telfer family for almost a century and covers historical world events of the 19th century.This is an excellent story however it is not a ‘stroll in the park’ – more like a hike up Ben Nevis (I speak from experience). With 837 pages, small font size and on average six more lines per page than the average paperback, completing this book was a challenge. At times over descriptive I lost interest for a short time, however as with my ‘Ben Nevis’ experience the end result was worth the effort.The ‘family tree’ provided at the start of the book proved to be invaluable for keeping track of ‘who’s who’.In my opinion this would make an excellent serialised historical T.V drama.I would like to thank Goodreads – ‘First Reads’ and Head of Zeus Ltd, for providing me with a copy of this book.
Do You like book A Dark And Distant Shore (2014)?
DNF at around page 300, when the heroine's true love, who we already know, from the family tree which is inexplicably printed at the start of the book, will NOT wind up with her at all, shows up in the plot for a third round of miscommunications spoiling their opportunity to be together.I'm sorry, but books with an old fashioned sense of romance, where certain people are meant to be together, which instead contort their plots to foul the HEA to promote drama and tragedy instead...well, there is no point. I have no interest in tragedy, much less the manufactured kind.
—Sunny
Beware, mild spoilers ahead..........i rated this book 5 stars because of Reay Tannahill's excellent writng, the lead character's story and for the lesson in history it gave me. To say the truth i didn't care much for the other characters, including the love interest who got what he deserved for being weak and breaking her heart many times. But it was Vilia's journey that captivated me from beginning to end(i particularly enjoyed the final showdown between Vilia and her sons) and as one of her great-grandchildren said at the end of the book "what a woman!".
—Henry
A family saga with a very convoluted and twisted plot. Follows one woman from childhood in the highlands to her passing at old age back in the highlands. Successful in business but far from successful in her personal life. As for her sons and other family members, the author covers the full spectrum of possible characters with to my mind, little happiness for any of them. To my mind a very morbid and unsettling story from incest to weird sexual proclivities. Not your ordinary run of the mill family epic at all.
—Bettyjoy Engelbrecht
