WINNER OF THE 2020 PAUL TORDAY MEMORIAL PRIZE.A powerful, beautiful novel, set across two decades, in the wake of a devastating maritime tragedy.Full of memorable images and singing lines of prose.Sarah WatersTormod Morrison was on board HMYIolaireon the terrible night as 1919 dawned, when the ship smashed into rocks and sank: some 200 servicemen drowned on the very last leg of their long journey home from war. For Tormoda man unlike others, with artistry in his fingertipsthe disaster would mark him indelibly. And for the stunned islanders, who had so joyfully anticipated the return of their sons, brothers and sweethearts, no shock could have been greater or more difficult to live with.Two decades later, Alasdair and Rachel are sent to the windswept Isle of Lewis to live with Tormod in his traditional blackhouse home, a world away from the Glasgow of their earliest years. Their grandfather is kind, compassionate, but still deeply affected by theIolaireshipwreckby the selfless heroism and desperate tragedy he witnessed. A deeply moving novel about passion constrained, coping with loss and a changing world,As the Women Lay Dreamingexplores how a single event can so dramatically impact communities, individuals and, indeed, our very souls.
In the small hours of January 1st, 1919, the cruellest twist of fate changed at a stroke the lives of an entire community. Tormod Morrison was there that terrible night. He was on board HMY Iolaire when it smashed into rocks and sank, killing some 200 servicemen on the very last leg of their long journey home from war. For Tormod - a man unlike others, with artistry in his fingertips - the disaster would mark him indelibly.
Two decades later, Alasdair and Rachel are sent to the windswept Isle of Lewis to live with Tormod in his traditional blackhouse home, a world away from the Glasgow of their earliest years. Their grandfather is kind, compassionate, but still deeply affected by the remarkable true story of the Iolaire shipwreck - by the selfless heroism and desperate tragedy he witnessed.
A deeply moving novel about passion constrained, coping with loss and a changing world, As the Women Lay Dreaming explores how a single event can so dramatically impact communities, individuals and, indeed, our very souls.
