Jamesina Ross grows up happy but poor in the Highland village where her forebears have farmed for generations and where she is educated by the local minister. Music is Jamesina's escape and she composed many wonderful songs of life in the glen. Then the landlords demand that the people move from the land, the Clearances, and Jamesina's life is turned upside down. A violent altercation and Jamesina loses more than just her family home, she is injured and never the same again. Years later she takes in a lodger who offers a solace and maybe some closure.
The Highland Clearances are a dark period in history, when thousands of people were displaced and forced to emigrate or move to the cities. Here, by focusing on two characters, Magnusson explores both the diaspora and the city dwellers. The writing is very lyrical and the story moving. At its heart it is a love story and deeply satisfying. ( )