This book is a virtuoso performance, one that unfortunately is meant to dazzle the reader with the literary gymnastics of its author rather than affect emotionally, much like a performance of "Flight of the Bumblebee" is meant to dazzle the listener with a sense of the mastery of the violin player rather than touch deeply.

The reader cannot deny the sheer skill of McAfee. She presents a narrative within a narrative, combining a story about researcher Mhairi McPhail on the fictional island of Fascaray with fictionalized excerpts of the work of the author she is researching, Grigor McWatt, along with samples of "his" poetry, random lists (for example, things her daughter brought with her to the island, or "chronological inventory of recordings of "Hame Tae Fascary," the song McWatt wrote about the island), along with lists of Scots words, letters between McWatt and his lover, excerpts of McPhail's own research book on the island and McWatt, Scottish recipes, a fake bibliography, and glossary of Scots words. Whew. The exhaustive research that McAfee has done takes its toll on the reader, however, as none of it resonates emotionally or spiritually. This is a purely intellectual enterprise, and reading it may give intellectual pleasure, but that's where the payoff ends. What we're left with is a ho-hum story about not-so-interesting characters and a lot of literary flourishes.

Thanks to the author and publisher for a review copy. ( )