Stephanie Jane recenzis The Secrets of Islay de Robert Kroeger
An interesting memoir
4 steloj
I was lucky to be informed of a limited time opportunity to download a free copy of Secrets Of Islay by Robert Kroeger through the Goodreads group Read Scotland 2015 Challenge. This book is already my fourth towards my goal of eight reads for the Challenge and it's only February. I may need to rise to a higher level!
I didn't realise that Secrets Of Islay was a factual book when I downloaded it. It recounts the efforts of one man to organise two linked sporting events on Islay, a golf tournament and a marathon race, and in the process to discover the truth of life while tasting a lot of drams of good whisky). I know nothing about golf, other than how to snigger at the clothing, and have never been a whisky drinker unless it was in a Whisky Mac (whisky mixed with ginger wine) which I'm sure …
I was lucky to be informed of a limited time opportunity to download a free copy of Secrets Of Islay by Robert Kroeger through the Goodreads group Read Scotland 2015 Challenge. This book is already my fourth towards my goal of eight reads for the Challenge and it's only February. I may need to rise to a higher level!
I didn't realise that Secrets Of Islay was a factual book when I downloaded it. It recounts the efforts of one man to organise two linked sporting events on Islay, a golf tournament and a marathon race, and in the process to discover the truth of life while tasting a lot of drams of good whisky). I know nothing about golf, other than how to snigger at the clothing, and have never been a whisky drinker unless it was in a Whisky Mac (whisky mixed with ginger wine) which I'm sure would horrify the purists. However, I do like to consider myself a runner so hoped to at least understand the marathon part of the tale.
Kroeger manages to interestingly include a lot of Islay history within his pages and I enjoyed learning about past events that have shaped the island's people. Most of this information is imparted using the device of direct speech with Kroeger apparently reporting extensive monologues word for word. However, all the speakers have exactly the same style of rehearsed 'talk show' speech with no individualism. I did find this disconcerting at first. I appreciated the addition of clear colour photographs throughout the book. I haven't seen that in an ebook before and it is a nice touch.
Secrets Of Islay is quietly inspirational. It doesn't shout like an improvement manual, but has a strong message of getting off thou bum in order to make the most of life. The quotes and poems at the start of each chapter are well chosen, indeed the first, Warning by Jenny Joseph, was a favourite quote of my Mum's. Sadly she didn't live long enough to wear purple. I will almost definitely not take up golf as a result of this book, but I have been encouraged to make more effort with my running and I would like to visit the beautiful Islay one day, maybe even to cheer on the marathon runners!