Emotional Geology - Reviews

Northwords Now

"Linda Gillard writes with considerable intelligence about the lives of mature contemporary women with stories to tell... She knows how to construct a story and how to people it with skilfully managed complexity. The crafting is excellent - she moves the reader on from scene to scene, context to context, with unfailing clarity. "


www.ScottishReaders.net

"Complex and important issues are played out in the windswept beauty of a Hebridean island setting, with
a hero who is definitely in the Mr Darcy league!"



WELL?(Scottish mental health magazine)

If there’s anything inevitable in life apart from death and taxes then it’s change, and Emotional Geology, the debut novel from Linda Gillard, deals with the trauma of dramatic change. The uncontrollable effect of relationships is reflected strongly in Gillard’s attention to the Scottish island landscape of the novel’s North Uist setting, and the effect of nature’s forces upon it, whether they may be internal (volcanic), or external (centuries worth of weathering). Individual struggle runs in parallel with this theme, firmly displaying the influence of extreme surroundings on the fractured psychology of Gillard’s protagonist, Rose Leonard, a textile artist who has bipolar affective disorder and has moved to North Uist in an attempt to distance herself from past pain.

Rose’s work with textiles features firmly throughout, creating an almost tactile literary manifestation of her inner turmoil, the effect of the barren landscape upon it, and the inspiration she derives from her growing, stalling relationship with schoolteacher, Calum Morrison, and the power of his poetry. The couple’s joint artistic work draws attention to emotional influences on the creative process, and this is inextricably bound throughout the novel with its own structural creation or ‘geology’.

Emotional Geology proves to be a tightly woven literary fabric of many emotional threads, which result in an engrossing and satisfying read. It may hold particular appeal for anyone who has experienced extreme distress, but its lucid prose and powerful description – and a penultimate series of emotional bombshells that play like that crucial cinematic ‘twist’ we all increasingly expect in film – result in an un-put-downable page-turner that is likely to captivate readers across the board.

Helen Waddell

 

Reviews from www.BookCrossing.com

"Wow. It blew my socks off. I literally could not put it down. I read it in bed. I read it while I was cooking lunch. I read it while I was eating lunch. I walked to the sofa, book in hand, and read it till it was finished.

This book is many things - a love song to North Uist, an enquiry into exactly how art is made (without destroying the art with the enquiry), a thing of beauty, a tug on the heart-strings (I was terrified that something was going to happen to one of these characters that I grew to love), a hymn of praise to the damaged, to the incomplete, a wonderful thing of hope.

And it made me want to take up my sewing again. "

Rating 10/10

LIZ BROOMFIELD, Birmingham UK


"Found on a train on the way home. I plan to release it on the Glasgow train tonight. It has kept me company for the past 3 days. Fabulous book - needs to be read slowly and not when depressed. Hopefully it will find its way home to Scotland where it belongs. It has made me want to venture beyond the tourist traps of Scotland and see just what the writer was saying. Don't just pass it on - read it and be absorbed by it."

Rating 10/10

ANONYMOUS FINDER, Cumbria UK


"I loved it. Another of those books that you can't stop reading but makes you feel quite bereft when it's finished."

Rating 9/10

WYLDETWO, Sutton Coldfield, UK


"This has got to be my favourite book so far this year."

BIRMINGHAM-ROSE, West Midlands, UK




 

Review by novelist Adele Geras 

"Transita is a new publishing house which produces books for women who want to move beyond chick lit... Linda Gillard's EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY was very readable and moving. It has
a beautiful cover and is well-written and unusual. It's about a bi-polar woman, recovering from terrible trauma and it's not nearly as grim as that sounds. What I most liked about it was the writer's evident love for fabric, handiwork of various kinds and the way she brings a whole landscape to life. I'm looking forward to her next."

From Adele's website www.adelegeras.com

OTHER REVIEWS...

"One of the most outstanding first novels I believe I've ever read... So beautifully lyrical in style I
read it very slowly, to savour every word.'"
The Bluestalking Reader - a US book blog by librarian and writer, Lisa Guidarini


"What impressed me the most, though, were the characters. Ms. Gillard allows them to be believable. In Rose we see an insecure, almost middle-aged woman struggle for her emotional and physical survival. She has difficulty with relationships, even with that of her adult daughter. Not all mother/daughter relationships in real life are those of best friends, and it is refreshing to see this portrayed in fiction. In Calum we see a man who has plenty of emotional struggles of his own, which he tends to drown quietly in alcohol. Rose and Calum are like real people - neither is perfect. Yet their strengths and weaknesses play well off each other. EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY is good fiction. It is creative, insightful, and most importantly, believable."
Ex Libris - a US book blog



"EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY is smoothly plotted and approachable. Gillard manages to draw her Uist
characters credibly." Roger Hutchinson, West Highland Free Press


"A compelling, touching, tender book." James Dedman, Depression Alliance newsletter


"A truly gripping story, cleverly written." Depression Alliance Scotland newsletter

"I thought your talk about mental illness was wonderful and you delivered
it with wit and authority. I was so impressed I bought your book,
EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, which I have read and loved to bits."
Sheila Riley, The Romantic Novelists Association

 

AMAZON REVIEWS

EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY has so far acquired fifteen 5-star reviews on Amazon, none of them written by me. This one is by Susie Williams from North Wales.

"How clever: to make connections between geology - rock formations, types of rock, and different landscapes - and gender, character facets, emotional scarring, and artistic interpretation.

I could not put it down. How much more engaging, and life-like, are characters who have been through life's crises. At a time when mental illness is not spoken of (despite a 1 in 3 possibility of facing mental illness at some stage), how refreshing and informative it is to meet a character dealing with the aftermath of a breakdown but also living with bi-polarism.

The main characters are artistic in different ways, yet gradually recognise how they can support and feed off one another's artistic insight and life experiences. I could easily visualise the landscape, settings, and textiles: carefully selected words can paint a picture, and add a texture of their own. Yet it was the inspired connections between the topography, or types of rock, and the artistic creations which really caught my imagination. I felt a yearning to create something myself, and to visit Uist.

As an avid bookworm it was good to read a book that not only grabbed my whole attention, but also inspired me to be creative: now there is a novelty. Excellent. "


Another 5-star Amazon review by Alison Hope of Birmingham, UK

"Oh I loved this! A beautifully written novel, about a lovely damaged woman, and her attempt to take care of herself. It is the setting that I will remember most, it is wonderful, and the imagery Linda Gillard has created is powerful and memorable. I immediately wanted to go to the islands around Skye. The descriptions of the light are particularly lovely, and make the place sound beautiful and peaceful. I also quickly grew to love these characters, which is why I stayed up till 2am with them to finish the book, and in some ways now wish I hadn't. When you finish a book you really love it is always a little sad. A wonderful page-turner, which is lyrical and heartwarming and which will stay with me. "

READING GUIDES

There are book group reading guides for A LIFETIME BURNING and EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY.
Contact info@lindagillard.co.uk