crime fiction - Cappelen Damm

▶ Cultural HistoryNon-FictionKirsti JaregThe Western Isles – TheHebrides, The OrkneysAnd ShetlandØyene i vest – Hebridene,Orknøyene og ShetlandThese people have something in common: Felix Mendelssohn,Jules Verne, Erik Bloodaxe, Queen Victoria,Sir Walter Scott, George Orwell, JRR Tolkien, Lars vonTrier and Stanley Kubrick. What they share is that allhave allowed themselves to become beguiled and inspiredby the Hebridean, Orkney and Shetland islands.The islands were part of Norway for several hundredyears. Jareg's book takes us on a journey through the cultural history of the previous Norwegiancolonies. There is a short road linking their dramatic, bloody past to their modern,dynamic present. This book is a guide as well as a stimulus which will engage all travellers tothe beautiful archipelagos of the Atlantic and the North Sea.The author's knowledge of her territory is profound and she has also a talent for movingwith ease through different times and places. She is observant, historically accurate, andwrites with a literary skill and a happy combination of humour, wonder and curiosity.90Kirsti Jareg (1966–) grew up in Norway, Scotland,Sweden and Botswana. She is a psychologist whohas taken additional courses in social anthropologyand literary non-fiction writing. Her book Tolk ogtolkebruker – to sider av samme sak came out in 2006.She has also written several essays on the Scottishislands for newspapers, magazine and professional journals.Photo: Marte Eyde Kjuus