O Caledonia | 
pick#LMPBC #GroupG @suvata
@JamieArc @JackOBotts
I LOVED this book, I did not like the ending! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's a very short read, I read it in the evenings over 2 days' time. Lots of eerie, gothic vibes. Amazing writing style and imaginative descriptions! Janet is very flawed, and that's what makes her story so unique! Also, the dark humor is just the cherry on top. 👏👏👏
so-soI won‘t say much since this is being passed along for #LMPBC Our group chose gothic literature and this story is brimming with gothic atmosphere. The descriptions were rich, Janet was an interesting and complex character, and I loved the juxtapositions in the story: kindness and cruelty, beauty and horror, etc. Also, how fabulous is this cover with the placement of the crow‘s eye???
panI am so suprised. All my peers loved this book and I was just bored by it. It took me a lot of willpower just to finish it. It‘s me, I am sure. Normally I love a good gothic novel but here the setting did nothing for me, neither did all the animals or even Janet. And that ending, really?
#pop24 - Someone dies in the first chapter
(Photo: Centraal Museum, Utrecht)
Graciouswarriorprincess, OriginalCyn620, Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick, jenniferw88, maich, Ruthiella, RaeLovesToRead
pickThis will be a favorite of the year, without a doubt. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, the setting was a character in itself (the kind where you can almost feel it whilst reading), and Janet…..poor Janet. I loved her, could relate to her in certain ways, even rooted for her despite knowing the outcome. What a book. #blameitonlitsy
pickAbsolutely adored this. Gloriously gothic. Brilliant writing. Look forward to discussing with my book club next week!
pickI finally got around to reading this one , Leah. I loved the beginning and the wild drama of the ending. What a tale! Poor Janet. A rich and dense book that I will read again. Set in Edinburgh, bringing up memories of older times. Thank you @LeahBergen ♥️
pickA very under-appreciated novel which I am so glad came to my attention. O Caledonia is an excellent work of characterisation. Although it begins with a murder, it‘s not a mystery, rather a precisely constructed portrait of its central character, Janet- a young girl who is misunderstood and who struggles to fit in with her family and peer group. Janet is so complexly drawn, and the prose is thoughtful and measured. An excellent character study.
pickIn the opening of this novel, we find 16 yr old Janet murdered at the bottom of the stairs in her family's rambling Scottish home. As we read on, we learn about her short life in which this unique, eccentric, and misunderstood character faces innumerable challenges from those she meets, incl her family, save for the equally strange aunt lila. Knowing the fate of a character I loved made the impending finale more poignant. Grt storytelling, grt bk
pickMasterful. Barker may have written the best unlikable character I‘ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with. Right off the bat, you learn that Janet was murdered—that‘s how the story starts. But it‘s not a whodunit, it‘s a story that details Janet‘s life from when she was young until her death at 16. Adolescence with all its challenges, individuality, nonconformity, sibling relationships, expectations, jealousy & more are explored. Excellent.
pick“Many are the Fates which Zeus in Olympus dispenses;
Many matters the Gods bring to surprising ends.
The things we thought would happen do not happen…”
“The gods whom Janet had chosen played tricks on mortals for their pleasure; this she had not considered. She believed she could control her destiny.”
Poor Janet. 😢 Perfect foreshadowing.
I got lots of course prep done this morning and running around this afternoon, so finally some guilt free reading. ☺️
I realized after getting into this story I‘ve read it before, but it was so long ago it‘s fresh. #readingproblem 🤪
pickI loved this tale of a misunderstood young girl growing up in her family's dark and dreary manor house turned boys school in Scotland. Janet is a fabulous Gothic heroine who refuses to play by the rules set for Gothic heroines or any other sort of young girl of her time. The writing is tragic and delicious, my only regret is that I did not read it on a dark and stormy day to match the atmosphere.
Thankyou Leah ! I love this present. The book looks so good. The leather bookmark is divine. The coaster for my morning coffee👌🏻 and I love this cut out lady you stuck onto the wrapping paper. What a lovely touch 😁, she is great fun and made me laugh. Thankyou! This is all so thoughtful ♥️😘
A little odd, a lot of wonderful.
Halfway up the great stone staircase which rises from the dim and vaulting hall of Auchnasaugh, there is a tall stained-glass window. #Firstlinefridays
pickTo be able to write like Elspeth Barker-wow. A gothic, Scottish tale, starting with the murder of a teenage girl.
pickQuirky, sort of funny, sort of dark novel about a girl living in a castle in 1950s Scotland. Janet, 16, has just been murdered but this isn‘t a whodunnit as much as a who was she, this Janet? Turns out she was moody, aloof, sensitive, bookish, sometimes cruel and sometimes selfless. https://cannonballread.com/2022/10/o-caledonia-a-novel-elcicco/
pickWhile this is a coming of age story about a young girl I couldn‘t help but feel that Janet would have been my soul friend as she doesn‘t fit in with the norm, but is instead a romantic dreamer, poetry and language lover especially Latin & Greek and familiar with mythology, a lover of animals and nature, is moved emotionally by her surroundings and sorely misunderstood. Exquisite writing in this modern gothic novella. Loved it!
pickWhat a treat! I didn‘t realise at first that this book is actually from the early 90s. Loved it!!!
"People in these parts did not use the word 'spring'. They said 'the end of winter's or 'the beginning of summer' or they used the month's name"
She's talking about Scotland but she could easily be describing the Canadian Maritimes where it's April and definitely NOT spring.
Trying to squeeze in one more book before month's end. Sun is shining but a chilly wind's a-blowing.
Some #bookmail arrived. A scandalous memoir from the 90s and "the best least-known novel of the 20th century."
pickHow can a book that begins with a murdered teenage girl be so delightful? When it is about the short life of the marvelously endearing misfit, Janet. Janet grows up in a decaying castle on the northern coast of Scotland following WWII. She is often unable to engage with people, but feels deeply and passionately about the natural and ancient worlds. Wonderful prose, wonderful character, and just a pleasure to read. 5⭐️
Based on the Litsy reviews it sounds like Janet has a #sweetdisposition - though not because she's nice to everyone. When I hear that a character loves animals, rightfully distrusts many people, and has a unique sense of humor, this sounds like someone I'd like to meet.
#MayMovieMadness @rohit-sawant @Cinfhen
Janet might be my all time favorite #heroine 🙌🏻 one of the few books where I underlined something on almost every page.
#maylovesclassics
#litsyclassics
Janet is born into a dark & dreary #cruelworld where she is unwelcome and for the most part, ignored. She finds comfort and a sense of humor in the form of nature and animals, but has a distaste for most humans...I highly recommend this beautifully written gothic tale 🖤
#aprella
Love this description ❄️
#snow
#quotsydec17
I love a character that makes me laugh. That's why Gus, Janet, and Ove are three of my #newfavoritecharacters
#allthebooksof2017
This book is quickly moving up on my list of favorites ❤️
#study
#quotsydec17
#FirstNovel of December is 🙌🏻 The first book in a while that has prompted me to underline something on almost every page.
#decktheshelves
Congrats to you, @Booksandcooks for 7777 followers!
I had to check Goodreads to see what the last book was that I actually awarded 5⭐️ and this was it. The excerpt above gives you a little taste of its delightful oddness (and this is page one, so "no spoilers" ?).
Thanks for the #7777Giveaway!
I started this last night and within the first few pages I was already chortling in delight at the author's brilliant humour and evocative writing. I'm in LOVE.
Thanks to @shawnmooney and @Lindy for bringing this gem to my attention (and to the rest of you, too ... @saresmoore @DeborahSmall @TrishB ).
I'm sure you all – you certainly should – follow @ReadingEnvy already; if not, here is a link to the latest episode of her wonderful podcast. I am the guest! At the beginning, we talk about bailing on books – do you think I know anything about that topic? :-) Enjoy!
http://readingenvy.blogspot.jp/2017/05/reading-envy-086-queen-of-bailing.html
I had to bail out of the Jim Jones book after 50 pages. It was engaging but Jones and his mamma annoyed me. Thanks to you Littens, I picked this up from the library earlier this week. Should be a short read. #currentlyreading #dogsoflitsy #dottie
pickThere are far, far better reviews than mine in a previous buddy read of this book that convinced me to read it @shawnmooney @Lindy @DeborahSmall @saresmoore
A lovely, haunting, entertaining and funny novel. Janet is the awkward MC that you couldn't help rooting for.
A wonderful, little gem of a novel, with poetic prose.
pickI finished O Caledonia this morning, and was moved to create this photo. It's a composite of a blood super-moon I photographed, a bird and tree I snapped in Yellowstone National Park, and a piece of fabric from one of my dresses. I hope this will serve as my review. This book has ruined all other fiction for me for a while, and my next read will be a running book.
@shawnmooney @Lindy @saresmoore @DeborahSmall
The library is 1.3 km from my house and I travel on foot, so my #bookbag has wheels. I'm getting geared up now for my weekly visit. 😀
O #BookMail! Look what has arrived, @shawnmooney @Lindy @saresmoore @DeborahSmall 😀
A mean whipping wind whined and skirmished about the castle, now this way, now that, slamming doors, tearing at hats and scarves, whisking the dogs' ears inside out. The cats refused to go outside at all. Only the wild duck enjoyed themselves, swimming ostentatiously across the lawn or sporting upside down in the lagoons of the drive.
@DuckOfDoom @shawnmooney @saresmoore @DeborahSmall @LeahBergen
pickI LOVED this book! Barker somehow managed to simultaneously wrap me up in the comfort of her gorgeous, intentional prose and make me itchy with uncertainty as the story unfolded. I knew what was going to happen because she told me in the very beginning, but it only made me more wary as I steadily fell in love with the protagonist, Janet. Quirky, witty, engrossing, and unbelievably well-written, I won't soon forget this work of literary brilliance.
The salon reminded Janet of the lunatic asylum. People came in, looking normal and cheerful. They were ushered by white-coated, unctuous attendants into a neon-lit inner torture chamber of throbbing machines. There they sat, gowned and scarlet-faced and in no time at all they had lost their identity...
At St Uncumba's Halloween was not celebrated, for it was an evil, pagan ritual. Instead they lit an enormous bonfire on Guy Fawkes night and burned a human effigy.
pickIn sentences bursting with images and perfectly audacious words; in paragraphs that unfurl book-length narratives; with quirky characters deeply familiar as if spun from dreams; Elspeth Barker tells a simple, sad, joyous story of Janet, an odd duck of a Scottish girl, understood by no one, a misfit who only feels truly alive in spasms of communion with books or the natural world. My delight in her was just this side of a cringe. Unforgettable.
