Dark the Night Wild the Sea

The story still haunts you well after you have finished it. You can almost hear the pipes as you read. Don't get caught up in the lack of literary perfection at times. This is a great read. Do yourself a favor, don't miss this enchanting novel.

The author of my Sunday School texts surprised me with this rich tale. He captures the dialogue of the Hebrides so well I begin visualizing the people. The book begins slowly; then, by two-thirds of the way through, I couldn't put it down. Call it a romance if you want to, but I found it far more expansive in that we're led to ponder awhile after we close the cover for the last time.

Robert McAfee Brown, one of our greatest theologians, has written his first novel. The book starts in an unrealistic mode, but gets better as Jamie, the main character, travels to the country of Erinsay, and finally to the previous century. This is a story of love, sacrifice, and redemption, not unusual themes for Rev. Brown. The beautiful song the title is taken from is printed on the endcovers of the lovely little book. I recommend it to all who like romance.

We know Robert McAfee Brown for his theological non-fiction rooted in hard realism. Here he lets loose his vivid imagination to transport us to the Hebrides Islands off Scotland's coast where, even in the 90s, rural, islander folk hold to the supernatural as a natural part of life. Though they live by pagan and Christian tales that most educated, urban Americans quickly dismiss, as the story lured me in I found myself suspending disbelief and asking, What is Brown saying to us? The pondering continues. And because to pause before mystery and discern what love requires are basic human tasks, this book is as valuable as it is enjoyable. Beautifully crafted, these 168 pages are story-driven with interesting, well-drawn characters. The author employs just enough description to help you see what the flawed, young architect around whom he builds his story is experiencing, and sprinkles his narration with apt, often poetic metaphors. While the setting, the dated consciousness and Scottish dialogue, and even Brown's adapted writing style (I kept flashing on Cold Mountain), may strike us as foreign, even eerie, the book offers an engaging, easy read. Because I'd love to see this book gain wide readership, I'm tempted to shout: "GRAPHIC SEX AND VIOLENCE!" Alas, Brown spares us these. But as he takes you through surprising, timely twists toward his "inevitable but unpredictable conclusion," he confronts you with profound passion, wonder, suspense, and the sadness of both life and death. Can you tell? I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.